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Sonam Zahrt-Tenzin
Zack De Piero
Writing 2
10, February, 2015
Academic Vs. Non-academic Genres: How Conventions and Rhetoric Effect Audience
Think about President Barak Obama addressing the country about a solemn issue or an
important change in country policy. What would your response be if it was presented as a satire
with a mocking tone? What about if the piece was extremely informal and included slang and
poor grammar? The audience would not take the work seriously, thus preventing it from
effectively serving its purpose. For reasons like this, authors have a big responsibility when
deciding what genre they want to write in. While both effective under the proper context, less
formal, non-academic, genres of writing appeal to a larger audience base than scholarly,
academic genres of writing. In order to demonstrate the differences between non-academic
writing and academic writing, an academic peer reviewed commentary and a nonacademic news
article will be compared and contrasted. In both of these articles, which argue for the legalization
of the schedule 1 drug marijuana, conventions, rhetorical methods, and moves are made by the
authors, to different effect.
While many of the conventions that the two articles conform to are very different, some
are shared. The peer-reviewed article Let it grow--the open market solution to marijuana
control, by Jon Gettman and Michael Kennedy, follows the many conventions of scholarly
writings. The work includes an abstract at the very beginning which serves to give a brief context
and overview of the topic of the article. This convention caters to the academic community as it

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allows readers to efficiently sort through sources or research that contains the desired
information. The article also has bold titles that clearly separate ideas covering a wide array of
arguments and counter-arguments in different socio-economical settings, proving the writing was
well thought out and intensely considered. At the end of the commentary, a sizeable conclusion is
presented. Providing such an in depth conclusion ensures that all the main points in the writing
are reemphasized in one last attempt to convince the audience of the authors stance on the
subject matter. Throughout the text, sources are cited by including a number enclosed in brackets
after a sentences that references outside material, such as when they discuss prior survey data
[27] (Gettman, Kennedy 4). Also, characteristic of a peer-reviewed scholarly article, the writing
has an acknowledgements section and a references section to give credit to the sources used.

The second text, a news article titled The 11 Stupidest Arguments Against Legalizing
Marijuana by Matt Ferner and Nick Wing, shares one main similarity to the academic text,
while adhering overall, to the conventions of its non-academic genre. The main convention in
common with the first text, is that this one is divided into subsections that focus on different
topics. Most everything else, conventionally, is different. For example, the authors are listed at
the top along with a profile picture and a linked twitter account. The inclusion of social media is
an implication that the text is a nonacademic source, as social media is mainly used for personal
entertainment and is not generally a respected academic source of any kind. Similar to
nineteenth-century books on rhetoric [which] often incorporated illustrations and diagrams to
help (Losh, Alexander 10) give meaning to their work, the authors of the news article included
pictures and gif files to augment the ideas in their writing. The pictures, which are over

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dramatized images involving marijuana users, provide a sense of humor that lightens the mood in
a cynical way, while the text itself remains generally serious.
The authors of the both articles make use of rhetorical devices and strategies in order to
interact with their audiences in different ways. The scholarly work is primarily concerned with
taking up a persuasive tone. Throughout the whole article they never reference any personal
pronouns such as I,you, and they. This is a way to keep the topic serious and formal, as the
authors are simply providing persuasive information yet not actually conversing with the
audience. The diction used throughout can be classified as educated, though it isnt as technical
as a scientific paper of similar genre might be, allowing for a wider audience. To make their
argument more convincing, the authors consistently use the fact that in regards to the prohibition
of cannabis there is broad consensus among critics that it has failed (Gettman, Kennedy 2).
The word phrase broad consensus contributes to the persuasive tone by giving the reader a
sense that if this claim is substantiated by a large amount of people, it must have some basis.
The non-academic text uses rhetoric to form a more casual relationship with its audience.
Due to its different genre constraints, it is able to be much less formal and does not need to so
forcefully persuade. Carroll agrees that constraints have a lot to do with how the rhetoric is
presented (Carroll 49). The diction in The 11 Stupidest Arguments Against Legalizing
Marijuana is still educated, yet is much more plain and easy to read. This is because it is aimed
towards the average reader, and there is no need to use advanced words. The informality of the
writing is exemplified in its use of marijuana jargon like pot and weed. The tone is both
informational and informative as expected of a news article. While both articles comment on the
issue of legalizing cannabis, they are held to different standards in regards to the rhetoric and
conventions used. The academic article is very precise and persuasive while adhering strictly to

