Genre Analysis Outline Assignment Sheet

Rhetoric and Writing Studies 1302

Carefully and closely read the entirety of the Genre Analysis
assignment guidelines in your Student Guide to Undergraduate
Rhetoric and Writing Studies. Make sure you understand the
assignment and its deliverables. When conducting each step of a
particular project it is important you have a bigger picture of the
project in mind.
This particular assignment activity the Genre Analysis Outline is
meant to be a first step, or draft, in organizing your Genre Analysis. To
receive full credit for this assignment, you must follow all of the
prompts below when composing your outline.
Remember that an effective rhetorical analysis of any text is not firstly
about what the text says, but rather more specifically about how and
why the text is composed, structured, and delivered the way it is. As
always in academic writing, the effectiveness of your text will depend
on the use of specific, supporting details culled from the source texts
to support your analysis.
Part One
Write down the two genres you have chosen (include titles, who or
where they come from, and what genres they are), and answer the
questions that follow:
Genre 1: Iconography
The Bullying Experiment
Genre 2: Typography
Are Schools doing enough to stop bullying?
1. What is your topic of inquiry?
Bullying has become a reoccurring topic in shows, movies,
newscasts, webcasts, etc. it is all over the place. The focus has been
on the victim, the bully but now it needs to be on the educational
system. How effective are these anti bullying campaign schools take
part in when it comes to actually solving the problem. My main focus
will be on the teachers point of view and the students. How do
teachers feel about all the anti bullying campaigns, do they think it is
helping at all. The same questions will be asked to students as well,
along with that, do they feel safe enough within their school
environments or is there room for improvement.
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2. Why did you select these two specific genres?

The two genres are what feed the public the most in todays
world. Everything is technology based, if you need answers on a
specific topic, there is Google and in seconds you will have several
hundred articles, sites, videos, documents, etc. talking all about that
one subject. Personally, I feel the public draws more toward an
iconography genre a little more than typography genre mainly because
of visuals. People want to see what they are reading about and what
they are hearing about, that is what draws in their attention. However,
both have their own effective way of appealing to the public eye.
3. How does each genre communicate about your topic of inquiry?
An iconography genre appeals more to the pathos of the
audience; it can evoke a lot of emotion and persuade the audience to
react in a specific way. Along with this, it gives off information in a
quicker fashion and one that people are willing to it through. A
typography genre on the other hand can give off more factual and
detailed information that can help the audience comprehend more of
the topic they are reading about.
Part Two
Answer each of the following prompts for both genres as a way of
organizing the content of your Genre Analysis assignment.
Audience and Purpose
1. Who is/are the intended audience(s) and discourse
community(ies)?
The intended audience for a video, webcast, poster, or any form of
an iconography genre is the general public. It can relate to anyone
who bothers to give the advertisement an attention. There is not
specific age group or gender; their audience can really be anyone
who is searching for that type of genre.
2. What does the audience already know and what do they want to
know?
The audience may or may not know anything about what they
are seeing. Because people are attracted to an iconography genre, it
depends on whether they are searching through that genre or if the
genre is reaching out to them.
3. How much time will the audience spend with each genre?
It really does depend on two things, how the genre is advertised
and the seriousness of the situation. For instance, if a student
committed suicide and posted it on the web, as many children have,
people may take more action in finding out all the details of the story.
But if it is presented in an article or opinion piece, people may only
read that one piece of information and move on to the next story. In
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this case, the audience has adapted so much to online activity and
seeing visuals that a video may have more of an impact and take up
more of the persons time investigating the situation.
4. What was the purpose (inform, persuade, and/or entertain)?
The purpose of this genre can each of these categories
depending on what is being discussed. Most of the time it can be a
mixture of two, it can be informative and persuasive, entertaining and
informative or persuasive and entertaining.
5. How formal/informal is the language?
In this type of genre, the language can vary depending on the
subject. If it is newscast, it will most likely be formal but for a YouTube
video, it can more or less be informal. The experiment was used on
real people who had no idea that the bullying played out in front of
them was all an act. Therefore the language was informal.
6. What specialized vocabulary is used?
The vocabulary can vary, through a webcast, video or song,
because it is done verbally, there is no real reason to be wordy as a
document would be. It can be more direct with less detail and more
information. For pictures and or some type of poster, there is limited
wording, again because it can give direct information with little to none
wording.
7. What other language features do you notice (text, type, font, color,
visuals, etc)?
With a picture attempting to convey a message, the font will
usually be big and in a color that is vibrant such as red or yellow. The
message would be spoken through quick and short messages. If it is a
video and verbal message, the information will be given quicker, and
depending on the topic in a more dramatic and detailed form.
Rhetorical Issues: Ethos, Pathos, Logos
1. How does this genre establish (or attempt to establish) its credibility
with the audience?
With an iconography genre, there is always a typography genre
that came before it. Any video, webcast, interview, etc. there is an
article that goes more into debt on that topic. Its credibility is linked by
interviews, studies and or experiments.
2. What emotions is the genre attempting to evoke from its audience?
Visuals tend to attract the eye more than a written text and it
gives information faster than sitting down and reading a six paged
document. It is easier to evoke any type of emotion from their
audience if they can hear and see a person discussing a certain issue.
The reason being is, however that person is carrying out their
emotions, the audience will automatically feed off of that and react in
their natural way.

