Investigating Genres

Anywhere from politics to gossip, you name it and it has probably been in an online blog or article. People often take the space to rant about their opinion on something, even if they claim otherwise. They seem to be a result of the current happenings or create some bustle on the internet.

11.  The main purpose of quick reference guide (article) is to inform. Now, you may think of informing as factual evidence, but that is not always the case. The author is there to inform you of the situation.

The only difference between the actually story is that the author often puts their own “spin” on the matter. This results in a bias and almost fictional article. Take, for instance, the article about e-cigs. All that was truly needed were the facts. But, as with most articles, the author subtly inserts their opinion in to the article. This often ends up lengthening the article beyond necessity.

However, there are certainly unbiased articles out there. Volkswagen installed sensors in to its car so that It could pass emissions testing. The article explicitly stated this and the evidence surrounding it.

Another purpose of blogs or journals really is to give the author’s opinion on some matter. Let’s take a look at the Starbucks article. Clearly, the author found the whole situation unnecessary. Opinion-orientated articles are really just meant for the audience to see both sides of an event and pick one.

Madhavi, Bindaas. "Gossip" 6/07/2009 via flickr
Creative Commons

22.     The quick reference guide is normally going to be found online. This is where you’ll find articles, blogs, and journals. The places where you’ll find most opinionated posts seem to be on sights such as Vox and other “user-controlled” websites. You’ll often find more factual evidence on the Washington Post, NY Times, etc.

33.     The typical audience for these articles seem to depend on the type of article. The audience for the opinionated ones (Starbucks) seem to be bloggers who like to speak their mind as well. The audience of an article from the guardian appear to be more interested in the facts and current events than gossip.

44.     One characteristic to these journals are that they have a bunch of titles and pictures. They use bold wording to put emphasis on the important things. Articles get a lot of opinions and statements from other people and include it in their post. Some of them include evidence (depending on the article) and often go to discuss it further. They use posts from other people as evidence for their case.

55.     Quick reference guides are sites on the internet to learn information about a current event. Whether that is factual or fictional information is entirely dependent on the article. They attempt to inform more than ramble but the latter seems to be more dominate.
      Reflection: There are certainly a few things that I learned from this process. Perhaps the most important thing is to make sure that I am not too general in what I am saying. For if I am, I leave my discussion up to the reader's interpretation, which can lead to huge misunderstandings. I also need to make sure that I am thorough in my discussion of my idea. I should not stop at answering the surface level question. I need to "dive" in to the idea and make sure it is interpreted how I want it to be. I am pleased with my classmates' work and I see the potential and room for improvement in not only my classmates' work but also in my own. I am excited to see how this semester will sharpen and improve my writing skills. Perhaps the most important thing to remember is to stay focused on the topic and to thoroughly explain my thoughts.
   I commented on Joshua Martin Smith's and Malik Bullock's blogs.