The speaker should’ve researched his audience before he wrote the speech!

Audience is probably the most important rhetorical element of them all. Before this class, I really undermined its importance- I thought the strength of the argument itself came before anything else. However, after being shown examples of how many people in marginalized communities have felt alienated scientifically their whole life, I realized that appealing to an audience and understanding their wants and needs is the most important thing of them all. It’s more than just having them listen to you- giving these people a chance to actually feel understood will benefit them outside of scientific writing, as it’s a field that has alienated many people for a long time. Fixing that issue and bridging gaps between communities and proper communication on science is something this class has taught me to be incredibly important.