Analyzing My Genre

This post will contain 5 examples of the genre I will be writing in and answers to the questions about my genre from Writing Public Lives page 342, which will help me further analyze my genre.

Chandler, Todd, "Magnifying glass." 10/6/2013 via Flickr. Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic

Originally I wrote this post with the idea that I was going to write an editorial, however I have now decided to write a blog post on a site called The Hairpin, which is a blog for "hip" young moms. For the peer revision process you need to be provided with some examples of my actual chosen genre... so here are a few:

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5 Examples of Editorials About Marijuana (From The New York Times)

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Social Context:

• Where is the genre typically set?

An editorial can appear in a variety of magazines or newspapers.

• What is the subject of the genre?

The subject of the genre can vary. However, it typically addresses a well known controversy or debate that is occurring or that is popularly written about that authors have strong opinions about. 

• Who uses the genre?

Any writer who has original thoughts about a topic can use this genre, however getting your editorial published in a well known publication isn't so simple.

• When and why is the genre used? What purposes does the genre serve for the people who use it?

The genre of editorials is used to introduce a debated issue in the media, whenever a large scale event occurs: the passing of a law, a newly elected official, a protest, etc. It is used to give people knowledge on an issue from a more opinionated perspective than an article, thus readers will be able to formulate their own thoughts on where they stand on the topic. 

Rhetorical Patterns of the Genre:

• What type of content is usually included and excluded?

There typically isn't too much background information on the issue. The authors tend to just get right to the point of their specific argument, because the reader is most likely quite aware of the topic at hand. Editorials include the justifications for why the facts and statistics they include are relevant to the text's overall argument, rather than just randomly including them.

• What rhetorical appeals are used most often? Do you notice any patterns in the appeals to logos, pathos and ethos?

It seems that all appeals to emotion (ethos, pathos, logos) are used within all of the sample texts I have looked at, this enables the author to make it apparent to his or her audience that they are a reliable source and constructer of arguments. The texts generally use statistics to appeal to their readers' logic, and quotes or references from other sources to appeal to readers' emotions. 

• How are the texts organized? Do they generally open in similar ways? What common parts do the samples share?

The texts generally open with a simple assertion of an opinion or claim that sets the tone for the rest of the piece. The editorials generally have short paragraphs with a lot of white space, and typically have a lot of hyperlinks used throughout.

• Do sentences in the genre share a certain style? Are they mostly active, passive, simple, or complex? Is there an abundance or lack of questions, exclamation points or semicolons?

The sentences within the editorials tends to vary between a mix of simple and more complex phrases, however there is a consistently active voice throughout, because the topics addressed within are still very relevant and present in society. Periods and commas are the predominant use of punctuation, but questions are sometimes used to introduce a new argument or make readers further reflect on a particular thought.

• What type of word choice is used in the genre? Do many of the words fit in a particular category of jargon or slang? Is the overall effect of the word choice formal, informal, humorous or academic?

The word choice used within this genre, or at least the examples I have looked at have purposeful and easy to understand and slightly sarcastic. Thus, the word choice has an overall effect of being informal and slightly humorous as it pokes fun at the apposing side of the issue at hand. There are really no words that can be considered jargon or slang.

Analyzing Patterns:

• Who does the genre include and exclude?

The genre includes individuals who want to learn a little bit more about a widely debated controversy, who won't be overly offended by reading a work that openly contains an opinion. The genre excludes individuals who are opposed to reading newspapers or magazines in the social media dominated world that we live in.

• What roles for writers and readers does the genre encourage?

The author is supposed to come off as a trustworthy and intellectual source of information for their readers. On the other hand, readers are supposed to be willing to accept or deny an author's stance on a topic, while still learning about the issue.

• What beliefs or values are assumed or encouraged from users of the genre?

The users of this genre value knowledge and either want to be further educated on an issue they feel strongly about or be persuaded about the topic based on the author's argument. Depending on the topic of the editorial or where it is published the values of the readers of editorials can greatly differ.

• What content does the genre treat as the most valuable? Least valuable? 

Works written in this genre are heavily dependent on the use of outside sources to further the claims that their authors are making within them. Visual displays are probably the least important aspect of this genre. Editorials may contain an image or some sort of graphical display to catch their readers' attention, but what the author says seems more important.

Reflection:

For this step in the deadline I read and commented on Lauren's and Annelise's "Analyzing My Genre" posts. Both of my peers and myself all selected different genres to work with for Project 3. However, this doesn't make me concerned because we all have different goals and visions for our projects. For instance, Annelise selected the listicle to keep her argument brief and concise, while Lauren felt like a typical article was most effective because she didn't want to be too opinionated in her writing. My peers made me more confident in my selection of the editorial genre, because they illustrated to me the idea that as long as you know the conventions of your chosen genre and are happy with that genre for the argument that you are constructing, then you can be successful with any genre that you choose.