Genre Analysis Paper

Lowering water tables or the depletion of water in aquifers is the most severe consequence of

excessive groundwater pumping is that the water table, below which the ground is saturated

with water, can be lowered. This might not seem like a big deal to humans but to the earth it is

everything, groundwater accounts for more than fifty percent of the population’s water supply

that means the water that you and I drink everyday. The first source to be introduced throughout

the Genre analysis is going to be a YouTube video called “what is groundwater”? By The Water

Corporation. The second source that is going to be introduced throughout the Genre analysis is a

compilation titled “Global Biogeochemical Cycles” by Hannu Nykänen, Jukka Alm, 
Jouko

Silvola, 
Kimmo Tolonen, Pertti J. Martikainen. The main argument for “what is

groundwater”? Is to take care of the earth’s groundwater because once the earth runs out of fresh

renewable drinking water it runs out forever, the main argument for “Global Biogeochemical

Cycles” is why the Canadian peat lands are drying up. The reason for writing the genre analysis

paper is to compare and contrast two different genres in this case it being one a YouTube video

being compared to the likes of a compilation written by multiple authors whereas the YouTube

video is composed of just the company that put out the educational video. Conveying or grabbing

the readers attention while reading a genre is a hard and sometimes difficult task but in the case

of the YouTube video it made grabbing the readers attention look easy. The genre that was most

effective in conveying the message at hand was the YouTube video for me just for the fact of the

simplicity towards the video whereas in the compilation it gave a ton of attention to detail like

number crunching and data where they had conveyed all the research, that wasn’t really what we

were looking for as a group so the YouTube video was better in conveying its message.

Information or background on a topic gives the author a sense of credibility on how the topic is
portrayed throughout that of their monograph or compilation and even a video. The information

was shaped by “what is groundwater” it was better for visual learners because of the fact that it

was a video, it had a lot of pictures and videos as well as some music for some parts to keep the

viewer entertained while still teaching the viewer about groundwater, the timing was perfect at

ten minutes not to long nor to short but still gets the message across about groundwater. In order

to address an audience the author must capture the reader and gain the readers attention in a way

that relates to the preferred audience the author wants to get to in this case the author of “what is

groundwater” is trying to reach the scholarly discourse community. In the video the audience this

video was trying to capture the attention would be that of a scholarly audience based at a

university or higher education due to the fact that the models they used in the video you would

see in a college classroom or college textbook, also in the video they used scholarly language

like the words “particles” and “porosity”, particle meaning a minute portion of matter and

porosity meaning the quality of being porous, or full of tiny holes. The information in “Global

Biogeochemical Cycles” is shaped on paper with numbers and letters to difficult to understand

unless the student is of higher education, the font size on the paper is really small so cant see the

wording real well therefore forcing the reader to strain his or her eyes, this kind of compilation

would be good if you are a self taught learner but for visual learners this would be a limitation

because in scholarly compilations like the one mentioned in the essay there wont be any pictures

or videos to help the reader if he or she may be having difficulty or trouble understanding the

information. The compilations audience was trying to inform would be scientist or higher

education students having to do research on the lowering of water tables and the effects that had

on the Canadian peat lands because it gives scientist data and precise information to see how

much these peat lands have shrunk due to changing climate and not enough precipitation in the
area. Strategic layout in the YouTube video there really isn’t any it’s all through narration,

picture and videos clips the water corporation does a good job in incorporating design with

motion pictures and informal models. While on the other hand the compilation it has formulas

and numbers that researchers had compiled and put into the compilation making it hard for the

normal person to understand the text provided in the compilation, even with it being a scholarly

compilation it has no visuals besides the mathematical formulas of the emissions of methane gas

all throughout the Canadian peat lands. Communication features is the tone the author uses in

each genre this could range from formal to informal language just depends on which audience

the author is trying to capture, also depends on what point the author is trying to get across.

Some communication features of the YouTube video the narrator uses formal language and some

visuals of the surrounding ecosystems like animals and streams, like for example the ducks at the

’44 second mark in the video also at the ’51 second mark there is sprinklers watering some

vegetation further more bringing home the idea to protect groundwater aquifers because they are

the main water source. In the compilation the authors used very formal and scholarly language

for example “fluxes” which is the action of process of flowing or flowing out, a non scholar

would most likely not know what that word meant, also they incorporated math equations for

researchers to further their research on lowering water tables. Earlier in the genre analysis paper

had discussed about significant similarities now are going to contrast the two genres by looking

at the significant differences between the two genres. Significant differences between the video

and compilations are the one is a book composed by multiple authors while the other is a video

composed of a company, another example of a significant difference would be how the video is

much easier to understand the claim at hand while in the compilation you had to do further more

extensive research to uncover the claim. Purpose of the genre analysis is the authors of both
genres are trying to hammer home their point on whichever issue they are backing up they will

back up their argument with giving good points and facts, sometimes even evoke the reader with

some ethos, pathos, and logos. The purpose of the video was to inform viewers on the effects

ground water has on the water cycle while at the same time giving formal facts on the issue at

hand which was groundwater and how if humans keep abusing water humans as a race will

eventually be running out of clean renewable drinking water thus forcing human and animals to

find a new source of water. An example of a fact would be at the 2:16 mark in the video on how

the narrator gives facts on how most of the groundwater that is here on earth is from the rainfall

the earth receives throughout the year that’s where most if not all the groundwater comes from.

