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Twisha Patel

Professor Vazquez

ENC1101 Section 601

22 June 2021

The Significance of Social Media for Me Commented [TNP1]: Gave it a personal reference.

A very common scenario associated with understanding the concept of genre at

most of all the time is that, we often think that different genres are wholly simple different text

types. But is has other meaning too. According to Wardle and Downs genres are “recognizable

forms of writing that respond to repeating situation” (34). Casual questions arise due to writing

and reading, this is but obvious. Having an intention, of being aware about different types of

writing along with its origin one should know what genre is. Almost everyone has different ways

of writing texts and reading. Once we come to know what genre is, we can figure out different

types of text and even situation. Genre might be unusual initially, but once when it makes sense,

it becomes easier to recognize recurring situation along with previous response. “Whenever we

produce a genre, we recontextualize or adapt our existing knowledge, performing appropriately

for the unique rhetorical circumstances of the task” (Tardy et al. 300). We build make our own

genre by the knowledge which we already have.

Out of all the genres, I would love to talk about social media. I find social media very

interesting and useful. Social Media is a universal form in this century, because it has the

potential to convey information. Furthermore, we liaise with people worldwide using the internet Commented [TNP2]: Added a missing subject,

connection. We know that social media platforms (Facebook, Snapchat, Twitter, Instagram and

many more apps) make it easier for people to connect from all over the globe. The ones who Commented [TNP3]: Used parenthesis
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develop these social media platforms use them any way. As told by Grant-Davie “In some

instances writers may be their own intended audiences” (405). Among all the social media Commented [TNP4]: used Grant-Davie earlier in my
discussion and not in the conclusion.
platforms, my three most favorite platforms are Instagram, Clubhouse and Twitter. So, I would

like to talk about them one after the other.

Firstly, I would like start with Instagram, which is one of the most recent social media platforms.

The first platform that comes to my mind when I think of photo sharing is definitely Instagram.

One of the reasons I like to use Instagram, is it enriches my relationship with my friends. I

believe that I became more extrovert and outgoing due to Instagram. Eventually, that helped me Commented [TNP5]: Removed comma

to make friends easily. Furthermore, I have developed self-esteem. This narrows down the

feelings of loneliness. It allows us to share picture as mentioned above in form of stories and

posts. When we share a picture in the form of post, it is visible to all those who are our friends

and follow us on Instagram. But this is possible only when our account is private instead of

public. If our account is public, then whatever we post either story or post doesn’t matter it is

visible to everyone. When we post a story, it expires within 24 hours. Through stories and posts,

I get updated with all the happenings in my friend’s life as well as other famous person’s life.

For me Instagram is a source of information as well as news. I follow various prominent authors,

doctors, celebrities etc., for all sorts of updates and information. Sometimes, I come to know

about issues that bump into my friends. We can chat with our friends on Instagram in the DM

section. “Genre awareness is a conscious knowledge of how genre works, allowing writers to use

strategies (like genre analysis) to learn more about the genre” (Tardy et al 297) so unless and

until people don’t use Instagram, they will not be aware about what features Instagram provide

other than picture sharing. Two of them which I would like to share is business pages and the

shopping cart available. Due to its growth rapidly, many brands have started marketing on
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Instagram. It also allows us to promote our small business in an authentic way. I learnt all the

features of Instagram feature by myself. Some of the features, I just explored and tried but for the

other features I took help from google. I took help from google mostly about the settings section

of Instagram. I came to know about a very useful feature called Two-factor authentication(2FA).

2FA provides an auxiliary layer of security to our Instagram account. I also learnt that the

Archive section lets us to hide our older posts without deleting them and furthermore, also saves

all the stories (which expires within 24 hours). I discovered about the close friend list which

allows you to keep a private story. We can make visible our close friend stories only to whom we

want to and not to all the followers. We can edit our close friend list anytime that means add or

remove anyone whenever we want. I am very much into this app and it is my all-time favourite

app. Commented [TNP6]: focused more about my learning

and having expertise in this genre and also mentioned how I
learnt.
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Speaking about a social media platform about which people aren’t aware, still it is one of

my favourite apps. It is called Clubhouse, which is invitation-only audio-chat. I usually listen to Commented [TNP7]: Removed ‘unpopular’ and modified
a little bit.
conversations, interviews and discussions. It is very easy to use just because it is user-friendly. I

can easily share my views and express my thoughts on various topics. It improved my

communication skills to a great extent. We are free to go inside any room by looking at the topic

which interests us. The thing which excites me the most is that, I can hear insight thoughts of

experts and various famous authors and celebrities. Furthermore, I even made great bonds with

people of my interest from all over the globe. In my opinion, Clubhouse is very informative and

its fun way to learn, teach and connect. Biggest benefit is that we are free to join any room for

any conversation that interests us. When we create a room, we are the moderator and this allows

us to add, remove or mute anyone in the room. It is also possible for the moderator to make

