Analyzing My Genre

To help decide how to evaluate my project, I'm going to provide a more extensive background on the genre that I've picked, which is op-ed.  First off, here are some examples of my genre:

Example 1 "Is Eastern Europe Really More Racist Than the West?" (NY Times)
Example 2 "Thinks religion makes society less violent?  Think again." (LA Times)
Example 3 "The GOP's ridiculous debate demands should be rejected" (Washington Post)
Example 4 "Smarter copyright laws could stop the next VW scandal" (Wired)
Example 5 "Why Asian Americans Don't Vote Republican" (Newsweek)

Ossanna, Lia. "Screenshot of NY Times opinion page." 11/4/15 via
http://www.nytimes.com/pages/opinion/index.html

Social Context

• This genre is typically set in newspapers and magazines.  The examples I have come from LA Times, NY Times, Washington Post, Wired, and Newsweek.  Op-ed sections are more common in newspapers.
• Op-eds can cover just about any topic.  Usually opinion pieces stem from an event that creates controversy or has multiple opinions and views to it.  These events are generally popular in the news, and generate passionate dialogue, some of which is expressed through op-eds.
• Op-eds are written by people who are not affiliated with the magazine or newspaper publishing them.  They are guest writers, and usually knowledgeable about the topic.  The examples I have come from prestigious and well-known newspapers and magazines, so the people writing the guests opinions are generally professors at distinguished universities.
• This genre is used to promote a certain viewpoint about an issue.  All of the examples I have are a reaction to an event or series of events.  The Newsweek op-ed attempts to describe why a trend in voting is occurring; some op-eds give opinions on why something is happening, while others debate the pros or cons of a viewpoint, idea, or policy.  These op-eds are used to reach a wide audience and influence the readers of that newspaper/magazine.

Rhetorical Patterns

• Op-eds generally must give some background on the subject, because the readers may not be experts, whereas the authors are more likely to have a wider knowledge of the topic.  This can be done by including direct quotes about the issue from other sources.  Since op-eds are relatively short, they must be deliberate and to the point; everything in the article must clearly have a purpose and serve to persuade the audience.  Some op-ed pieces are focused more on promoting their own ideas than refuting opposing ones, so thus leave out details about conflicting views or explanations.
• The types of rhetorical strategies used depends on the particular op-ed itself.  However, I did notice in my examples that pathos and logos seemed to be more prominent than ethos.  In the Newsweek op-ed, the author uses graphs and statistics to show how Asian Americans are becoming increasingly Democratic, which is a logos appeal.  The New York Times article opens with a powerful image of innocent refugees who are blocked from seeking shelter in Europe, an appeal to pathos.
• Op-eds generally have striking titles to grab the attention of readers.  The LA Times headline, "Think religion makes society less violent?  Think again" at once presents a very strong and controversial opinion.  Personally, this intrigued me, which is why I used it as an example.  The Washington Post headline is another example of inflammatory and charged language: "The GOP's ridiculous debate demands should be rejected."  The titles have to convey the message of the opinion in just one line.  Op-eds generally then begin with an opening powerful image, or some more background information on the issue.  After a distilled explanation is given, the author moves into giving his/her opinions.  The conclusion then leaves the reader thinking about the opinion given, such as with the NY Times article that stresses "demonizing Eastern Europeans" is not the solution.
• Like all good writing, op-eds must have varying sentence structures and types to keep the article interesting.  Some op-eds do use questions more than other genres, because questions engage the reader by asking them directly to think about certain things.  This is the main distinguishing trait in terms of sentence structure.
• Op-eds are written with a slightly informal tone.  The authors talk more directly to the reader.  The passionate tone of op-eds make them naturally more riveting and sometimes inflammatory.

Rhetorical Patterns and Social Context

• The genre includes people who read that newspaper or magazine, and who is interested in the topics those op-ed pieces explore.  This genre excludes people who don't read newspapers/magazines, or people who are offended or disagree with the opinion given.
• This genre encourages both the reader and writer to be extremely engaged in the text and the issue explored.  Writers want their readers to rethink an issue, or reflect upon a viewpoint or idea.  Writers strive not just to enlighten their readers and bring about awareness, but also to impose upon them a clear opinion.
• The values and beliefs presented in opinion pieces vary drastically depending on the piece and the author.  In general though, it is assumed that the reader is engaged and interested in the topic, and probably has beliefs similar to those presented in the article.  I read editorial pieces because I am interested in the topic, and usually because I agree with the position and want to see how by reading this article, I can strengthen my own argument about that topic.
• Editorials are concerned with controversial content.  What that content is specifically varies greatly.  Usually editorials revolve around current news and issues, due to where they are published.  Editorials are concerned with issues that already have somewhat of an established audience with different viewpoints.

REFLECTION

I read Olivia and Joki's blog posts.  Joki is doing a text-based argument, similar to me, but Olivia had the creative idea of doing a cooking video.  As I saw when many people shared in class today, lots of us want to take the chance to move away from making our arguments through text, and instead find another media.  It's going to be really cool, the kind of diversity that this project produces.  I however, am just sticking with text, because I enjoy writing and find it to be one of my strengths.  Even though it would be fun to try and make a video or something, I think I would have no idea where to start or how to create what I wanted to, and it would turn into way too much work.