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Narratio The second component of classical argument, which conveys statements of fact furnishing either background information or context for the case being argued. Narratio's translation, definition, and emphasis have changed markedly since the classical age. Originally placed following the exordium and preceding the propositi, narratio chiefly conveys facts. These facts buttress the orator's credibility (a concern of exordium) and provide an argumentative scaffold based upon history, precedent, or tradition. This scaffold becomes the basis for a statement of position or thesis conveyed in the propositio. Many theorists, classical and contemporary, thus define narrations function as providing "background information . . . and the circumstances important to the argument" (Woodson 38).