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HUMS 200 - Group Work Practice - Bollinger-Smith

Rhetorical Triangle

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Rhetorical Triangle

You can use the rhetorical triangle to evaluate information. 

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Author

Look at the competence and expertise of the author in the area they are writing. 

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Audience

Consider who the information is written for and whether you fit into that group.

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Purpose

Use the context of where the information is found as well as the context within which it was written.

Scholarly or Popular?

This chart briefly explains the different characteristics of articles
  Scholarly Journals Popular Magazines/Newspapers
Length of articles long, 5 - 50 pages short, 1 - 5 pages
Audience academics, professors, specialists in the field general readers 
Authority academics, researchers, scientists journalists, professional writers
Sources includes References or Works Cited  source material not usually included
Look for data, charts, tables, few ads photographs, commercial advertising
Frequency quarterly, annually  daily, weekly, 
Subject  single, specific aspect of a topic variety of topics, entertain or inform
Language specialized vocabulary conventional, high school level
Peer-review  reviewed by experts in the field editor, or staff, proofread 

 

Scholarly Versus Popular Sources (HACC Video)