3. What types of evidence are used to support claims? Is it

valid/reliable? If there is no evidence, what is used to help support the
information presented?
Many times, there is a document, interview, statement, diary or
study that is written in order to back up the evidence being shared.
The information may not always be valid, there are documents and
articles that give off unreliable information but I think that comes with
any genre.
Structure and Delivery
1. How is the information organized to covey its message?
It really depends on the message being broadcast. A picture may
require the audience to read in between the lines in order to get the
message; it may not always be direct. A video, usually
2. Are there limitations placed on the information because of the
genre? Does it have more freedom to express what it needs to because
of the genre?
Many times there can be invalid information within the document
or an opinion piece and be in the form of an article. Along with this,
you cant always trust the internet to tell the full truth or have factual
evidence unless it is a diary or interview.
3. How does the structure facilitate its purpose?
Videos and pictures can give off information quicker and to a
wider spectrum of people. Through advertisement, people are more
likely to click on a picture or video link for information than one
connecting to a document or article. However, this is not to say that
some evidence or information may be missing or not stated.
2nd Genre
Part Two
Answer each of the following prompts for both genres as a way of
organizing the content of your Genre Analysis assignment.
Audience and Purpose
1. Who is/are the intended audience(s) and discourse community(ies)?
The intended audience was the general public but some focus is
placed on the education system of the said high school.
2. What does the audience already know and what do they want to
know?
Usually when a student or personal in general is looking through
the typography genre, they already know a gist of what they are
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searching for and they are now looking for correction, citation or a
reliable source to but evidence to their argument or research.
3. How much time will the audience spend with each genre?
In a typography genre, it just depends on the person and the
issue at hand. If the issue has nothing to do with that person and it has
no real personal effect on that person, they not much time will be
spent their. If the person can relate or sees that the topic is an
important matter, then there will be those who spend an endless
amount of time dabbling through this genre.
4. What was the purpose (inform, persuade, and/or entertain)?
The main purpose of this genre is to inform and persuade.
5. How formal/informal is the language?
Many times this genre uses a formal style of language but in
some cases it can be informal, for instance in a diary or opinion piece.
6. What specialized vocabulary is used?
Because a typography genre is all about written sources, they
will be a formal style of writing. The document will fit to the issue, if it
is criminal justice the vocabulary will be fit to the legal system, if it is
the education system then a different vocabulary will be shown.
Whatever it may be, the document will or should fit to that specific
category.
7. What other language features do you notice (text, type, font, color,
visuals, etc)?
In a typography genre, there is more text than visuals. Even in a
magazine or website, there is more information that needs to be read
than being seen in a video or picture.
Rhetorical Issues: Ethos, Pathos, Logos
1. How does this genre establish (or attempt to establish) its credibility
with the audience?
The genre establishes its credibility with the audience by stated
evidence, information and all details needed. For instance, with being
an article about how the school reacted to this students suicide, it
listed everything the administration must follow in order to be
accountable for their students.
2. What emotions is the genre attempting to evoke from its audience?
With any subject a typography genre wants to evoke an
awareness form their audience. With listing facts, opinions, stories
testimonies, whatever it may be, they want their audience to be aware
of what is going on around them and informed about that specific
issue.
3. What types of evidence are used to support claims? Is it
valid/reliable? If there is no evidence, what is used to help support the
information presented?

There can be both valid and reliable sources, usually any

document comes with both and sometimes its difficult see a difference
between the two but both do exist. There is always evidence behind a
document, whether it is a lot or a little there is always a source that
can validate the information at hand. Evidence to support these claims
can be studies, experiments, interviews, etc.
Structure and Delivery
1. How is the information organized to covey its message?
Factual evidence must be seen throughout the text, people will
not waste time flipping through a document or study if there is not a
purpose and evidence to support that purpose.
2. Are there limitations placed on the information because of the
genre? Does it have more freedom to express what it needs to because
of the genre?
I think the main limitation it may have is keeping credibility as far
as stating the correct facts and information. Essential when writing any
type of article, opinion piece, report, etc. the writer is accountable for
what they say and how it will come off to their audience. Another
limitation it may have is how the audience will perceive the message.
When writing any piece, there is no guarantee that the audience will
receive he message they way the writer intended it to be taken. There
is more room to write in detail information however, only some of their
audience my take the time to sit and read an article more than three
pages long.
3. How does the structure facilitate its purpose?
It provides the public with facts and detail that can be seen
repeatedly when searching upon this subject. It also gives freedom for
the document to be edited should there be an error in information, and
a reference for people who want to use it as a reliable source. In some
cases, its better to have a written document rather than someone
speaking about the issue because there is more detailed information
that can be cited.