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conventions, and the nonacademic news article is much less conventional, and simply provides
information on a topic.
In both of the articles, the authors perform writing moves that contribute to a sense of
style, and can influence how effectively the writing serves its purpose. From a structural stand
point of the academic text, the authors included some moves that were still conventional, yet not
as common, such as a keywords section to provide readers with an idea of the terms that will
be used in the writing, and the addition of information, post-conclusion, about the authors
contributions, qualifications and interests.
Rhetorically, the academic article uses subtle moves that significantly contribute to the
purpose of its commentary. This writing is a well-supported argument that aims to persuade the
audience that legalization of marijuana is a beneficial decision. Its purpose is to persuade but,
even if we intellectually agree with something, it is difficult to get us to act unless we are also
persuaded in our hearts (Carroll 53). The following moves made by the authors aim to pull the
reader in and more fully influence their ideas.
One of the first moves is found in the abstract. The authors directly address the readers by
telling them that in the writing they argue that the primary goal of legalization should be the
elimination of the illicit trade in marijuana and that maximizing market participation through
open markets and personal cultivation is the best approach to achieving this goal (Gettman,
Kennedy 1). This makes the purpose very clear and leaves no room for reader interpretation.
Another important move that is made early on is the employment of a rhetorical question.
Asking a question to the audience forces them to become involved in the reading. It allows the
reader to actually consider the topic at hand, before the text asserts an answer. This type of

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question makes the readers feel in power because they are given the illusion of choice, while in
reality the authors are the ones manipulating the flow of ideas and emotion. The response to the
rhetorical question is a whole other move in itself. The writing responds to the question with the
answer is simple (Gettman, Kennedy 2), which appeals to logos. By stating that the answer is
obvious, it makes the reader pay close attention to see whether or not the provided answer
actually makes sense. This move could potentially have a negative impact on a text if the answer
was not at all logical or simple.
The repetition of words, a type of parallelism, is also used effectively throughout this
article. Repeating words with dramatic and polar effect such as simple, control and failed are
likely to be retained by the readers and eventually influence them to support the authors agenda
through evoked emotion. Other moves include the presentation of information logically by
listing with numbers or alphabetic characters, the presentation of an argument or an issue with
regards to the subject and then providing a solution immediately after, and change of pace by
using different sentence lengths and occasional abrupt punctuation.
In the nonacademic text, moves are also made to help achieve the purpose of the article.
The purpose is both to argue the legalization of marijuana, and entertain the audience. The first
move is dividing the information into eleven different subsections as it implied by the title. This
move is effective in an internet text because it gives the reader an end goal. They can confidently
enter the reading knowing that there are eleven items for them to cover before they finish the
piece.
Also important as a move, is noting the tone of the non-scholarly writing. Bunn discusses
the necessity of understanding when you want to use formal language in your writing and when
it would make more sense to be more conversational (Bunn 85). One way that authors

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contributed to a conversational feel in the writing is the inclusion of the words we and were.
This passively includes the audience in the reading. It allows them to feel a small sense of
involvement on the information being presented.
Further amplifying the purpose of entertainment, the authors write occasional sentences
with an informal, sarcastic tone, which serves as comic relief and are usually placed after a
sentence that is somewhat serious in tone. The informal/humorous bits are often found in
between a sentence with dashes on either side, or in parentheses.
Including evidence is necessary to appeal to the audience because providing support to
the claims being made increases the writers credibility. Evidence used in both of these articles,
was mainly quotes and references. Considering the conventions, rhetorical features, moves and
purpose of the writing, the audience of the peer-reviewed Let it grow--the open market solution
to marijuana control article is most likely the educated body of people who have the power to
make legal and economic decisions for the country as well as people who are involved in voting
and who influence the passing of laws. Evidence used in this piece include quotes from other
published academics or notable people like the Executive Director of the Drug Policy Alliance,
information from accredited research, and data from big influential organizations like the DEA.
Based off of these sources it can be inferred that the audience of the peer-reviewed journal
expects clear, well presented and viable evidence to prove the claims being made.
The likely audience for the nonacademic news piece is the general public and more
specifically, internet browsers. The diction being more general suggests that the target audience
is general as well. Compared to Let it grow--the open market solution to marijuana control the
information in the news article lacks formal citing. Instead embedded links to referenced articles
exist. This form of referencing appeals to the web browser because it is convenient. The reader

