PB 1A

There are endless genres that can be observed in the field of writing, one of them being a syllabus. The syllabus is usually a few page document written by the professor which contains necessary information about an upcoming class you have enrolled in. The paper “Steps toward Rhetorical Analysis” written by Laura Carroll discusses the key components in rhetorical analysis which include context, audience, purpose, style, and tone. A major element of rhetorical analysis is context, or in other words the particular situation. The context is made up of three pieces, audience, exigence (“the circumstance or condition that invites a response”), and constraints. The first of piece is audience, and a syllabus has a rather specific one. The document is distributed to the class participants, as the information provided is only relevant to them. Often times due dates, contact information, conduct rules, and grading information is included, which is, as previously stated, only of much value to those taking the class. The syllabus can be utilized to however great of an extent that an audience member chooses to use it, which will likely vary amongst the group. This is, however, only the intended audience of the genre and fails to include the unintended audience. Perhaps a fellow student who is considering taking that class at a future time would view the syllabus, or a supervisor or head of a department who is checking to see what the instructor has planned for the course. There are few constraints for a syllabus since it is up to the instructor what will or will not be included in his or her personal version. Theoretically, if a professor wanted to make a syllabus that spanned 100 pages, that is an option—however, if it would be used would then likely be questionable.

The purpose of a syllabus is the feature that likely has the simplest answer—to provide information. Professors often use a syllabus to put together the answers to questions that students will most likely ask in the future. Thus, it acts as a go-to document for all things related to the course. These questions may be “When are your office hours?,” “What is your absence policy?” or “When is the midterm?.” These, along with many others, could then all be answered by the response “refer to the syllabus,” and therefore it is indeed serving its purpose

Finally, the style and tone of this particular genre is generally very formal. An electronic version of a syllabus is almost always available online, and is sometimes accompanied by a printed copy. The nature of the genre is often to be as concise as possible while still covering all necessary information. Thus, sometimes a syllabus will be one page, and other times it will be several. A syllabus often has titles above short paragraphs about each aspect of the class that the professor finds important to express. In these statements, the tone is less geared toward being particularly friendly or strict, but rather to be clear. That is, as its purpose states, the goal of the genre.