Genre Analysis Essay

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For your first writing assignment,

you have been asked
to write a genre analysis.

The basic assignment
asks you to choose a topic,

and then select two different genres
that discuss that topic.

What you want to analyze
is how the change in genre

affects how the discourse is shaped.

From the assignment sheet,

there are four sections
you will need to deal with:

audience and purpose,

rhetorical issues,

structure,

and style and language.

You will need to identify

who created these genres
and where they come from.

So make sure to provide
titles and authors and creators' names

when applicable.

In order to understand this better,

the following information

can help you with your analysis
of your own genres.

For our purposes here,

we will use the topic of immigration

and show you
how to be thinking about the analysis

using the genre of a street sign.

Some of the key analysis points
to consider

is that this is the genre
that has to shape its information

based on the size of the sign

and the fact that drivers
are passing by it very quickly.

Let's start though
with audience and purpose.

The audience
will already view this genre

with prior knowledge.

They will be familiar
with street-crossing signs of this nature

from places like school zones.

This genre is intended for two audiences:

American citizens
who are driving

and illegal immigrants
who may be crossing.

There is an assumption
that these immigrants

are Mexican as well.

We can make this kind
of specific distinction

because of the use of language

and who the English text is meant for

and who the Spanish text is meant for.

From this language,

we can even identify
the audience's geographical location.

It wouldn't be found
near the Canadian border, would it?

It will have to be in an area

where the majority of illegal immigrants

are assumed to be Mexican,

so the Southwest
is probably where this would be located.

The purpose
of the communication on the sign

is also twofold:
to inform and persuade

by presenting a warning.

It is informing both audiences
to be aware.

However, the persuasion is different
for each audience.

One is "Be careful.
Illegal immigrants cross here.

You might hit them."

And the other is a warning

that crossing
without appropriate documentation

is illegal.

Now let's look at the rhetorical issues.

This sign has ethos or credibility,

because it's a government-created sign.

So there's authority behind it.

We can even say

that because the material of the sign
is metal

that this goes in authority too

simply because it's meant
to be a permanent, official fixture.

This wouldn't be the same
if it had been made of cardboard.

In terms of pathos,

the emotions evoked
will depend on the audience.

If you are an American driver,

it may be caution or concern.

And actually the same might be said

for those who may be crossing too.

One part of the audience
may even find offense with the sign,

because of the connection of this sign

to the other familiar
animal-crossing signs.

For logos or evidence,

the sign relies on the picture
to convey the danger

of the family crossing.

There can't be much evidence
of what the consequences might be.

The genre just doesn't allow it,

because of the space and time
spent viewing it.

It has to rely
on the audience's prior knowledge

regarding this.

Next, we can consider the structure
of the genre

and its affect on communication.

As noted before,
this genre is limited by space.

It can't have a lot of text

and has to be able
to communicate effectively

based on its use of iconography.

The structure of the sign
also facilitates its message.

It will be an appropriate size

so that the driver
and the person crossing

would be aware of its presence

and also be able
to understand its message.

That's a lot to do and it does it well.

Finally, we have style and language.

There's not a lot of language used,

but what is there is important.

As we noted before,
it helps us to identify the audiences.

Beyond the text though,

we can also analyze the use of colors.

It's a bright color
so that it can be seen at night

and a familiar color, orange,

that symbolizes caution.

The fact that the people in the image
are colored in black

also serves to reiterate
the importance of the message.

We associate the color black
with death.

The use of the color grey
and the word prohibido

is also important.

It is not distracting,
meant to look official,

and perhaps subconsciously,
this will even remind us of jail.

This has been an example

of what kind of analysis you need to do
with this essay.

The difference is
you need a second different genre

to also work with,

and you also need
to start thinking comparatively.

Thank you for listening,
and if you have questions,

don't hesitate to ask your professor.

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