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no longer has to take the time to find a source. This instant gratification appeals to the audience
as the internet culture has vastly facilitated the rate at which information can be gathered.
The genre of peer-reviewed academic article, is an effective genre to choose when
interested in persuading an audience with conclusive evidence. To maximize the persuasive
nature of this genre it is necessary to conform to the mostly strict conventions. Also it is
important to cater to the intended audience by using a higher level of diction and maintaining a
serious and academic tone throughout the piece.
It is a good idea to make use of the online news article genre when interested in making a
point while still entertaining the audience. It enjoys a more informal relationship with the
audience and has more freedom to include humor and personal style. While it is still necessary to
maintain a level of seriousness, as the text is written for a news company, the audience expects
more variation in conventions than they would in a scholarly article, allowing the author more
room for conventional play.
Nonacademic pieces can accomplish much more when addressing a wide variety
of audiences. As shown, they are allowed to be extremely loose with conventions and can be
significantly less formal allowing them to connect with the audience on a level that is more
personal than the scholarly article genre could have achieved. The identification with the
audience makes the readers more likely to agree with the authors. The less formal nature and
looser conventions can be a downside as much as they can be a benefit depending on the context.
If a very specific topic was and audience was being addressed, it may be less effective to design
the text so that it caters to a wider audience as that may lead to the oversimplification of
information and loss of interest by the intended audience. Academic pieces often target a much
smaller audience group and as such are allowed to become much more specialized

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conventionally and rhetorically. Academic pieces are most useful when targeting a smaller more
specific audience. In an academic writing is acceptable to use technical terms that can, to the
right audience, amplify clarity and improve meaning.
Understanding the conventional differences between genres, like those reviewed in the
academic and the nonacademic pieces, when writing can positively influence the way the
audience receives the information. It is possible to choose a genre that maximizes conventional
and rhetorical potential, allowing the writer to make moves that most effectively achieves the
purpose of the text. While mastering genre use isnt easy, it is a necessary skill to practice in
order to improve writing effectiveness.

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Works Cited
Bunn, Mike. "How To Read Like A Writer." Writing Spaces: Readings on Writing. Vol. 2.
Anderson: Parlor, 2011. 85. Print.
Carroll, Laura Bolin."Backpacks vs. Briefcases: Steps toward Rhetorical Analysis." Writing
Spaces: Readings on Writing. Vol. 1. Anderson: Parlor, 2010. 49, 53. Print.
Ferner, Matt, and Nick Wing. "The 11 Stupidest Arguments Against Legalizing Marijuana."Huff
Post Politics 20 Apr. 2014. Huffington Post. Web. 10 Feb. 2015.
<http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/04/20/stupid-arguments-against-legalizingmarijuana_n_5175880.html>.
Gettman, Jon, and Michael Kennedy. "Let It Growthe Open Market Solution to Marijuana
Control." Harm Reduction Journal 11.1 (2014): 1,2,4. Let It Grow--the Open Market
Solution to Marijuana Control. Bio Med Central, The Open Access Publisher. Web. 10
Feb. 2015. <http://web.b.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail/detail?sid=5c0bf4b4-9164437bafa04a26e10cb126@sessionmgr111&vid=0&hid=125&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3Q
tbGl2ZQ==#d=a9h&
Losh, Elizabeth, and Jonathan Alexander. "Introduction: Spaces For Writing." Understanding
Rhetoric. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2014. 10. Print.