Kristin Porcelli

Maynard
ENC 1101
April 20, 2015
My assemblage project is an awareness video on the rhetorical exigence of driving under
the influence of alcohol specifically targeted at Florida State University students. According to
Bitzer, an exigence is an imperfection marked by urgency; it is a defect, an obstacle, something
waiting to be done, a thing which is other than it should be not all are elements of a rhetorical
situation- not all are rhetorical exigencies. An exigence which cannot be modified is not
rhetorical An exigence is rhetorical when it is capable of positive modification and when
positive modification requires discourse of can be assisted by discourse. (Bitzer 7). I want this
assemblage to address how seriously drunk driving affects people.
Audience is another constituent of a rhetorical situation. Rhetorical discourse produces
change by influencing the decision and action of persons who function as mediators of change, it
follows, that rhetoric always requires an audience (Bitzer 8). The audience I chose to reach in
this rhetorical situation is the Florida State University student body. The exigence of driving
under the influence is the leading cause of death for people between the ages of 18-24. This is a
problem that can easily be solved with education and a desire to take actions that wont endanger
the lives of fellow college students. Therefore, my assemblage directs the message to the root
cause of the problem. College students that drive under the influence and cause car accidents are
the root of the problem, so they are the appropriate audience to address. If my assemblage can
influence their decision to become mediators of change, this issue will start to be repaired.
Constraints is the last constituent of a rhetorical situation. Every rhetorical situation contains a
set of constraints made up of persons, events, objects, and relations which are parts of the
situation because they have the power to constrain decision and action needed to modify the
exigence (Bitzer 8). The constraints used in my assemblage are the Im Shmacked video and the

videos of drunk driving accidents. The Im Shmacked video appealed to the audience because it
doesnt get more relatable to Florida State University students because they are the one being
filmed. The drunk driving accidents are graphic and disturbing, and they influence students to
not drink and drive.
The reason why I chose an awareness video as a mode of communication is because
typically college students dont go out of their way to read a poster or pamphlet about driving
under the influence. Videos require little effort to pay attention to, and they are more interesting.