Rhetorical Analysis of Academic Journal

Based on the discussions we have had in class, I analyzed the rhetorical situation of Volume 67 of the Annual Review of Psychology.

1. Who are the authors/speakers published in this specific issue of the academic journal you've selected? How many different authors are published here? What do you know - or can you find out - about these people? How are the authors/speakers portrayed in the journal issue? Cite specific details from the journal issue in your answers.

The authors published in the annual review of psychology are people who have conducted some form of research and are presenting their results. They mostly all have degrees in psychology. There are 62 authors published in Volume 67.

Based on some general research about the authors in this issue, most are professors at universities doing research. While this information is available if you look into specific authors on other sites, not much information is provided in the journal issue itself.

Because the Annual Review of Psychology is so academic, there is not much tone communicated by the authors. It is almost entirely objective.

2. Who is the intended audience for this particular journal issue? How can you tell? Are there any secondary audiences included here? Cite specific details from the journal issue in your answers.

Another result of the serious and academic nature of the Annual Review of Psychology is its limited audience.

First of all, the journal is very expensive. If one is not aware that the journal may be available through their local university, they may not ever read an article from it. This limits the audience to people who can afford it or who have knowledge about how to find it.

Second of all, the writing itself speaks to a very limited audience. The academic terms are understood best by someone who has studied psychology or who is at least familiar with the field. An average reader may not know what the hippocampus, the amygdala, or the anterior neocortex is which might limit their understanding of the article as a whole.

The intended audience includes the researchers in psychology, other workers involved in psychology, as well as students pursuing a degree in psychology.

3. What is the context surrounding this particular journal issue? How does this affect the content of the journal? (See the bulleted questions on Student's Guide page 180 for specific questions about context). Cite specific details from the journal issue in your answers.

The introduction of the issue speaks to the validity of psychology as a science. There was some initial debate during the infancy of psychology as an official science but it has been determined to be a valid science.

The introduction is responding to a more recent rumor that psychology is in “crisis” as people try to disprove its validity as a science.

This likely led them to choose explicitly scientific articles which would support the idea of psychology as a science. The articles are very reserved, objective, and structured like the writing conventions of most scientific fields.

4. What is the overall message of the journal issue? How did you decide this? Cite specific details from the journal issue in your answers.

Psychology is science. Based on the description of the changes in the general perception of psychology in the introduction, I think it is pretty clear the point they are trying to make: psychology is science. And, beyond that, there is a broader definition of science.

Science is not just experiments and labs, it is exploration, discovery, and inquiry - things that do not necessarily need to be done in a lab.

5. What purpose is the journal issue trying to achieve? Cite specific details from the journal issue in your answers.

The journal is trying to disseminate information about various studies conducted by scientists in different areas. The Annual Review of Psychology incorporates ideas from many researchers and compiles them to present information to peers in a cohesive manner.

This issues also asserts that psychology is undeniably a science. This issue presents information while also arguing the validity of psychology as a science.