“You’ve probably been in a situation where you arrived way under- dressed for an occasion.” The context of any rhetorical situation is always the first place to start. In “Backpacks vs. Briefcases,” by Laura Bolin Carroll, the author set out to define how rhetorical analysis can be accomplished in simple terms.  Firstly, analysis cannot begin unless we realize where the discourse occurs, she says. We don’t realize, but whenever we make observations, we classify them in our minds based on any significant information, such as appearances, and we draw conclusions on people almost instantly. In relative terms, she writes, this is rhetorical analysis. We make quick observations based on context, and using these interpret the information. This I all too similar to text based examples, and I applaud Ms. Carroll for her basic explanation of the term.