Analyzing My Genre

In this blog post, I will provide 5 examples of my planned genre and then will answer the bulleted questions provided below. 

Hallye Becker, Screenshot from my Computer, November 5th 2015

Social Context

• The genre is typically set in an actual  magazine, or posted through that magazine's website. All of my examples come from smithsonianmag.com specifically. 
• The specific subject is of all my examples are varied, but all pertain to history, archaeology, or art. (Look at examples to see varied ranges of topics)
• People in this genre are generally reporting on new information relating to their subject. They will present their topic usually fairly in-depth, but magazines have limitations on generally how long their articles are. Writers are usually given (xx) amount of pages or words as a requirement that they have to fill. For the Smithsonian, most of them are professional and well respected authors or journalists. 
• This genre is used a source of worldly information for casual and professional readers alike. It informs subscribers to the magazine (aka those who tend to care about these sort of topics) and presents them with news that pertains to the educated world. This includes revelations in science, history, art, travel, and new innovations.  

Rhetorical Patterns

• Most articles tend to stick to the "who, what, when, where, how" sort of questions. Typically, this content is mostly informational. There is little extraneous information, and opinion pieces for magazines such as the Smithsonian are fairly uncommon. Even when opinion pieces do exist, they're very level-headed and fair. 
• It could be argued that all three appeals are used. They need to present information and develop an argument, which means they need to appear credible and professional, but also need to appeal to their audience and create an emotional connection. Sometimes a logical argument serves an piece of news better than an emotional one, and vice versa. By carefully balancing all three appeals, an article can have lasting power with a reader.
• Most articles tend to open with a hook that simultaneously serves to introduce the topic at hand. For example, in Example 2, the article opens with the tale of an exposed CIA intelligence officer. This serves to introduce the article about spy betrayal, while also creating a hook to draw the reader in. The conclusion is not always a perfect wrap up of the information. While it does serve to really accentuate the argument provided, it can also be open-ended, as a lot of the information provided is still open-ended.
• The sentences are usually of varied structure, as good writing is supposed to be. They are professional and have a smooth flow, as magazine articles need to be easily and highly readable. They usually are presenting information, so question marks and exclamation points are typically reserved for extreme emphasis and quotations. 
• Magazine articles have a very wide range of word choice, depending on the magazine. For the more specific genre I have chosen, the word choice is formal because it has a more scientific/academic focus. 

Analyzing Patterns

• The genre is fairly inclusive. Whoever can afford a subscription to the magazine or chooses to read the articles online are part of the genre. For the place I would be writing my article, the audience is typically well educated and well-off financially. They have an interest in the world around them on a scientific level and can filter down to a more specific part of their interests by article. 
• The genre encourages interaction and education between the writers and readers. Writers present the information and ideas, and readers can choose how to react to them in any multitude of ways. Since there isn't a ton of persuasion in fact based articles, it's mostly just presenting facts the audience can choose to interpret. 
• It can be assumed they have an academic or scientific set of interests, and value research and learning new things about the world. 
• Facts, studies, research, and well documented information is likely considered to be the "most valuable" content. Overly opinionated or "tabloid" pieces will be considered less valuable.

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Example 1
Example 2
Example 3
Example 4
Example 5


Reflection

 I read Swati's genre post first. Swati chose a more science-based genre than I, and mine will likely read in a more academic manner. Mine is based off of a magazine article while the hers is more based off a science-article website. While our audiences and genres are different, we do have similar approaches though. We both will use logical appeals, and have an assumption that out audiences will have a pre-existing interest in the genre.
I also read Chloe's post. Chloe is using the New York Times as the reference for her genre, which is similar to me choosing the New York Times. Her genre is really similar to mine then, and we had similar approaches to considering our audience and how we're going to write the paper. I would say that her analysis needs a little more depth, but otherwise everything is well organized and matches up with my own sort of genre.