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Ariella Gilmore
Roberta Wolfson
Writing 2
14 March 2016
My Two Genre Pieces

1. http://www.buzzfeed.com/arig49fd503fc/10-ways-to-write-an-awesome-essay-zg94
2.

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Ariella Gilmore
Roberta Wolfson
Writing 2
2 March 2016
The Not So Shitty Draft
For Writing Project Three I chose to write in the genres of Buzzfeed articles and
emails to a professor. I engage with both these genres on a daily basis, so I thought it
would be interesting to actually have to consciously compose two pieces using a certain
genre conventions that I was not particularly aware of before. Because I am constantly
reading Buzzfeed articles, it was not difficult to figure out the type of speech and
structure these authors use throughout most of their articles. Also, having emailed
professors for multiple courses, I was able to look back to prior emails to reflect on how I
carefully worded each sentence and subject line to help me write these emails. In the
process of writing each piece, I became aware of many rules for these genres that I
previously did not fully appreciate.
In composing my pieces in both genres, I incorporated three of the course
readings in each piece. To do this I had to be careful of follow the conventions of how
these genres would use quotes. After looking at many Buzzfeed articles, I noticed that
when the authors typically integrate the quotes or citations into a picture that relates to
the quote. The quote from Anne Lamott in my Buzzfeed article illustrates this
convention. To incorporate Lamotts quote, I used a font that resembles handwriting and
put that text in a picture of a notebook, to make the quote seem as if Lamott had actually

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handwritten this quote. The handwriting also illustrates the free-associative writing
process that Lamott encourages in the quote. The other two sources I included were Peter
Elbow and Ryan Luo. Like Lamotts quote, I incorporated Elbows quote into a picture
that relates to the message. I put Elbows quote in a thought bubble to emphasize his
point of first-order intuitive or creative thinking, because this type of thinking is
usually done in someones thoughts. Luos piece, though, is a comic strip, so I was able
to just use a picture and use it within the article. This is beneficial in that one is able to
completely understand what is meant by, expand on your thoughts and delete the ones
that dont relate because one will be able to see how the characters in the comic strip
explain the process. To cite these sources, I also followed this genres conventions. The
Buzzfeed article includes citations, but uses a very informal citation policy. To cite the
source of the pictures and quotes, the author of a Buzzfeed article simply states that via
and the source in italicized font below the picture. The purpose of this citation is to credit
the creator of the image, rather than to help the reader refer to a specific quote or passage
in an article.
In the email to the professor, on the other hand, I incorporated the quotes more
formally, as I would in writing an essay. For an email to a professor, as opposed to a
Buzzfeed article, it is more appropriate to state precisely where the quote is from, so the
professor can refer to the quote if necessary. A Buzzfeed article, on the other hand, is
read quickly and casually, so readers are typically not interested in referencing the
specific source. Further, in the email to the professor I cited all three by identifying who
was saying the quote and then having the quote closely follow after. This gives the
professor a clear idea of who is saying the quote without any confusion. Before beginning

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this project, I knew these genres had different writing styles, but in actually composing
each piece, I also became aware that each genre has its own conventions for citations,
because the citations serve different purposes for the intended audience. The citation in a
Buzzfeed article is to to provide credit to the creator of the picture or GIF, while the
citation for the email to inform the professor who is saying the quote.
These genres not only have different conventions in citing sources, but also use
distinct approaches that cater to the preferences and education levels of their two
audiences. Buzzfeed in general has audience members of late teens. The audience is not
expected to have a high level of education, so Buzzfeed articles use many references to
pop culture, in the form of pictures and animated GIFs, to capture the audiences
attention. A professor, on the other hand, must undergo many years of higher education
to achieve expertise in an academic field. Therefore, in an email to a professor, a student
must use a tone that communicates respect for the subject matter. As is typical of many
Buzzfeed articles, I structured my article as a numbered list of catchy bullet points. For
example, the first point in my list is Write a shitty rough draft. To reinforce and
supplement the message of this point, I included an animated GIF underneath the text,
featuring Maya Rudolph and Elmo yelling, BRAINSTORM! Each point in the list is
accompanied with a short sentence briefly describing each successive step in writing an
essay and a picture or GIF related to pop culture intended to keep the audiences
attention. The words also included within the Buzzfeed article are very informal and
simple, such as shitty and brainstorm. These words are intended to make the list
appear lighthearted and engaging, and can be understood by an audience that is not
necessarily highly educated.

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Unlike the Buzzfeed article, the email to a professor is much more formal,
containing full paragraphs and complete sentences. It would be improper of me to include
GIFs related to pop culture in an email to my professor, so instead I referenced the three
sources as direct quotations within the email. When discussing the first draft in the email
to a professor, I wrote, [t]he first draft teaches writers to just write all their thoughts
down quickly without worrying about the grammar or structure of the essay, which
should wait until the second or third draft. I do not refer to the article as shitty like I
did in the Buzzfeed article, because in this genre that would be considered an informal
and an inappropriate word choice. Also, I begin and end the email with a greeting
showing my respect to my professor, while in the Buzzfeed article there is no greeting
and just references the audience by a general you. Having formality while engaging
with a professor demonstrates ones professionalism, respect for the professor and subject
matter, and dedication to the class. The type of audience members drastically changes the
type of writing style in these two genres by formality and word choice.
By composing my pieces in these distinct genres, I began to fully appreciate how
critical it is to understand the type of genre one is using to communicate a message. It is
important to consider many factors in determining the writing style appropriate for each
genre. Often, the most significant factor that determines the type of writing appropriate
for a genre is the intended audience. The audience affects the type of language, formality,
and structure used in a genre. These were all differences I had to acknowledge when
composing the Buzzfeed article and the email to a professor. The Buzzfeed article was in
a list format, while the email was in a letter format with full paragraphs. The differences
in the language was evident in how I used the word you in the Buzzfeed article, but the

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email strictly refers to the audience member as Professor Watt. The formality was also
a big discrepancy. The Buzzfeed article uses much more relaxed vocabulary, while the
email to a professor uses much more formal and academic vocabulary appropriate to his
position. From these genres I learned that one must be careful when writing in a genre
because if they do not focus on the specific writing style it can be easy to use a writing
style that is inappropriate for the intended audience. This will help me in the future when
writing to different audiences and being able to change my writing style depending on
who is the recipient of the piece.