ABSTRACT
GivenScudder'ssuccessonhisfirstexam,helearnedhowimportantitis toseepreciselyandindetailallthepartsofwhatoneisobserving.Thetask assignedtoScudderwaswhatwecallthefirstphaseofacritique:description. TwoimportantlessonscanbelearnedfromScudder'sexperience.First,tosee anythingsignificantinanobject(inourcase,arhetoricalmessage),youmust focusyourattentiononthatobjectforalongtime,longerthanyouthinkyou canorneed,sothatyoucandescribepreciselythoseelementsthatarerelevant andimportant.Second,toseeanythingofsignificanceinanobjectyoumust examinethatobjectagainstotherthings.EachnewfishaddedtoScudder'stray servedtodefineandexpandacontextforthefactsScudderhadcollected.In ourcaseasmessageanalysts,wemustlookatmessagesagainstthecontextin whichtheywereconstructed,aswellasagainstothermessagesandtheory. Onceyoubeginconnectingwhatyouseeinamessagewiththeoriesofrhetoric,youhaveenteredthephasesofanalysisandinterpretation,butfirstyou mustbegin,likeScudder,bylookingat(listeningtoorreading,asthecasemay be)yourmessageanditscontextslowlyanddeliberatelyforalongtime.
