Preston 1

Taylor Preston
De Piero
Writing 2
14 October 2015
Look! Up in the Sky!

Comment [1]: Great title, Taypres.

Its a birdits a planeitssuperman! At first glance, differentiating genres can

be just as difficult as determining whats flying in the sky overhead. Knowing what
genre to look into helps readers find information from the most reliable and credible
sources. If they can determine the conventions and rhetorical features of a text, they
will be able to determine the reliability of it as well. Making this kind of determination is
especially important in topics like politics, because readers turn to a multitude of

Comment [2]: Nice way to transition into your topic.

different sources for knowledge about the people who could potentially run our
country. I analyzed three different online articles about Bernie Sanders, and was able
to determine the credibility of each.
The first source was an article from The Onion. The title, Tanned, Exquisitely
Coiffed Bernie Sanders Tells Supporters Corporations Actually Have a Lot to Offer is
very satirical and attention-grabbing. The overall tone, by extension, is satirical as well.
The author uses sarcasm and irony on many occasions throughout the piece. For
example, Sanders says, And when you think about it, these companies arent just
some faceless entities theyre our neighbors, our family members, and our friends, all
working together to make America the truly great nation it is. However, the author of
the article points out Sanders Bulgari watch and his Gulfstream jet, both manufactured

Comment [3]: I need more of a specific, driving thesis

statement, Taypres. What, exactly, are you going to be
arguing here? Where's the tension, and where do you
stand? And what specific points are you going to use
to make that case? What about the conventions within
this genre will you be emphasizing? Also: do you think
itd help your reader (technically, me) to lay out which
specific sources youll be using to make your case?
Comment [4]: When I see thiseven before I start
readingI think, Ahhhhhhh! Attack of the page-long
paragraph!
See if you like this metaphor:

Pretend your whole paper is a big, juicy steak. Do you
want your reader to enjoy that steak in easy-to-chew,
digestable bites? Or do you want them to start
gnawing away at whole thing in one piece (think:
zombie).

Paragraphs are like those bites. Give your reader
your argument in little, digestable, one-idea-at-a-time
bits.

Readers need to be able to see the different
parts/pieces/bites of the argument that theyre chewing
on.

Preston 2
by overseas corporations. The fact that Sanders is giving a speech about American
corporations while sporting goods made by corporations that arent fully American is

Comment [5]: "For example's" are almost always a

good idea. Nice job, and nice follow-up analysis to
help me understand what it all means.

ironic. The tone is the most important for a reader to understand in this particular
article. Because the authors tone is sarcastic, the reader can assume this is not the
most reliable source of information regarding Sanders as a presidential candidate. The
article includes correct capitalization, spelling, and punctuation. Also adding to the
formality is the use of high vocabulary the author describes Sanders as impeccably
coiffed in the first sentence. Formality is an important aspect of this article as well,
because adds to the irony. The article includes a picture of Bernie Sanders looking, as
one might expect from the title, extremely tan. The intended audience of this article is
adults, because only people over eighteen can vote in the election, and the satirical
nature of the piece would most likely not be understood by a younger audience. The
purpose is to make the reader laugh by using real world examples to create humorous
situations, as Dirk says in Navigating Genres. The story included a date of publication,
but not an author. Not stating the author of this source makes it less credible as well,
because people tend to trust certain reporters and columnists that they are familiar
with.
The next article, titled Give 'Em Hell, Bernie, was from Rolling Stone. The author
and date of publication are displayed above the title at the top of the page. The title
sets the tone, which is informal and conversational. The author explains, at the
beginning of the article, that he has personal experience with Sanders and even
shadowed him a few years back. He also includes an anecdote about the first time he

Comment [6]: This topic sentence doesn't really

enhance or extend your argument in any way -- there's
no *"what about"* this particular article that'll help me
follow your thought process more purposefully.

Preston 3
was sold on Bernie as a politician. He offers his own perspective on the politician
throughout, and shows that he is clearly a fan of Sanders. This story contains much
bias, which makes it an unreliable source. Adding to the informal and conversational

Comment [7]: I need you to convince me of this more,

Taypres. I'm not *seeing* it yet.

tone is the writers diction. For example, he uses the word saltiness to describe
Sanders reasons for entering the 2016 presidential race. It is clear that the authors
intended audience is young adults who are planning to vote or are interested in
politics. If young people recognize this authors use of slang, they may feel that this
source is a more reliable one. The purpose of this article is to prove to the reader that
Bernies entrance into the 2016 presidential race is a great thing. A picture of
Sanders dressed in nice clothing and sporting a serious face accompanies the article.
This picture reinforces the purpose by showing that Bernies appearance already
resembles that of a president.
An article from the Huffington Post was the last source I analyzed. It was titled
Bernie Sanders: What's Wrong with America Looking More Like Scandinavia? The
article summarizes Sanders latest interview with ABCs This Week. In it, he says he
wants America to look more like Scandinavia in that they have more income and more
wealth equality. The tone of this article is both formal and informative. The author