another moderator in the room so he/she can add other friends. This makes it much more

interesting and allows us to make many friends and have an interactive conversation. One of the

features, I love the most in Clubhouse is that, whenever someone we follow enters a room we are

notified. Since this app is invitation only, this feature helps us to join different rooms. When we Commented [TNP8]: Explained how to join the room
since, it is invitation only
create a room, we get three options: Open, Social and Closed. We can select any according to our

wish. If we create an Open room, then anyone can enter that room and hear the conversation. But

if we go for a Social room then only our followers are welcomed to hear the conversation. And if

we select Closed room then only our invitees can enter. Talking about me how I learnt more to

use this app, then definitely all credits to my friend from India who let me know about this app

and even nominated me (let me in). He created Closed room and taught me all the features and

how to use them. Overall, I loved the concept of Clubhouse and I am very fond of this app. Commented [TNP9]: Described how I learnt new features
of this app
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Lastly, I would like to talk about Twitter. Twitter is a social networking site where users

are allowed to send short messages or tweets. It a site where I interact and meet with other

people. I also receive updates of big organizations along with platforms that I like to follow. I

usually support other people’s opinions by retweeting and expressing my own opinion as well.

It’s a good platform where I share my hobbies, likes and dislikes. Due to the evolution in social

media, Twitter is used by majority of population and I can reach a large crowd by sitting at

home. It improves communication skills. Moreover, it also really improves my knowledge and

skills, along with that I am up to date with new technologies and innovations.
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Social media platforms are really very fun at that same time very useful. Though there

might be many useful genres, but social media is lively and very crucial for updates regarding

people, global issues or new innovations. Instagram not only helps me to share photos, but also

allows me to shop online. Predominantly, Clubhouse permits audio chat to people everywhere,

enhance friendships and connects new fascinating people all over the word. Twitter is a platform

where renowned users get information to admirer in a very systematic way. A small piece of

information posted on Twitter it is then accessible for millions of people to view. Hence, I feel Commented [TNP10]: Removed the direct quote from
conclusion and added some new piece of information.
social media platforms are proved to be one of the most important and useful genres.
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Works Cited

Grant-Davie, Keith. “Rhetorical Situations and Their Constituents.” Writing about Writing, 4th

ed., edited by Elizabeth Wardle and Doug Downs, Bedford/St.Martin’s, 2019, pp. 398-

415.

Tardy, Christine M., et al. “Teaching and Researching Genre Knowledge: Toward an Enhanced

Theoretical Framework.” Written Communication, vol. 37, no. 3, 2020, pp. 287–321.,

doi:10.1177/0741088320916554.

Wardle, Elizabeth, and Doug Downs, editors. Writing about Writing, 4th ed., 2020.

Writing My Reflection
For Major Project-2, initially I faced difficulty in understanding the topic. Because for me genres

were just different types of text types. I was unsure about it unless and until the professor taught

us in the class about what was other definition of genres. That very day I decided that social

media platforms will be my genre. I particularly talked about three social media apps namely

Instagram, Twitter and Clubhouse. I was very sure that most of the people will not be aware
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about what actually genre is. So, in my very first paragraph, I let my audience know what genre

is other than different text-types. Then in the following paragraphs I focused on the genre which

I selected and talked about my three favorite and of course useful apps. I focused more about my

learning. I also shared my expertise in these genres. I targeted on things I had to learn and what

kind of knowledge I required to master these apps particularly clubhouse because it is new and

not much people know about it.

I got a very positive feedback from my peer as well as the professor. For the rough draft,

I didn’t use an appropriate title and works cite so my peer drew my attention over there.

Furthermore, she also pointed out small silly mistakes. She loved the way I used my social media

account pictures. In the same taken, she even liked the in-text citation used by me at proper place

with a valid explanation. Overall, as per her I explained it very well. After viewing the feedback,

from my peer I made all the necessary changes and also was very happy by seeing good

comments from her. Now talking about professor Vazquez, she also loved my draft overall

especially my introduction. Firstly, I had used Grant-Davie quote in conclusion. Professor

suggested me to use that quote earlier in my discussion and make a stronger connection. She also

told me to create a strong conclusion and bring all ideas together in conclusion. Speaking about

title, she liked it but advised me to give it a personal reference. In all she told me to focus a little

bit on my expertise in these genres and knowledge I required to learn about my genre. However,

I’m very sure overall she loved my draft. I worked on the suggestion professor gave it and now

my final draft is ready.

This assignment was tricky initially and I took time for me to understand it. So, I can

consider it a bit challenging task. But after the class discussion, I got to know about what to do

and this is how I overcame my difficulty. I even mailed the professor some of my doubts. I
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definitely learned much about genre. For me genre was familiar though, unfamiliar term (initially

now I know the other meaning too). I think more than sufficient time was given for this

assignment. Therefore, if more time given it couldn’t have changed what I have written in my

final draft right now.

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