Rhetorical situation

Speaker 

The speaker of the “Occasional Address” is Tim Minchin, an Australian actor, comedian, writer, and musician. Minchin is also a UWA Arts graduate, which he mentions in his speech: “… but I didn’t make the bit of me that works hard, any more than I made the bit of me that ate too many burgers instead of going to lectures while I was here at UWA” (ll. 51-53). This helps the audience relate to him better, as he once attended the university they are graduating from. 

Furthermore, Minchin is a reliable speaker because of his artistic career. Although he jokes when he talks about not having “a proper job” (l. 16), Minchin is well-known and successful, and he mentions working with “agents and producers” (l. 109), which gives him importance an...