According to Faigley, the positioning of writing as a discipline depends upon an understanding of the writing process. Current understandings of writing as a discipline rest upon underlying assumptions about the importance of the writing process. Faigley situates himself within current criticism by citing a lengthy quote from Henry Giroux. Giroux laments the separation of composition from literature, saying …

Bitzer defines the rhetorical situation as “the context in which speakers or writers create rhetorical discourse” (2).  Bitzer positions situation as a central rhetorical concern that has often been surpassed by discussions of audience, speaker, occasion, and so on.  Bitzer claims he is the first to champion the rhetorical situation in this way; Aristotle handles …