Alexandra Taleisnik

Single and Ready to Mingle

Hi, my name is (Insert Name Here). I like long walks on the beach, dancing in the rain,
and doing fun things. This is just one example albeit not a very good one of an About
Me bio. Bios can be seen anywhere from personal blogs to job applications, but are most

Zack De Piero 1/29/2016 6:44 AM

Comment [1]: Taleisnik, I'm not upset or
offended or anything weird like that, but I'd
get in the habit of including the course and
date in/around your header. Also, cool
title!
Zack De Piero 1/29/2016 6:46 AM
Comment [2]: Nice use of dashes here.

cheesy clichs and sappy romantic notions. However, dating sites have become increasingly

Zack De Piero 1/29/2016 6:45 AM

Comment [3]: I don't mean to "pick" too
much here, but is this an example of
ordinary "About Me" bios? It sounds a
little... rrrrrromantic to me.

extensive in the information they require members to provide. Tinder, JDate, and Match.com are

If what you mean here is "romance/dating

About Me blurbs," then say that.

commonly found on dating sites. When most people think of dating profile bios, they think of

all popular online dating services. Each of these sites is unique in demographics and format, but
they all encourage users to write a bio to give potential matches a glimpse of who they are. The
format, tone, and content of About Me bios are largely influenced by the type of relationship a
dating website promotes, as well as the target demographic it caters to.
Typically when people think of genres they think of of movies, books, or music. Most
people wouldn't consider dating bios to be their own genre, but they are. They have their own set
of conventions and patterns that characterize them as such. In Navigating Genres, Kerry Dirk
defines genre as something used to refer primarily to form (Navigating Genres. Pg. 251).
While bios can vary depending upon the person, they often times have the same components that
make up this so called form Dirk talks about. Aside from the basic informationname, age,
location, and occupationa big convention of these About Mes is a list of hobbies. Many
people include this in their dating bio in hopes of finding someone with shared interests. Another
major convention of a dating bio is a description of an ideal date. Again, this allows users to
determine their compatibility with potential matches. Bios tend to take on a friendly and
personable tone, that can sometimes sound conversational. This writing tactic is used to boost a

Zack De Piero 1/29/2016 6:46 AM

Comment [4]: Woo hoo! I know exactly
where you're taking me, genre/conventionwise, and I know what sources you'll be
basing your argument off of. Great job,
Taleisnik!
Zack De Piero 1/29/2016 6:50 AM
Comment [5]: This sounds a little bit like
Introduction-type material. Is there any
way you can weave that into your Intro?
The "people typically think" move that
you're using here is typically used at the
start of papers because it tells the reader:
hey, X isn't as simple as you might've
thought it was!
Once you're getting into the heart of the
paper, though, I think you wanna be
working past that.

Zack De Piero 1/29/2016 6:49 AM

Comment [6]: Didn't he say that people
used to think that this was ALL genres
were? (ie, nothing more than form?) I
think you might be slightly misrepresenting
his point.
Zack De Piero 1/29/2016 6:50 AM
Comment [7]: Be precise. Is he
"talking"?

persons likability factor, because lets be honest, nobody wants to talk to someone who sounds
like a robot. Other patterns commonly found in dating bios include photos, cheesy sayings or
jokes, likes and dislikes, and the type of relationship they are looking for. The way in which this
information is presented not only varies from person to person, but also between sources.
Match.com is one of the oldest and largest active dating websites, having over 6 million
users worldwide. It caters largely to over 40s singles looking to find love. Many of the profiles
and About Mes are very detailed and straightforward. Members wasted no time in describing
the type of partner they desired and what they were looking for in a potential match. They were
very open and honest, claiming to want to settle down or start a family. Each profile provided
one picture with basic information about the person. This included occupation, whether or not
they had children, and even their height and weight. Another convention found in the Match bios
was the mention of romance. There were multiple people who used the phrase a romantic at

