Running head: GENRE ANALYSIS FOR RENEWABLE ENERGY 1

Genre Analysis for Renewable Energy

Joey A. Zamora

University of Texas at El Paso

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Genre Analysis for Renewable Energy

Our home is nearly five billion years old and out of these five billion years, it took dead

organisms three-hundred million years to self-create our fossil fuels. Despite the three-hundred

million years worth of accumulated fossil fuels, we termites managed to exhaust nearly all of

them in only two-hundred and fifty years. Nations and habitats throughout the globe are feeling

the negative impacts that we leave behind from our inefficient means of energy generation. Only

we can find a solution to the devastation weve created.

Renewable energy is the best solution! It was first used in the late 20th century. This type

of energy consumption is limitless and healthier than the fossil fuels we burn in our power plants,

factories, and automobiles today. Although major companies have realized this, they continue to

ignore the potential benefits of renewable energy due to their greed for wealth. However, not all

companies are as ignorant and an article from the New York Times, Google Says It Will Run

Entirely on Renewable Energy in 2017, exhibits a globally known company who has made a

momentous step forward in the transition to complete utilization of renewable resources. This

strive forward was made possible by the countless of individuals and organizations who have

strived to bring awareness on what exactly renewable energy is. A video from a globally known

website, Youtube.com, titled Renewable Energy explained in 2 Minutes presents exactly

the capabilities and benefits renewable energy has to offer. This essay will compare and contrast

each piece of the genres and analyze the rhetorical techniques that were utilized by each.

Structure and delivery

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In order to be effective in executing the purpose of a genre, the creator must have a

structure. Thus, the proper message can then be delivered. The article displays skill in structuring

its main points to target the individual reading the paper. For example, in the sentence Google

computers will consume nothing but wind and solar power.(Hardy, 2016) the article by Quentin

Hardy states such immediately after it has presented all the facts about renewable resources. This

technique is structured precisely and well aids the purpose of the writing. Although the article

does well in structuring, there are limitations that come with the typography. One limitation is

that the article does not have a visual representation, like a video genre would, that the reader can

use to grasp a clearer understanding of the message being conveyed. However, the article from

the New York Times has freedoms as well. Such freedoms are that there is more space to express

ideas than a fixed sized billboard or image, and more time as well! For example, a video might

be limited by time while a newsletter can go as long as it is able to. To add, the article maintains

formal language throughout the writing.

On the contrary, we have a completely different genre, the video by Dan Bliss Design.

The video is structured well as it uses color schemes to evoke different emotions within the

viewer and goes in chronological order to convey its ideas. Let us begin with the color schemes

throughout the video, the entire concept of renewable energy in the globe is to direct humanities

future toward a brighter and cleaner world of tomorrow. Thus, bright and natural colors are used

throughout the video so long as the subject at hand is renewable energy. However, as soon as the

video explains what nonrenewable resources are and how they negatively affect our world, the

colors turn pale and dark. This is to exhibit the negative effects of the commonly used resources.

The narrator of the video begins with elementary facts on renewable energy, then goes into

negative impacts of renewable energy, then finally elaborates on the possibilities of the future.
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This effectively displays the chronology within the video.Like every genre, the video comes with

its limitations and freedoms. The limitations of the iconography are that it has a fixed size of

space to utilize and a two and a half minute window to shove as much info as possible about

renewable energy.

Overall the article and the video are similar and different in some aspects. Whereas the

article had an unlimited amount of space to write the video is on a fixed-size screen. The director

of the video, Dane Bliss Design, intended for the video to be a short overview of the concept.

Thus giving the makers of the video a little amount of time to convey all their ideas and views on

renewable energy. Contrarily, The New York Times article is granted no time frame to convey all

purposes and ideas. Although the article is granted more freedoms it does not have the advantage

of using visuals and color schemes to project its message further.

Audience and Purpose

To begin, the article from the New York Times targets a large audience. The typical

audience interested in the topic would likely be businesses, businessmen, and the entire portion

of the population that utilize non-renewable resources. The readers of the article already

understand what renewable energy is but want to obtain knowledge on how their community is

putting it to good use. The purpose of the article about Google utilizing renewable resources is

to persuade the reader to realize that non-renewable resources are old fashioned and the new

healthier trend is renewable resources. This is displayed in the line, so that Googles usage

presents no net consumption of fossil fuels and the pool of electricity gets a relatively larger

share of renewable sources. (Hardy, 2016) where the writer is elaborating on the transition by

google to make its switch.

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Next, just as the article, the video from youtube.com by Dane Bliss Design targets a large

audience. Such audience consists of discourse communities like companies, industries, factory

owners, automobile users, and other technological discourse communities. The audience already

knows the dangers of their ways in using non-renewable resources to power their cars as it is

displayed in numerous commercials. However, they do not know exactly how renewable

resources can be implemented in their daily lives and this short video will introduce them to such

possibilities.

In conclusion of the audience and purpose section, we can confirm that both the New

York Times article by Quentin Hardy and the Youtube video by Dane Bliss Design share

similarities in the audience and discourse communities they are targeting. They differ in the

purpose of their genres as the article is aiming to provide proof that renewable energy is utilized

around the world, while the video just seeks to inform the reader about what renewable energy is.

Rhetorical Issues

Strategical writing has been used through the ages to evoke emotions and feelings from

the reader either to persuade, inform, inspire or entertain. To begin, the article by Quentin Hardy

establishes some sort of credibility by being a writer for the New York Times. The New York

Times is one of the most credible news sources around the globe. The evidence used by the

article to support its credibility are direct quotes from google officials themselves. Aside from the

ethos being used, the pathos or emotion being evoked is inspiring. This brings a feeling of

anticipation to the reader. This effectively accomplished with the help of a topic that leaves the

audience with anxious about what tomorrow has in store for technology.
With modern technology developed society is given the privilege to develop rhetorical

strategies visual through videos and images. YouTube is globally known for their video website

and many informational videos are uploaded directly. The YouTube channel by Dane Bliss
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Design recently made a video on renewable energy and although not establishing credibility they

utilized a ton of pathos within the two and half minutes the video ran. For example, the video

looked to target the inspirational side of the viewer by implementing colors that would make one

feel anticipation for the future. Such colors consist of light blue, light green, and other bright

colors.
Overall, the two genres share similarities in that they both bring a sense of anticipation to

the reader. In contrast, the article from the New York Times pre-establishes its credibility while

the video from YouTube by Dane Bliss Design does not establish any ethos. We can also

conclude that both genres utilize logos as it is common sense that renewable energy is healthier

to the world.
Conclusion
In conclusion of this analysis, the key factors that are shared between the two genres are

their targeted audience and their ability to bring out the same desired emotion of anticipation

from the viewer. Furthermore, we can also conclude that the article was more efficient in getting

its purpose across to the reader. This is self-evident in the fact that it utilized more rhetorical

techniques than the video; it established credibility while the video did not. Nonetheless, these

selected genres offer information to the discourse communities and have accomplished both of

their purposes.

References
Hardy, Q. (2016). Google Says It Will Run Entirely on Renewable Energy in 2017.New York

Times. Retrieved from.https://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/06/technology/google-says-

it-will-run-entirely-on-renewable-energy-in-2017.html

Dane Bliss Design. (2015). Renewable Energy explained in 2 Minutes.Youtube.com. Retrieved

from.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KEeH4EniM3E