1 Running head: Genre Analysis- Why cheerleading is a sport.

Why is cheerleading a sport: Genre Analysis of a YouTube video and website article. Melissa Nevarez University of Texas at El Paso Genre Analysis Final

2 Running head: Genre Analysis- Why cheerleading is a sport.

Introduction Cheerleading is commonly known as an extra-curricular activity by many people. The question asked is why is it not known or seen as a sport? Well, by all means cheerleading is a curriculum that has plenty of physical contact, competitions, rules, competitors, organizations, hard work, athletes, props, pretty much everything that is required to be considered a sport. Then why is it still seen only as an extra-curricular activity? Many people see cheer as this because they only know one side of cheerleading. That one side is the one that everyone sees only at school games cheering the team on and crowd. Many people dont see the other side which is what defines cheerleading as a sport. In this essay one will learn new information on why cheerleading is a sport through two different genres. As known, genres are great helpful sources that are used to find information on certain topics. There is different genres that one can look over such as books, magazines, websites, articles, newspaper and many more. In this case, the two genres used will be a YouTube video and an article. These two genres will be compared with each other by each explaining on how cheer is a sport. It will communicate to the audience by using ethos, pathos, logos and its overall method of delivery. The first genre is an article found in a worldwide known cheer website, varisty.com. The name of the article is, Being a cheerleader- Is cheerleading a sport? This genre will be compared and analyzed to a YouTube video provided by drlaffodayspcss titled, utep cheerleaders- feature story. In the end, both genres will accomplish the same thing which is to get the intended purpose out to the targeted audience about why cheerleading is a sport.

3 Running head: Genre Analysis- Why cheerleading is a sport.

Audience and purpose The article, Being a cheerleader- Is cheerleading a sport? , in the Varsity website has a main purpose of defining why cheerleading is a sport. The way it sends out the message is by simply stating all the facts that one needs to know in order to think and believe that cheer is actually a sport. The neat thing about this article is that it first explains how cheerleaders get heated up when any person argues or asks the famous question/statement cheerleading is not a sport. It then explains what defines a sport according to The Womens Sport Foundation. It then goes into detail stating what needs to be meet to be considered a sport and ties it into cheerleading. An example of this is when the article states that it must be a physical activity having contact or propelling mass through space or resisting mass. It then ties cheerleading by saying that the sentence above in other words is known as stunting. Depending on the audience doing the research, this website article ranges between 5 to 10 minutes to read since its one page and a half long. One reader may be faster than another, it just depends how fast the reader understands or finds the purpose that it is looking for. The website article uses vocabulary that adjusts to the audience. This is great because the targeted audience is a variety. Most of the article is mainly informal, mostly common words and not hard to understand. There is also some formal words such as stunts, mat size, time limit, ESPN, and score sheets that are common in cheerleading. The website article also requires more information if the audience still wants to learn more or is still on the line on why cheerleading is a sport by listing a website at the end. This website links to the American association of cheerleading coaches and advisors (www.aacca.org). This websites gives more detail on the whole cheer being a sport argument. Not only can a website article be used as the only genre to intend a purpose to an audience, but also a video such as the YouTube video that is provided. The title of this video is,

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utep cheerleaders- feature story. Again, this video is trying to make a statement to an audience which explains why and how cheerleading is a sport. This is what it has in common with the other genre, they are both stating the same purpose. The neat thing and different thing that the other genre didnt have is that this video is much more personal. This video states its purpose by using actual cheerleaders cheering at UTEP. Three cheerleaders are interviewed and each asked why cheerleading is sport. They all explain why and also give personal stories. This genre also uses a different method of stating a purpose by showing actual footage of what cheer is and what they do by filming them at practice. This is a great genre that shows in depth what cheer is and how it is a sport. It will allow the audience to connect and understand more since it is actual footage. As far as the vocabulary used in the footage it is more informal. Again, same as the first genre it mostly consist of common everyday words. There really wasnt any specialized cheer words that would make this genres vocabulary formal. This video is 3 minutes and 32 seconds. In order for the audience to connect and understand to the purpose statement being told, watching the entire video is recommended. Rhetorical analysis: Ethos, Pathos, Logos It is important for the website article to have good credibility and reliable sources because that is how the audience will believe in the purpose statement which is being able to see that cheer is a sport, this is referred to ethos. This article is credible because it not only comes from a random website in the internet but from a worldwide known cheer website. Varsity is not only a website but a brand, organization, and a huge cheer competition. This article is also creditable because it list pure actual facts about cheerleading. This is a trusted website that many cheerleaders, a discourse audience to this topic, go to and surf the website for any help, tips, or any information needed about cheer. Some examples are the many pictures and videos of cheer

