Analyzing My Genre

ClkerFreeVectorImages. "Medicine Pills Bottles Medical Capsules Pharmacy." 2014 via pixabay. CC0 Public Domain.

In this blog post, I will be talking about the type of genre I will be using for project 3 about the debate over stem cell research. I will be writing an article with an audience that is more interested in science and medicine. It will be posted on a site similar to medicaldaily.com. In particular I want this article to appeal to someone who wants to learn more about stem cells but in an easy to read manner. The audience would be younger; more along the line of college students to middle age. This is a site to learn about stem cells in an efficient manner.

5 different examples of articles from this site that I want to mimic are:

• General Anesthesia and the Human Brain: How Going Under May Impact Cognitive Function
• The effect of Stress On Your Entire Body, As Told By This Unique Animation
• The Politics of Stem Cells 
• Tracking India's Deadly Flu Outbreak in Real Time
• Stem Cells finally Deliver, but not on their Original Promise

Social Context

• Where is the genre typically set?

This kind of an article is suppose to appeal to those interested in learning more about medicine and maybe different kinds of medical related diseases or research pertaining to medicine. There is an entire tab related to weird medicine on this website and I can direct this kind of research in that direction. I am not only informing the reader about stem cell, but that they are worth the time and research and the amazing applications of the success of the research. I can also include a video about stem cells and then go into talking about it in an article afterwards and the controversy surrounding the research. This is what "The effect of Stress On Your Entire Body, As Told By This Unique Animation" did when talking about stress and how it really influences what it does to your body physically. I can make a video about stem cells and do little animations and stuff.

• What is the subject of the genre?

The subject of the genre is the argument about stem cells. I am arguing that stem cell research is a good thing and that the research should be promoted by the government in research funds. President Obama opened up research for a select stem cells, but does not leave much room for evolution of stem cells. 

• Who uses the genre? 

This type of genre is for people who want a quick bit of information about a particular topic in more of a user friendly fashion. It is visually appealing and gives the reader enough information so that they can understand what is going on within the article and know what is going on and what the controversy is about or whatever the author is discussing. That is why I think this type of website would be a place that college students interested in science and such would go to to look for information.

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

It is used to know information about a particular thing is a short space. It it portrayed in a quick manner to the audience and seems interesting to read to someone who is interested in the overall topic of what the information is covering. In this case science or medical information. 

Rhetorical Patterns of the Genre

• What type of content is usually included and excluded?

There is usually some type of background information given on the topic. The amount of background information is dependent upon the audience the author is aiming at. If the intended audience is already pretty knowledgable about the scientific topic you are discussing, the background information necessary to give is minimal. The only information really necessary is the more specific part of the topic you are discussing that most applies to your point. 

There is also usually an informative title(apparent in the titles that I selected), an introduction(to tell the reader what the article will more specifically be covering), images that draw the reader in, maybe graphs or visuals that are better depicting your argument, smaller paragraphs that make the article more user friendly, and a conclusion that depicts your point once again. 

In the case of what I am doing, I might do a video in the beginning that better explains what stem cells are and then after the video go into more detail about the research and why it is a good thing. It is a good visual and it will hopefully help the reader understand my argument better. 

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

It seems the articles used logos to show that they know the information that they are arguing. The PBS article showed the history of the stem cells before going into the current debates going on today about stem cell research. They also use pathos with the pictures. This is most apparent in the 2nd PBS article when you see the picture of the man brushing his teeth with same water that people are bathing in. 

It creates sympathy for the people experiencing these struggles and makes people want to reach out and help or have sympathy for those who are enduring these struggles. You not only read the words about the diseases but you see how it is happening. There always seem to be some party that is struggling and the author wants the reader to understand this and be aware this is happening somewhere in the world or here in our own nation.

But they also want you to be away that they know what they are talking about in that they are a reliable source. There are usually links that prove the more scientific points made in the articles. This is especially true in the case of the article talking about the effects of anesthesia on brain development and function. They give links to sources about studies that have been done to prove what the author is saying is backed up by a study. It is up to the reader to interpret how reliable the study is. 

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

The couple of posts on the medical daily website lead the article with a catchy image to draw the reader in. One of these images was actually a video. This not only made the article more interesting but made the topic more understandable since you had visuals to go along with the topic. It showed you more specifically in a lecture like format what stress does to your body. 

They then go into the introduction. The anesthesia article author, Lizette Borreli, starts off with connecting with the audience on a common known fact or myth of anesthesia about counting back from 100. It makes the reader interested in what the rest of the article will really talk about. Many people have been under anesthesia, so knowing more about it is sometimes interesting and a bit scary. 

The body paragraphs are generally the same- not too long and not too short. They don't want to scare away the reader. 

The conclusion is generally the same. They end with the main point they are trying to make. They lead with general information about the topic and then transition into the controversy. All the information given prior leads to the main point, bringing all the facts together in an opinion about the topic. 

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

They vary a bit in style. The article about anesthesia has subheadings and seems to be more in a QRG format. I would not write this much nor use subheadings, but I liked how they transitioned from facts to opinions in the article. The sentences however are much like those in the other articles. They are generally not very long sentences, but include commas and lists within the sentences. They cannot drag on too long because you don't want to take the chance and lose the reader's attention. Not a real big use of semicolons. The sentences are shorter and easy to read and understand. 

• What type of word choice is used? 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 seems to be a mixture of formal and informal language. When trying to relate the reader, it is more informal, but it comes to more of the facts, it seems that the information is more formal and factual base. The language is not too complicated but the facts are stated in a straightforward manner so that nothing is lost in translation. 

Analyze What those Patterns Reveal about the Social Context of the Genre

• Who does the genre include and who does it exclude?

These articles include images, simpler paragraphs, and hyperlinks that give the words more basis. It does not include very complex words or phrases. It talks about the facts in a very straight forward way. There is not much wiggle room for interpretation as to what the authors mean. This means that when it comes down to the author telling their point of view on the issue, there is no dispute about what the author is arguing about. 

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

Some of these articles, it seems like the reader takes the position of the student while the author is the teacher. They are trying to keep their students engaged while teaching them something interesting. One of the authors went as far as including a TEDD talk video of the topic they went on to further talk about. In this case, for my article, I can include a video from another source, or a video of my own making. 

The language is easy enough for someone newer to the topic can understand and follow. It is not always guaranteed on the PBS site that the reader will know about the topic being talked about. But generally, to look at the mind and body section of the site, the reader must have some interest in science and or medicine. 

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

Those who read articles of this kind of nature are assumed to have some interest in science or medicine. If they were not looking for that kind of an article, it probably means that they would not have found the articles I have used for an example. The PBS website's article were under the catagory of mind and body, so unless you were specifically looking for that topic of an article, it means that these articles would not have appeared. Maybe if they are more interested in science they would have a greater chance of supporting the advancement of scientific and medical research.

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

The most valuable content is probably the opinion of the author themselves. In writing such a short work, one has to get their point across in an efficient manner. In doing this, they need to know what their opinion is in the first place.

Reflection

I looked at Samantha's and Chloe's blog posts and I feel that what they said was accurate to the texts they were analyzing and seems to work with what they want to talk about in their project 3's. Reading through Chloe's made me realize even more the importance of the facts that I am bringing to the article and how important they are for the controversy and arguing my point. I can't just have the facts that support my side of the argument, but the facts the opposing side is thinking about as well and be able to prove that my facts are stronger than theirs.