The purpose of the compilation was to inform readers and researchers alike on the lowering of

water tables in the Canadian pet lands, the authors provided information and recovered data like

the math equations to figure out just how much methane gas was being released therefore

causing the Canadian peat land to dry up because of lowering water tables. In the video, the

company that made the video is trying to encourage general awareness about the earths clean

drinkable renewable groundwater for example in the video the narrator states “Fresh water is

priceless, it’s our most precious and vital resource but its supply must never be taken for

granted” with that statement he is encouraging people to not take water for granted because there

is only so much clean drinking water left on earth. Discourse communities are communities that

share a set of discourses so in other words things in common like same interests the authors try

and connect these discourse communities within their research or findings to link the discourse

community. The compilation they are trying to convince a discourse community and that

community being scientist and researchers alike with their math equations, numbers, and

symbols, being apart of that discourse community you would understand what the authors are
talking about in this compilation like For example according to the authors, “lowering of the

present water table by 10 cm would induce a 70% reduction in the CH4 emissions from fens and

a 45% reduction from bogs”. Comparing the two genres are important because it gives the reader

a choice on what genre is better to use for the assigned research therefore better material on the

topic. The similarities between the two genres is that they are both trying to inform the viewer

and reader about groundwater and lowering water tables, some significant differences would be

the approach of how they convey their claim, the video does it through facts and backed up

research while the compilation is filled with compiled data from researchers therefore solidifying

the claim. Ethos is a very big point in comparing the two genres because the reader is trying to

figure out if the author is convincing the reader of an argument by invoking an emotional

response. The video establishes credibility by having models on the screen while the narrator is

going through the processes, in all this the narrator still provides the viewer with factual

information and research done by the water company with exact numbers and percentages of

groundwater that the earth has. Pathos is also a big appeal in comparing genres because the

reader needs to know whether they are trying to convince their audience by evoking an appeal to

emotion. The compilation establishes credibility with the authors of the compilation being

researchers from different universities therefore comparing and compiling different and accurate

research in account to why the peat lands in Canada are drying up. The video helps to evoke an

emotional response by showing pictures and video of wildlife and oceans to hammer home the

fact if humans don’t stop wasting water there wont be any clean drinking groundwater. The

compilation on the other hand does not really have an emotional response to the reader. Evidence

is the background or the foundation for the two genres this would be like the research and data

gathered throughout each genre. The type of evidence that is used to support the claim in the
video is that the narrator urges for us as humans to step up and stop lowering water tables

because they are primarily done mostly by human nature. The type of evidence that is used to

support the claim in the compilation is by providing the reader with formulas to math equations

for the methane gasses to further persuade the audience that methane gasses are the cause and

effect of lowering water tables in the Canadian peat lands further causing the peat lands to dry

up. Overall the genre that was more effective in conveying its message was the YouTube video

for me as I had stated earlier in the genre analysis paper just for the fact of the simplicity towards

the video, in the video the claim was stated and supported by facts and data compiled within the

educational video, whereas in the compilation it gave a ton of attention to detail like numbers

and data, the claim was not clearly stated in the material where the scientist from universities had

conducted all this research that wasn’t really what we were looking for so the YouTube video

was better in conveying its message to its audience. YouTube video and a compilation are by far

not closely related if we are talking comparing and contrasting wise, the impact of these selected

genres in this case one being a YouTube video and the other being a compilation, the YouTube

video being for more educational purposes like in a classroom to teach about the basics of

groundwater while the compilation on the other hand is intended for researchers who want to

learn and study the measurement of methane gasses effecting the Canadian peat lands. The

video and compilation would both benefit their respective discourse community very formal and

informational, the discourse communities would benefit from either one of these genres because

the both provide the necessary material to learn about groundwater and the lowering of water

tables.
 Bibliography

Nykänen, H., Alm, J., Silvola, J., Tolonen, K., & Martikainen, P. J. (1998). Methane fluxes on

boreal peatlands of different fertility and the effect of long-term experimental lowering of the

water table on flux rates. Global Biogeochemical Cycles, 12(1), 53-69. 10.1029/97GB02732

Water Corporation (2013). What is groundwater?