My Rhetorical Action Plan

In this blog post, I will outline my rhetorical action plan for Project 4 by answering questions regarding my audience, genre, and responses/actions I expect from my argument. These questions can be found in Writing Public Lives pages 412-413.

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Audience

• Knowledge: My audience probably knows the very basics of this controversy. They likely know what stem cells are, possibly due to some media attention from popular news sources. However, this audience likely does not know the scientific specifics of this technology. They also might not know the details of this particular controversy involving genetic engineering of human embryos. Because of their limited knowledge of the topic, they might have a vague understanding of which side of the controversy their opinions might lie, but they may not be completely sure of their beliefs.
• Values: My audience might have beliefs that make their opinions lie on either side of this controversy. However, I think it would be fair to assume that the audience collectively believes in the value of science, and supports more research in curing life-threatening diseases. Their values might differ further depending on which side of the debate they choose to support.
• Standards of Argument: This audience might not be persuaded by very scientific arguments/evidence that is difficult to understand. However, evidence that is condensed down to certain statistics or narratives might be persuasive and easier for this audience to understand.
• Visual Elements: This audience will not be persuaded by scientific diagrams or visual representations, because they may not be able to understand these visual elements. However, they might be persuaded by pictures that show some emotional appeal, since these are easy to communicate and understand. Simple graphs and tables might also be logically appealing, as long as they are not too dense.
• Purpose: My audience might be reading my argument to get a better understanding of this controversy and/or of my perspective in particular. Because of this, my main goal of this argument might be to expand the audience's understanding of this debate, and of why my perspective is more compelling in particular. Furthermore, I want to try to motivate them to at least take an active position in this debate by posting on social media about it or reading to increase their own understanding. This might motivate my audience to further their own knowledge on the subject.

Genre: News article in a well-known nonscientific online publication

• Function: This genre is mainly used for informative purposes. However, if I published an article in a relatively opinionated publication, or in the opinions column of such a publication, this genre can be used to both inform and persuade a particular audience. In this way, it would be effective for this particular audience, given that they don't have much prior knowledge of this subject.
• Setting: This genre could be used in many different online news publications without much of a scientific background. Because of its broad appeal to people without much knowledge on the subject, the setting is very broad, allowing a broader audience to have access to it.
• Visual Elements: This genre might use some pictures, perhaps with an emotional appeal. It might also use some simple graphs and tables that are placed in a manner that helps me prove a certain point.
• Style: This style might be semi-formal, as it falls somewhere between informal and formal. The diction should be easy to understand and the tone should keep the reader's interest, but it should not be so informal that it makes the reader questions its credibility.

Examples: Example 1, Example 2

Genre: Blog post in a reader friendly blog

• Function: This genre is mainly used as a way to communicate opinions and interests. Depending on the nature of the blog, this genre is generally open to anyone with an interest in the subject, although it does depend on the blog. The blog post that I would write for this project would assume some prior knowledge, but still be accessible to a wide audience.
• Setting: This genre can be used in a very wide setting. Blogs can be as general or specific as the writer wants it to be, so this genre can be used in many places. Generally it is used in more informal settings, though.
• Visual Elements: This genre tends to use more pictures, depending on the nature of the blog. Relevant pictures are common elements, while graphs and tables might be less common for this genre.
• Style: The style of this genre is very informal, as it uses informal diction and tone to appeal to its audience. It can sometimes be conversational so that it appeals to the reader a little more.

Examples: Example 1, Example 2

Responses/Actions

• Positive Support: 

1. Increased awareness and interest in the topic
2. Supportive social media posts
3. Public support for the technology through petitions, etc.

• Negative Rebuttals

1. Ethical argument in opposition of technology
2. Safety concerns 
3. The concern for designer babies

• I might respond to the ethical argument by pointing out that the embryos being experimented on are specifically the kind that would not be able to potentially grow and be born, due to a mutation. In addition, these embryos are willingly donated in the name of research, which should ease ethical concerns. In response to the safety concerns, I would point out that more research is currently being done to advance the technology to the point that we could actually experiment on embryos. Scientists agree that the technology isn't yet advanced enough to use on embryos. Finally, I would argue that designer babies are not yet a real concern, because the science is not yet nearly advanced enough to even consider altering babies' genetic codes.
• I want to raise awareness about this topic in relatively nonscientific communities. This could potentially cause increased interest, which could lead to more social media attention for the topic. This could eventually cause public movements such as petitions and other such movements.