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Piper Harris
De Piero
Writing 2
13 March 2016
Pasta Party
I was sitting in my friends living room watching Food Network when it came to me. The
idea slapped me in the face like a sticky noodle that has yet to be buttered. After an hour of
watching Guy Fieri make delectable food on TV, I decided my first writing project would be
based on something I am truly passionate about and enjoy pasta. With that burst of inspiration,
I grabbed my laptop and hunted for recipes. After a long search through the internet, I decided on
Animals Punk Pink Pasta from Disney Family, Penne with Vodka Sauce from the Food
Network, and Mushroom and Shallot Spaghetti with Crispy Prosciutto by Rachael Ray. I chose
these three recipes because despite the fact that they are all of the same genre, they employ
conventions and strategies in entirely different ways. Although the three sources all present
recipes for pasta, they are all aimed at different audiences, ranging from children to experienced
chefs, and therefore employ different uses of the three rhetorical appeals ethos, logos, and
pathos and also use the conventions of a recipe differently, specifically with the type of
cooking language used and how the instructions are presented.
Although all three of the sources are all of the Recipe genre, they addressed entirely
different audiences children, adults without much culinary skill, and experienced cooks
causing them to use the three appeals in very different ways. Pathos is an appeal to emotion,
ethos refers to the credibility of the author, and logos is presenting the facts of the matter
(Carroll 52-54). Despite the fact that the three different recipes all serve the same purpose of

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providing steps for making a pasta dish, they must employ specific strategies for the audience
that they are addressing to best achieve their goal of teaching someone how to cook a pasta dish.
After all, everything you write is influenced by what you know about an audiences
expectations (Losh 7).
Because the audience of the Disney recipe is children, the authors must appeal to them
through emotional factors, as that is what children best respond to. Because children are so
young, they are best persuaded by things that seem exciting and fun. The first strategy the
authors employ to appeal to their very young audience is pathos through the title. The title
Animals Punk Pink Pasta includes a popular Muppets character, Animal, and is playful, thus
appealing to the younger age group. This alone draws on a childs excitement and could make
them say I wanna make Animals pasta! In addition, Disney uses pathos by making the activity
seem more fun and interesting to children by creating Animals face in the dish (Animals).
Using a character that children love evokes an emotional response and draws children into the
activity (Carroll 53). What kid doesnt want to make Animals face out of pasta? The Food
Network recipe, on the other hand, addresses an audience that is a little more mature.
The recipe Penne with Vodka Sauce from the Food Network is aimed at people who are
not too experienced with cooking, and are expecting something quick, easy, and tasty therefore,
the authors try to employ a strategy that will prove the recipe meets the audiences criterion logos. An audience that doesnt know much about the matter needs to be convinced with
evidence that they should use that recipe, because they have nothing else to base their opinion
on. Thus, the Food Network proves the quality of its recipes through actual reviews and stars,
which are ratings given to the recipe by every day users, just like the reader (Network). The
reviews relate to the audience well because they are from people just like the reader. This use of

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ratings establishes the recipes credibility and persuades the audience to use the recipe through
actual reviews from other people, unlike the Disney recipe, which lures its audience in through
superficial factors. An older audience needs to be persuaded by more facts, whereas a younger
audience is lured in more by excitement. Contrasted to both of those recipes, the Rachael Ray
recipe addresses a much more advanced audience, and therefore must fit the situation (Dirk
259) and use a different appeal for its specific audience.
The recipe from Rachael Ray is aimed towards an audience that is extremely experienced
with cooking, and therefore uses ethos to prove to the readers that the recipe is complex,
advanced, and meets their high standards. Ethos might need to be used with such an audience
because since they know a lot about cooking, they need to see that the author does, too. To prove
her legitimacy in the culinary world, Rachel Ray includes advanced cooking terms such as
deglaze and al dente, to appeal to the audiences culinary skills and also to uphold the
Rachael Rays gourmet status (Ray). Only people who are experienced with cooking would be
able to employ such words, so Ray is showing the readers that she knows her stuff, so they
should read her recipe. This appeal is also strengthened through ethos simply because Rachael
Ray is a well-known, credible chef people believe that her recipes will be professional and
fancy. In other words, people feel that a recipe from Rachael Ray will meet their expectations
because she is a trained, gourmet chef, so the recipe builds credibility just through Rays
reputation.
The three sources have many typical conventions of a recipe, but there are also distinct
differences in how those conventions are used because of the audience, such as the type of
cooking language used. Essentially, the conventions of recipes are features that provide a
recognizable structure for a genre and prevent works of that genre from being too different from

