1)  Exigence- Is an issue or need that can be addressed through conversation or writing. Grant-Davie brings up the idea of cause and effect, meaning that there is a reason for the exigence and because of this there is an effect. An example would be receiving bad service at a restaurant.
2)  Rhetor- Would be the person or persons involved in the exigence. Grant-Davie says that sometimes the rhetor brings with him an ethos that (depending on the situation) could alter the outcome of the exigence. Sticking to the example above, the rhetors' of this situation would be the customer and the person who caused the bad service.
3)  Audience- The people that are not involved in the exigence, rather they are witnesses to it. The audience members can become rhetors but it always depends on the situation. An example would be a baseball team listening to their coach give a pregame speech.
4)  Constraints- Are restraints in language that occur in certain situations. Using the restaurant example, in order to resolve the exigence the waiter needs to compensate the customer for the wrongdoings because the customer is always right.