What personal angle can you present on this topic? (Consider what is new about the topic or what unique perspective can be shared about this topic..
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This week, however, your task is to analyze the rhetorical situation for the Profile essay. You will establish your topic, create a clear angle, define your audience,
and reflect upon your personal relationship to the subject. This assignment not only asks you to begin the writing process, but it also helps you think through the
components of the rhetorical situation. Please find the Week 1 Profile Process Planning Sheet in Doc Sharing and complete it for this week’s assignment.
Be sure to achieve the following:
Use the template provided in Doc Sharing (Week 1 Profile Process Planning Sheet) to complete this assignment. Download the file and save it with your last name and
assignment title (e.g., “Blair_Week 1 Profile Process Planning Sheet”).
Complete your responses directly on the template in the areas specified for response. The assignment should be submitted as a Microsoft Word 2010 file (.docx).
Write in complete sentences and paragraphs (where specified). Be sure to check your responses for depth of information, clear style, and proper mechanics (spelling,
grammar, and punctuation).
Submit your assignment to the Week 1 Dropbox.
Review the rubric for this assignment to ensure that you have met the assignment goals.
Profile Process Planning Sheet: Analyzing the Rhetorical Situation
Week 1 Assignment
Please answer the following questions in complete sentences and paragraph format. Although this is not a formal essay assignment, please note that proper spelling,
grammar, and sentence structure are required. This week’s lecture and chapters 2 and 3 in your text will help you work through some of the terms within the rhetorical
situation.
Defining Topic, Angle, Purpose
1. What is your chosen topic? (For example: a profile of Barb Collins, a volunteer at the local homeless shelter; a profile of Shipwreck Days, a citywide flea
market and festival; or a profile of Burdick’s Grocery, the oldest family-owned business in town.)
A profile of Joelle Smart, a hairdresser with a new salon location in the basement of her home .
2. What personal angle can you present on this topic? (Consider what is new about the topic or what unique perspective can be shared about this topic.)
Smart opened a salon on Main Street in the Westside neighborhood of Springfield in 1986. Recently, due to a boom in the real estate market by young professionals, the
landlord of the salon has nearly doubled Smart’s rent. Many new chain stores, restaurants, and coffee shops are lining up to pay the increased rent, but Smart can no
longer afford to stay in business on Main Street. In an attempt to keep her business running and continue to provide services for her clients, she is now operating out
of the basement of her home .
3. What is your purpose for writing? (What do you hope to accomplish? Why are you writing?)
The purpose is to describe Smart’s struggle to stay in business due to rent increases on Main Street as a larger indication of the negative results that have come from
the neighborhood’s growth .
Analyzing Your Readers
You will be writing your Profile essay to your local community. Imagine you might submit the Profile to your local newspaper or have it shared in a community
newsletter; the readers of those publications make up your target audience. In two to three paragraphs, define your local community and describe what makes it unique.
What are the needs, expectations, motivations, backgrounds, demographics, and experiences of community members? How will those influences impact your word choice,
level of formality, and overall message?
The Westside community is unique in that it’s an old neighborhood with a great deal of history. As many of the older, longtime residents are dying, moving into nursing
homes, or downsizing in other areas of the city, young professionals have started moving in. When these college-educated men and women started to buy real estate in
the area, the commercial district also boomed. Over the last 5 years as the real estate boom has only continued to rise, many longtime retailers can’t afford the rent
increases and are being forced out in exchange for new businesses.
Springfield’s older residents have built a relationship with the older retailers in town and are committed to giving them their business. They are not happy about the
chain coffee shops or other franchises moving in. Interestingly the independent nature of the commercial district is what originally attracted many of the younger
population, yet they are giving their business to the new, higher-end retailers that are replacing many of the older shops.
The community is represented by new shop owners who are thriving and old retailers that are barely hanging on or are forced to close or relocate. Their customers are
also a mix of new and longtime residents, but the new, young professionals are quickly becoming the majority. They are college-educated with young children, and most
are married . My tone will need to be formal because this is primarily a well-educated group. It will not be appropriate to use humor or sarcasm. I should approach the
audience with respect and understanding, yet be sincere in expressing concerns. It will be important to really describe Joelle with details and descriptions so that
the readers feel as if they know her and care about her .
Reflecting on the Role of the Writer
Whether you realize it or not, your personal relationship to the subject plays a key role in shaping the Profile essay. Remember, your personal brand is shaped, in
many ways, by your community influences. Just as you make choices in terms of how you present your brand through writing, personal choices will also impact how you
present the subject of your Profile. In two to three paragraphs, discuss your personal relationship to the subject. How have personal impacts, needs, motivations, and
relationships shaped your topic, angle, and purpose?
Joelle Smart has been my hairdresser for nearly 15 years as I am one of the older residents of my neighborhood. She and many of the other longtime retailers have
become close friends, and I have always valued supporting local businesses. It’s hard to watch these friends struggle to pay their rents and stay in business. However,
in all honesty, I’ve enjoyed watching my neighborhood’s transition over the years. The energy of the young professionals has brought more culture and events to the
area, and our property values have increased with the surge in the real estate market. Still, I hate to see high-end retailers replace family-owned businesses that
have been a part of the community for years.
I will continue to be a client of Joelle’s in her basement salon, but I am concerned that her clientele will decline. Many of the young residents would prefer to visit
a salon right on Main Street and they will probably find her basement location less than hip. Without the Main Street location, it will be hard for Joelle to attract
new clientele. I’d like the community to realize the struggle that Joelle and other retailers are facing, and I hope to encourage them to continue to support her
business and the other older businesses in town. I’d also like them to realize the larger impact of so many new franchises coming into the area and warn them that we
are losing our independent roots by supporting these businesses .
Profile Process Planning Sheet: Analyzing the Rhetorical Situation
Week 1 Assignment
Please answer the following questions in complete sentence and paragraph format. Although this is not a formal essay assignment, please note that proper spelling,
grammar, and sentence structure are required. This week’s lecture and Chapters 2 and 3 in your text will help you work through some of the terms within the rhetorical
situation.