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each other which results eventually in lack of meaning (Dirk 259). Although each recipe had to
implement language related to cooking, the word choice depended entirely on the audience being
addressed. For the Disney recipe, the language had to be kid friendly; thus, they kept their
phrases simple, such as Strain the beets and let cool (Animal). Using such language is
necessary for a young audience, so that they will be able to easily follow along. The Food
Network recipe addresses an older, but not much more advanced audience, than the Disney
recipe the Food Network recipe therefore uses longer sentences, such as Add the garlic and
red pepper flakes and cook, stirring 30 seconds (Network), while still retaining the basic
cooking language that inexperienced readers will understand. On the complete opposite end of
the spectrum, the Rachael Ray recipe addresses an experienced audience, and employs more
complex cooking language. For example, an except from Rays recipe is Working with a few
pieces at a time, crisp hamBreak ham into pieces or slice into thin strips; reserve (Ray). If this
type of language were used in the Disney or Food Network recipe, readers might be lost.
However, it is appropriate for Rachael Rays audience, showing how conventions are heavily
influenced by the audience.
Another convention of recipes that are used within all three sources but differ due to the
audience is the way that the directions for cooking are presented. Because the Disney recipe has
to adhere to children, it uses extremely clear, short numbered steps, such as 6. Add salt and
pepper to taste and 9. Place the pasta in the center of the plate (Animal). The steps for
cooking convention of a recipes is used in this source, but is modified for children, so that they
can follow along and not get confused. Some steps are accompanied by pictures too, so that the
children can have an even easier time following the recipe (Animals). This convention must
be made extremely simple when made for children, or else they wont understand how to do it.

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On the other hand, for both the Food Network and Rachel Ray recipe, the directions were written
in paragraph form rather than numbered steps. This kind of formatting would seem
overwhelming for children, but it is appropriate to employ the convention in such a way when
addressing adults. Thus, directions are a key convention of a recipe, but the way this convention
is implemented differs greatly from audience to audience.
Knowing how to use and navigate through genres effectively will help one elicit a desired
response from the audience and better achieve their goals. Understanding genre is important
when trying to bring about a certain response because specific choices that writers make result
in specific actions on the part of readers (Dirk 254). That is why it is important for authors to
understand which strategies will work best on a given audience, such as pathos being the best
appeal for children. Knowing the context and expectations of a genre are key in getting a point
across effectively and provoking a certain reaction. Genres can be formed by using their surfacelevel conventions, but they must be tailored depending on the situation and audience in order to
make the biggest impact. Some things are appropriate when addressing one audience, but not
when addressing another; like how using words like deglaze wouldnt make sense for little
kids, but is a good word to use towards experienced cooks. The three recipes I analyzed were all
of the same genre, but still differed greatly from each other because of the situation and
audience. Thus, it is crucial to recognize and to determine appropriate responses to different
situations that is, knowing what particular genre is called for in a situation (Dirk 259).

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Works Cited
"Animal's Punk Pink Pasta." Disney Family. Disney Lifestyle, n.d. Web. 20 Jan. 2016.
Carroll, Laura Bolin. "Backpacks vs. Briefcases: Steps Toward Rhetorical Analysis." Writing
Spaces: Readings on Writing. Vol. 1. N.p.: n.p., n.d. N. pag. Print.
Dirk, Kerry. "Navigating Genres." Writing Spaces: Readings on Writing. Vol. 1. N.p.: n.p., n.d.
N. pag. Print.
Losh, Elizabeth M., and Jonathan Alexander. "Spaces for Writing." Understanding Rhetoric: A
Graphic Guide to Writing. N.p.: n.p., n.d. N. pag. Print.
"Penne with Vodka Sauce." Food Network Kitchen: Food Network. Television Food Network
G.P., n.d. Web. 20 Jan. 2016.
Ray, Rachael. "Mushroom and Shallot Spaghetti with Crispy Prosciutto." Rachael Ray. N.p., 23
July 2015. Web. 20 Jan. 2016.