Blog Post #1

What is genre? "A genre is a composition's kind, category, or sort." (BBG, pg. 5) This means that every type of work can be sorted and categorized based on its interaction with preset entities. From the article written by Lloyd Bitzer, we can see that each rhetorical 'discourse' or type of language used, is based almost entirely on a given situation. For each genre, a type of language or sense of rhetoric is predisposed to the author and most of the time, people tend to follow the given sense of word choice. However, Bitzer hints that there are a multitude of ways in which a genre can be deciphered by a reader or an audience, therefore, it is understandable and widely accepted when writers utilize a unique style.

Diction is everything, right? Well although that is what many believe, that is not always true. For example, in the last article, composed by Kerry Dirk, we see exactly what rhetoric can and cannot do. Her article would be categorized as an essay; however, her word choice would give you another idea. Dirk uses humor to drive her points home and that is what made her article so enjoyable, at least for me. Furthermore, the last composition that I completed falls under the genre of “Journal Entries”. Being that I keep a daily journal, most often my entries differ entirely on the mood of the day and situation I am in while composing the entry. Most recently, I talk about beginning a new semester and some events that are planned for Spring 2017; it was quite an uplifting entry and most likely one that I will revisit throughout the rest of this school year.

--- Both pictures could be categorized as "sunset" photographs, but one includes the physical sun and the other does not. This is a parallel to the definition of genre because two seemingly contrasting works can and are featured in the same genre.

#genre #rhetoric #discourse #language