Zack De Piero 1/29/2016 6:52 AM

Comment [8]: Alright, so it seems to me
that this paragraph is largely about the
conventions/patterns of About Me dating
blurbs. If you agree, then I think you might
want to put something about that in your
topic sentence so readers can anticipate
where you'll be taking them in the
paragraph.
Zack De Piero 1/29/2016 6:53 AM
Comment [9]: OK, great -- this cuts
directly to a specific audience and it ties
directly back into your thesis statement.
That's great and huge and awesome, but
make sure you don't lose sight of this (ie,
your main goal is to relate everything back
to support that).
Zack De Piero 1/29/2016 6:53 AM
Comment [10]: Can you give me some
textual evidence/support for this claim?
Help me SEE what you're referring to.

heart. This goes back to who the writer is and who the audience is. In Backpacks vs. Briefcases,
Laura Carroll states, Audience can determine the type of language used, the formality of the
discourse, the medium or delivery of the rhetoric (Backpacks vs. Briefcases, Pg. 49) For
users on Match, romance is something that appeals to a lot of people because the majority of
them are older, divorced, widowed, etc. They want another chance at love and romance, and
hope to find it online.
The second source,Tinder, is a popular dating app designed to match users to others in
their area. It is mainly used by college aged singles looking for a casual hookup. The format of
Tinder is much different than a traditional dating website. It still provides a name and location of
possible matches, but is much less extensive than Match.com. Profiles tend to focus more on
photos, rather than bios. In fact, many of the profiles surveyed didn't even have a bio.Those that

Zack De Piero 1/29/2016 6:54 AM

Comment [11]: Great use of the course
readings and follow-up analysis.
Zack De Piero 1/29/2016 6:54 AM
Comment [12]: God, life can be a really
crappy place. Poor people. I'm so sad
now...
Zack De Piero 1/29/2016 6:56 AM
Comment [13]: How does the location
setting/feature differ between Match and
Tinder? Is one more smartphone-friendly?
(Ie, find someone who is... right down the
street? That sorta thing?)
What clues does that conventions give to
this site's rhetorical appeal?

did were very short in length with little personal information. In Navigating Genres, Dirk states,
two texts that might fit into the same genre might also look extremely different (Navigating
Genres. page 255). This concept that genres aren't one size fits allhelps explain how Tinder
bios and Match bios can still be considered the same genre even though they don't look alike.

Zack De Piero 1/29/2016 6:57 AM

Comment [14]: Evidence, please!

Zack De Piero 1/29/2016 6:57 AM

Comment [15]: Yes!

While a list of hobbies was found consistently in Match.com bios, the convention seen most on
Tinder profiles is a joke or cheesy saying. Seeing that the purpose of the app is to find a quick
hookup, the profiles focus more on appearance rather than personality. These witty sayings are
used as a way to grab someones attention without giving any intimate details away. Examples
included, Looking for a Tindered spirit or If you dont like space jam, dont Tinder me.
Again, these examples create interest without revealing too much about the person. The format
of these bios are quite unconventional, but fit well with the overall goal of the app. The bios are

Zack De Piero 1/29/2016 6:58 AM

Comment [16]: So cool. Nice evidence
here. (You might wanna introduce this
kind of evidence *right after* you make a
claim, so your reader isn't wondering: OK,
prove it?)

short and simple, just like the resulting relationships tend to be.
The final source is JDate, a dating website for Jewish singles. The main demographics of
this site are young adults between the ages of 25 and 35. JDate is more closely related to Match
than it is Tinder. The profiles focus a lot on who the person is, rather than what they look like.
The tone is very easy-going and conversational with a slightly more relaxed format. It has many
of the conventions previously listed, including photos, likes and dislikes, and ideal type of date.
JDate bios tended to center around a persons hobbies and interests. It emphasized more about
who the person was, rather than who they were looking for. Something unique about JDate that
the other sources dont focus on is the religious component. JDate is specifically for Jewish
singles, so it asks more in depth questions regarding their religious practices. For example, it
asks if they consider themselves to be religious or spiritual and how often they attend religious
services. JDate draws a very specific type of person that share one thing in common their