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teams showing everything they do. These pictures and videos show all the hard work, dedication, mass propelling, endurance, tumbling, jumps, and stunts, everything that that needs to be present in order to be considered a sport. There is also different articles on this particular topic. This article has not only a purpose to inform but also to persuade the audience on changing their minds in believing and understanding that cheerleading is a sport. This is referred to pathos, an emotional connection by reasoning. The way the website shows pathos is by emotionally connecting to the audience by the language choice and how it communicates to the audience. The article does this by stating the only way one can actually help a person see that cheer is a sport is by stating all the facts. One can argue over and over about it, but by giving them nothing but facts will help the person connect and be persuaded into believing cheer is a sport. The last rhetorical analysis, pathos is similar to logos. Pathos is used in this article by connecting emotionally to an audience. This article informs and persuades the audience. The second genre which is the YouTube video also has its own rhetorical analysis. The first one will be ethos. One way this video is credible is by the real footage that is shown. One cant say that it is not true because it is live and it is actual stunts that cheerleaders do. Another way it expresses ethos is by the three cheerleaders that are interviewed. They are each expressing what a cheerleader goes through and has to do. They all state why cheer is a sport in different ways. Now moving onto pathos, it is how the audience connect emotionally by persuading. This video brings many different emotions from happy, shock, sympathy to being amazed. All these different emotions come from the three cheerleaders talking about all their injuries, the hard work and dedication they need to have and by showing the audience everything that they do. There is no music or anything shows emotions to the audience but the seriousness and reality of the cheerleaders makes the audience connect and feel emotion. There is no better way to connect

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emotionally than to actually physically show it. Last but not least is logos which is to persuade with reasoning. The way this video presents logos is the way the cheerleaders back up everything that they are saying. They not only express their own thoughts, but they also back it up by showing the different aspects they do in practices and games. Structure and delivery The structure and delivery of the website article is simple and clear. Since the audience is diverse the website article was put together in a way where there wouldnt be confusion. The text and wording is simple. It is structured in common English language using common terms. The vocabulary is more on the informal side. If it were to consist of cheer terms the article would be formal since cheer terms isnt common vocabulary. The bolded information, bullet points and number points is important information that easy to find. It is written in paragraphs that way it wont be seen like a super long never ending article. At the end of the article it states another website that one can use to go and get more information about why and how cheer is a sport. This website is easy to find by being in a different font color and one can also go to the website just by clicking on it. The way the website article is structured, it makes it easier for the audience to get through it and search for things. The structure and delivery for the YouTube video is also clear. It is less likely for the audience to be confused because they are not only hearing about it but also seeing it. The video also was not long it was only 3 minutes and a half. Another great thing about the video is that its not a video where one is just talking about a topic, while the cheerleaders are being interviewed one is watching what cheerleading is all about. The video keeps the audience interested from beginning to end by showing different aspects of cheer. The downfall of the video is if one

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wanted to look back at something the best thing would be to watch the entire since there arent any headlines, subtitles or bullet points. Conclusion/ synthesis In conclusion, each genre presented in this essay had its differences and similarities. In the end they both served one purpose which was to show, explain, describe or express why cheerleading is a sport. These genres show that there can be different forms of communication and still reach out to the public with the same message. Each genre also had different rhetorical analysis, but both genres had credible information which helped the audience in believing in the topic, persuading them with logic and connecting emotionally. In the end, both genres were completely different but got the job done on expressing why cheerleading is a sport. Both genres were effective and were able to get the message through to the audience by each showing different and many examples on how cheer is a sport. They are effective because both genres brought emotion, sense, credibility, facts and much more factors that prove why cheerleading is a sport.

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References: Drlaffodaypcs. ( 2013, September 29). UTEP Cheerleaders- Feature story. Retrieved January 13, 2013, from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9TCKuEMT9qg Lauchaire, Lauren. Being a Cheerleader - Is Cheerleading a Sport? N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Sept. 2013, from http://www.varsity.com/event/1262/being-a-cheerleader-sport