Posted: September 13th, 2017

Response to “The Relationship Between Cultural and Rhetorical Conventions: Engaging in International Communication”

Paper, Order, or Assignment Requirements

Short Essay #3: Response to “The Relationship Between Cultural and Rhetorical Conventions: Engaging in International Communication”

Required Format: MLA-style, 12-point, Times New Roman font, 1” margins all around

Required Length: 1-2 pages (about 300-600 words)

Workshop Day: Wednesday, 2/18; Bring a draft to class WITHOUT your name at the top.

Final Draft Due: Friday, 2/20 by 11:59 PM through Canvas

Worth: 105 points

For this assignment, write a response to Carolyn Boiarsky’s article, “The Relationship Between Cultural and Rhetorical Conventions.” In your response, you should engage in conversation with the article by responding to one of the following prompts:

• 1)  Boiarsky claims that “people write and interpret messages according to their particular culture” (246). Do you think this is true? Why or why not?
• 2)  Boiarsky’s article features two examples of the same genre, the business letter, written for audiences in two different cultures in order to show how cultural values impact written discourse. Figure 4 was the original letter written from an American company to readers representing Chinese companies. It received no responses. Figure 1 is a revision of that letter that conforms to Chinese expectations. It received several responses. What did you learn about the relationship between culture and genre from these examples? State a thesis about the relationship between culture and genre and support it with evidence from the article and, if applicable, from your own experience.
• 3)  If you are familiar with one or more of the cultures that Boiarsky discusses, are her claims about expectations for communication in those cultures accurate in your opinion? Why or why not?
• 4)  What is the most important piece of information that college students can take from this article? State a thesis that answers this question and support it with evidence from the article and, if applicable, from your own experience.

Your readers for this response are your classmates and teacher. Because you know that your readers have also read Boiarsky’s article, you should not summarize it, nor should you try to address every point made in the article. Instead, your response should clearly state a thesis and support the thesis with supporting paragraphs.

Your response should include the following:

1) Title: Include an interesting title that grabs readers’ attention and provides some information about your topic

2) Introduction

• Grab the readers’ attention with a “hook.”
• Introduce your topic and your primary source (“The Relationship Between Cultural 
and Rhetorical Conventions”).
• State a clear, direct thesis at the end of the introduction.

3) Body Paragraphs

• Support your thesis with supporting points and details that illustrate your supporting points.

• Make sure each body paragraph contains a topic sentence, supporting sentences, and a conclusion sentence.
• Your body paragraphs should cite evidence from Boiarsky’s article and, if it is relevant, your own experience.
• Your response should include at least one quote from Boiarsky’s article. Make sure that the quote is properly integrated and cited MLA style.
• Analyze evidence from the article and your own experience in a way that connects it to the thesis.
• If possible counterarguments exist, make sure to acknowledge and respond to them.
• 4) Conclusion
• Restate your main point
• “Look to the future” by commenting on the future significance of your argument.
• Don’t introduce new information.