Zack De Piero 1/29/2016 6:55 AM

Comment [17]: Taleisnik, Im wondering
if your paper would benefit from restructuring 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)?

religion. This gives users the opportunity to discuss their beliefs more openly than they would on
other dating sites, which in turn affects the content of their About Me.
Whereas Match.com focuses on finding a life partner and Tinder is used to find a short-

Zack De Piero 1/29/2016 6:58 AM

Comment [18]: Great analysis here.

term fling, JDate is somewhere in between. Most users are looking for serious relationships, but
aren't necessarily ready to get married or settle down. This is due to the fact that JDate appeals to
a different audience than the other two dating services. Something that is important to consider
when comparing these three sources is the location in which the bios are being written. Dirk
explains that location helps shape a genre and can shift the style in which you are writing

Zack De Piero 1/29/2016 7:05 AM

Comment [19]: I really like how you're
putting it all together here. (Although, I'm
also wondering if your paper would benefit
from more of an ongoing, continuous
compare'n'contrast method of analysis.)

(Navigating Genres. Page 255). Theoretically, someone could use Tinder, JDate, and Match.com
and have three completely different bios for each dating service because they appeal to such
different audiences and have entirely different goals. Even though the bios are quite different in
style, they still contain many of the same elements. They all had pictures, listed hobbies, and
talked about their likes and dislikes. The focus of the profile pictures, hobbies, etc. along
with the kind of relationship desired, is what shapes the format and creates the varying types of
dating bios.
Genre analysis is an extremely important concept that everyone should learn.
Understanding genres and how they work allows people to determine the best way to approach
different situations. Knowing what genres to use, and how to use them effectively, helps people
communicate and accomplish goals. Knowing the genre in which you are writing is vital in being
a successful communicator. Amy Devitt wrote, genres have the power to help or hurt human
interaction (Navigating Genres. Page 252). This may seem intense, but it is true. When
writing a dating bio, users have to determine the type of person they want to attract, and what
they want to gain from a potential relationship, in order to write the most effective About Me.

Zack De Piero 1/29/2016 7:05 AM

Comment [20]: Very true -- and I
wouldn't be surprised if you found support
for this theory!

Being able to analyze genres and recognize their patterns can benefit everyone readers,
writers, and communicators alike.
The type of relationship a dating website promotes and its target demographics heavily
influence the overall format, tone, and content of About Me bios. Each person that uses a dating
website is looking for something different, and they need to convey that through their bio. The
format they use, or what they choose to emphasizewhether is be photos, hobbies, or an ideal
date affects how others view them. This doesn't necessarily determine which conventions they
include or dont include, because again, genres aren't one size fits all. Not every convention is
going to show up in every bio. If that were the case, dating bios would be useless, each one
looking identical to the next.

References
Dirk, Kerry. "Navigating Genres." <i>Writing Spaces</i>. West Lafayette, IN: Parlor, 2010. N.
pag. Print.

Carroll, Laura. "Backpacks vs. Briefcases: Steps Towards Rhetorical Analysis." <i>Writing
Spaces</i>. West Lafayette, IN: Parlor, 2010. N. pag. Print.

Writing 2 Feedback Matrix for WP1

Table of Textual Features
Did Not Meet
Expectations

Met 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

/ -
+

Taleisnik,
Other Comments
What a cool paper -- this was a pleasure to read.
Take a look at my comments on how to get this to the next level. If I
had two suggestions, itd be: work in more textual evidence from the
sources themselves, and also, consider how you might make this
paper more of a tapestry -- ie, more woven together. I made a
couple comments about Source 1, then Source 2, etc. If you could
also find a way to work the readings in even more consistently, I bet it
could add a really solid layer to your argument.

All told, though, great work here, sister. (You forgot this matrix, so I
need to knock off a point. Please dont hate me.)
Z
8.5/10