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Scholarly Article vs. Televised Interview on the Topic of Abortion

Devyn Jenne
University of Texas at El Paso
Veronica Cruz
RWS 1302: Genre Analysis

Introduction
In the United States abortion became federally legal in 1973 in the Supreme Court case of
Roe v. Wade. In this case a Texas resident wanted to discontinue her pregnancy but the state of
Texas outlawed abortion unless the mothers life was at risk due to the pregnancy. In conclusion
the Supreme Court supported Roe and it was stated that abortion was protected by the U.S.
Constitution. However controversy over the issue of abortion is still very prominent. It is
discussed in numerous genres. In a scholarly article by Marianna Karakoulaki titled Abortion
and Womens Rights in the USA key points on both sides of the issue are introduced and then
new legislation on abortion relating to womens rights is discussed, and the 2012 Vice
Presidential debate on NBC news covers how religion influences their opinion on abortion.
These two genres and their differences on how the topic of abortion is discussed will be the main
topic of this paper.
Audience and Purpose
Abortion and Womens Rights in the USA by Marianna Karakoulaki is a scholarly
article published on The Globalized World Post on June 15, 2012.The purpose of this article is to
inform the audience of the background and debate about abortion. Furthermore, it includes recent
legislation affecting the topic. The intended audiences of the scholarly article are college
students, experts on the topic, and even the general population with an interest in the topic. The
language used in this document is sophisticated involving medical and political terminology
which is appropriate for the specific audience. Since the article is nine and a half pages long the
audience will spend approximately 20 minutes reading it and then anywhere from 10-15 minutes
to process what was delivered. After reading the article the audience will not only have

background information about the topic of abortion but they will also have knowledge of recent
legislation pertaining to it.
On the other hand, the 2012 Vice Presidential Debate was a live televised interview with
Joe Biden and Paul Ryan. The debate was aired on October 11, 2012 which was just months after
the publication of the scholarly article. The intended audience of this genre was the voting
population of the United States. This includes anyone registered to vote over the age of 18. The
language used in this genre is political and religious. The debate itself was an hour and half,
however the segment used for this paper is only about seven minutes long. Although this genre is
significantly shorter than the other the audience will probably spend about the same amount of
time processing the information. However this piece only provides the audience with the
interviewees personal stance and no background on the topic.
Although the two pieces are different genres they do share some similarities. Both utilize
a sophisticated vernacular that is not easily understandable by the general population. Both
genres are also political and religiously themed, although the debate is more religious. They also
bring to light important issues and events occurring in todays society. In addition the audiences
overlap to a certain extent. The voter population consists of registered adults over the age of 18
which encompasses college students, advocacy experts on the topic, and members of the general
population.
Rhetorical Issues
The scholarly article by Marianna Karakoulaki contains two of the main rhetorical issues.
The two rhetorical issues present are ethos and logos. Ethos encompasses how credible or
reliable an author is. In this case Karakoulaki is a credible source of information. She has a

Master of the Arts degree in International Relations and a Bachelor of the Arts degree in
Mediterranean Studies with a major in International Relations and Organizations. Some of her
main interests include Gender Studies, Feminist Theory, and USA Politics, which includes the
topic of abortion which is the basis of her scholarly article. Logos uses reason to persuade an
audience to agree or disagree on a certain topic. Karkoulaki uses logos extensively throughout
the article. She uses references to Supreme Court cases and provides additional tables
demonstrating data collected on the topic. However the article does not sufficiently use pathos.
There is no emotional appeal to the document which is excluded based on the genre type since it
primarily based on logic.
Throughout the 2012 Vice Presidential Debate, all three rhetorical appeals are used to
some extent. The candidates must be able to appeal to the audience in order to gain their vote for
the election. This is primarily done through emotional appeal with a small amount of logic added
in for substance. In the specific segment of the debate used for this paper the candidates tried to
relate to the voters by using their religious stance on the topic of abortion. This is done because
many people are passionate about their religion and felt comfortable putting someone in charge
who thinks along the same lines as them. As for ethos, Biden obtained a Bachelor of the Arts
degree in history and political science and a Juris Doctor from the Syracuse University College
of Law. He has also been an advocate for women in many instances. Paul Ryan received a
Bachelor of the Arts degree in economics and political science. Both men are fairly
knowledgeable in the law system of the United States.
The use of the rhetorical issues in these two genres is where significantly differ from one
another. The scholarly article is more professional and factually based whereas the debate is
based on connecting with the intended audience. Since the debate has a time limit the candidates

are forced to use pathos the majority of the time to connect quickly with the audience whereas
the article can be read at the audiences pace thus it relies more on the use of logos and ethos.
Structure and Delivery
Abortion and Womens Rights in the USA falls under the genre of scholarly article.
Scholarly articles are written by experts on a certain topic and are usually long and detailoriented since they are mostly used for research by college students and other experts. They are
usually structured in a way to provide background on the topic being discussed first and then go
into detail about aspects of the topic. For this particular article the author provides background
information on abortion then proceeds to cover the pro-life and pro-choice and concludes with
recent legislation on abortion. The article itself is plain black and white with a few tables
included making it dull and less appealing to the audience. The elements fit the genre well since
the purpose is to inform the audience about a specific topic and not necessarily to entertain.
The 2012 Vice Presidential Debate is under the genre of televised interview. Since this
genre is being aired on television there are time restrictions. These time restrictions limit the
amount of information that can be delivered. In general the main points are addressed and
information such as background is excluded. The debate gives a personal connection since it can
be watched as it occurs and the authors are visible. This allows the audience not only to hear the
information but also look for body language and other indicators. These specific elements are
especially useful for this genre. The goal is to inform and persuade the audience and that is easily
achieved more often when the audience has a visual and more personal connection instead of just
reading a paper.

Conclusion
In the end both genres achieved their purpose just in different ways. Personally the
televised interview was more effective in conveying their message. This is because long, detailoriented papers with very little interest are not particularly appealing to audiences whereas
televised interviews are engaging with plenty visuals and color while still conveying a message.
Genres greatly influence the discourse used. Scholarly articles are professional and academic
which requires the use of an advanced vocabulary not understood by all. Televised interviews are
made for the general population therefore using a more universal vocabulary and catching the
attention of the audience. All genres are different and require different discourse to be used in
order for the intended audience to understand the information being provided. Therefore
knowledge of genres and their discourse are extremely important when writing a document.

References
"Joe Biden." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 17 Feb. 2016.
"Joe Biden and Paul Ryan Debate Abortion (2012 Vice Presidential Debate)."
YouTube. YouTube, n.d. Web. 17 Feb. 2016.
Karakoulaki, Marianna. "Abortion and Women's Rights in the USA." The GW Post.
N.p., 15 June 2012. Web. 17 Feb. 2016.
"Paul Ryan." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 17 Feb. 2016.
"The GW Post." The GW Post. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Feb. 2016.
<http://thegwpost.com/category/marianna-karakoulaki/>.