Comment [8]: Taypres, Im wondering if your paper

would benefit from re-structuring the organization.
Instead of
-Source #1
-Source #2
-Source #3

Could your paper/argument unfold a more
integrated/interwoven way if you did something like:

-Idea #1 (and then incorporate sources 1, 2, 3)
-Idea #2 (and then incorporate sources 1, 2, 3)
-Idea #3 (and then incorporate sources 1, 2, 3)?

does not offer his opinions or perspective on the issue he merely presents facts,
which is important in keeping the article strictly informative and therefore unbiased.
This aids in establishing the article as a credible source. Correct spelling, grammar,
and punctuation help the writer achieve formality, which in this case makes the article
seem even more reliable. The author and the date of publication are given, along with a

Comment [9]: Are you kinda/sorta saying that tone and

style contribute to a writer's credibility? If so, you might
want to consider weaving that into your main argument
more explicitly.

Preston 4
video of Bernies interview. This video is yet another big clue to the reliability of this
source. Not only does the reader get a summary, but they get to hear the information
from the candidate himself. The intended audience of this piece is anyone who is old
enough to vote and who is interested in politics and the upcoming election. The
purpose is to inform readers about the politicians stance on democratic socialism.
In my examination of each of these sources, I found that they all share similar
conventions. Most of these similarities are in relation to the organization and structure
of the articles. At the top of each articles webpage was a header that stated the name
of the publisher. These headers help the reader to determine the credibility of the
source, because people are most likely to trust articles from popular news sites. Two
out of the three different sources had a comment section at the bottom of the page.
These comment sections allow readers to debate and discuss the information
presented in the articles. Other peoples opinions can help a reader determine a
sources reliability as well. Links that allow readers to share an article on various social
media are another convention of this genre. These links are beneficial to the publishers
because articles get more publicity if they are shared on readers Twitters and
Facebook pages. Like the comments, they also give the reader an idea of other
peoples feelings on the issue. The format of the webpage is another crucial
convention. The article, and website itself, has to be presentable to be believable. It
wouldnt seem like a reliable source, if for example, links were broken and there were
no pictures. The last consistency in these three articles was the use of quotes in each
one. Quotes from Sanders himself, in this particular case, make the stories seem all the

Comment [10]: Worth bringing any specific details

about this into the paper? Commenting boards are
really interesting...

Preston 5
more credible.
The articles are dissimilar in that they each have a different tone and purpose. The
Huffington Post article is formal and attempts to inform the reader without any bias. It
can easily be recognized as the most reliable source of the three. The Rolling Stone
article is conversational and friendly and aims to sway the reader in favor of Bernie.
The article from The Onion is satirical and depicts Bernie in a somewhat negative light.
The main goal is not to inform, but to make the reader laugh. The length also differs
from article to article. The story from The Onion is only one paragraph long. The other
two are multiple paragraphs long, with the Huffington Post being the longest. There
seems to be a relationship between length and credibility the more information
presented, the more reliable the source.
Genre is an important concept to understand, especially as a reader. In
Navigating Genres, Dirks explains that knowing what a genre is used for can help
people accomplish goals. Online articles are a textual genre that update and inform
people about what is going on in the world. Knowing how to define genres allows
people to find the correct information from the most reliable sources.

Comment [11]: Didn't you cover this a bit already? I'm

a little bit confused about the overall
structure/organization of your paper.

Why did you move from source 1, 2, 3, then similarities,
then differences? Any reason?

Works Cited

Bendery, Jennifer. "Bernie Sanders: What's Wrong With America Looking More Like
Scandinavia?" Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, Inc., 03 May 2015. Web. 9
Oct. 2015.

Dirk, Kerry. Navigating Genres. Writing Spaces: Readings on Writing. Vol. 1. West
Lafayette, IN: Parlor, 2010. N. pag. Print.\

Taibbi, Matt. "Give 'Em Hell, Bernie." Rolling Stone. Rolling Stone, 29 Apr. 2015. Web.
9 Oct. 2015.

"Tanned, Exquisitely Coiffed Bernie Sanders Tells Supporters Corporations Actually
Have A Lot To Offer." The Onion. Onion Inc., 05 June 2015. Web. 10 Oct. 2015.


Rubric

Did Not Meet
Expectations

Exceeded
Expectations

Thesis Statement

Use of Textual Evidence

from Genres

Use of Course Readings

Analysis

Organization/Structure
Attention to
Genre/Conventions and
Rhetorical Factors

Sentence-level Clarity,
Mechanics, Flow

Other Comments

Met Expectations

Taypres,

I think that this paper has a ton of potential, and with just a little
more revising, Id bet some serious $$$ that youll get there.

Check out my comments and please use them as way to expand
your paper in terms of finding more textual examples/support
and also perhaps as a way to re-think the organization of this
piece.

Nice job. Keep up the hard work.

Z
8/10