Students in Dr. Nicole Pfannenstiel’s summer 2025 writing seminar crafted blog posts exploring Rhetoric & Composition. Over the next several weeks, we will share their work in this space to bring visibility to their posts and offer a variety of perspectives on pertinent topics within Rhetoric & Composition. These posts are written by graduate students currently in the MA and M.Ed. English programs.
Beyond What’s Traditional – Examining Digital Rhetoric
By: Emily Dziennik
Digital Rhetoric is, in its most basic form, communication that exists in digital spaces. But, in order to truly understand digital rhetoric, one must understand the variety of ways that rhetoric can exist online.
Traditional rhetoric was focused on speeches and oral communication, eventually shifting to include written rhetoric over time as it became more accepted. Digital Rhetoric expands beyond traditional methods of speech and writing, employing many new techniques rhetoricians can use to amplify their voice and the voices of others.
One of the most prominent differences between classical rhetoric and digital rhetoric is the speed and ease of circulation in the digital era. In the past, speeches were given to those who could listen in that moment, or ideas were written down and shared–but never instantaneously, like it is now (LeCourt 23-25). Information is shared through engagement, and engagement appeals to the algorithm of the site being used, allowing it to be shared to even more people. Engagement makes up a large piece of digital rhetoric and its success, as actions such as liking, sharing, reposting, and commenting can all be viewed as rhetorical acts that influence the amount of attention the original post receives (151-152). Another benefit to the wide variety of circulation methods is the fact that even those who do not share original content or engage in direct conversation with others can still support the voices they believe should be amplified (171-173).
What is also unique about digital rhetoric, however, is how many different forms it can take, aside from speeches and written essays. Not only can users write text-based posts, but now rhetoric can take shape through pictures, graphics, videos, music, emojis, and more (Palmer, “Visual”). Digital Rhetoricians can choose if they want to support their statements with photos from events, graphics that demonstrate important statistics, a video explaining an advanced topic, and more (Palmer, “Digital”). This is not to say that traditional rhetoric has been replaced–it instead seems to have been preserved in a variety of new ways (Eyman 26). In digital spaces, the possibilities are endless.
Digital Rhetoric is more than just communication in digital spaces–it encompasses all forms of interaction, from liking a post, to sharing someone else’s video, to creating a completely new social media platform designed to spark conversations no other platform allows. It is a combination of personal agency, original creations, and amplification of other voices, all coming together to reshape how humans interact with each other, for better or worse, in public spaces. Learning to navigate digital rhetoric in online spaces is quickly becoming an essential skill that not only supports critical thinking, but also carries the potential to positively impact the ways that humans express their identities and uplift the voices of others.
Works Cited
Eyman, Douglas. “Defining and Locating Digital Rhetoric.” Digital Rhetoric: Theory, Method,
Practice, University of Michigan Press, 2015, pp. 12–60. JSTOR,
https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctv65swm2.5.
LeCourt, Donna. Social Mediations: Writing for Digital Public Spheres. University of Pittsburgh
Press, 2024.
Palmer, Karen. “Rhetorical Analysis of Digital Texts.” Diving Into Rhetoric, 2020,
https://pressbooks.pub/divingintorhetoric/chapter/rhetorical-analysis-of-digital-texts/.
Palmer, Karen. “Rhetorical Analysis of Visual Texts.” Diving Into Rhetoric, 2020,
https://pressbooks.pub/divingintorhetoric/chapter/rhetorical-analysis-of-visual-texts/.