Running head: GENRE ANALYSIS 1

Genre Analysis

Isaac A. Lara

University of Texas at El Paso

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Genre Analysis

Genres are the types of writing that we encounter every day. A genre can be anything

from a children’s’ book or a lab report, to something someone has posted on social media or a

billboard off the highway. Despite the fact that the examples given for genres are all in the form

of writing, they can also be used in videos and speeches. Whether we realize it or not, we analyze

genres on a daily basis. Although our brain does most of the analyzing subconsciously, every

time you log into Facebook, you have a preconceived notion of how your “friend”, which are

also authors, will express themselves in a post and if they have an arguments how they will

present that argument. The thing is that the argument posted by your friend will greatly differ

from an argument you read on an opinion piece in the newspaper. Hence why genres are

important. A genre can dictate certain aspects about a piece of writing. While genres may overlap

the use of some aspects, the method in which they are used is what makes certain genres more

powerful than others in diverse situations.

The genres’ this paper analyzes discuss the decline in water tables. During the last few

decades, utilization of aquifers has continued to accelerate at an exponential rate in order to meet

the needs of the world. Things like irrigation, suburban/urban water supplies, and simple

commodities like bottled water are some of the many diverse uses of water. As time progresses,

well owners are far more interested in how to exploit this vital resource. If resources are not

managed appropriately, excessive pumping could disrupt the natural water cycles causing the

water tables to lower and eventually the well could “go dry.” William C. Walton (1970) presents

us with a monograph called, Groundwater Resource Evaluation, regarding how scientists and

engineers can use different mathematical and technological innovations to aid them in finding the

levels of water tables and things that they can do to conserve/replenish them. Sacramento Valley
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(2017) uses digital media with the help of research scientists Christina Buck for a video called

“What Is the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act?” which argues that groundwater is a

local issue and that legislation has been passed for the state of California to oversee the

management of this resource. Walton was more convincing in his argument because he was

backed by more sources, but the paper argues that most people would accept the claim from the

video because it is much easier to digest and since it is not as technical/complex as the

information presented in Walton’s monograph.

Structure and Delivery

Specific genres can highly constraint how information or thoughts are delivered.

Monographs, like the one written by Walton, are limited to the way he can present his knowledge

and claims. Since it is a peer reviewed article the authors are aware that their material will be

scrutinized at a higher degree extremely limiting him to how far he can simplify something since

he assumes his peers will have a solid background in the topic. The video for Sacramento Valley

will have more liberty since they don’t have to abide by a certain set of guidelines except the

guidelines placed by YouTube, besides that they free to present any information that they please.

One of the constraints that the video does face is time, most people would like information

presented to be quick and entertaining so you have to keep that in mind when delivering

messages in this format.

Organization is a vital factor when delivering a claim; if your method of delivery is not

suitable for your genre then the message could be lost in translation. For some genres, the way

thesis or claims are written can be very systematic. For example in Walton’s monograph, which

contained a whole preface right before the first chapter, he presented the topic at the beginning

subsequently followed by topic details and towards the end of the preface he presented us with
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his claim. The interesting part is that if you were to take most monographs that contain a preface

or an introduction, one would generally find the authors thesis towards the end of the preface.

The digital sources, such as the video by Sacramento Valley, do not have a convention to follow

when structuring their videos. In fact, everyone seems to develop their own style in regards to

structures of their videos and that why some YouTube channels can be more effective than others.

Many may prefer to present their claims at the very start followed closely by ranting on why

their idea is the factual one. In Sacramento Valley’s video they seem to take an approach that felt

homogenous to the monograph by Walton. They presented their subject, followed by some

details, presented their claim, and then at the end began to offer a solution.

While each genre is attempting to advocate different ideas about the same topic, the

means of conveyance for each genre differ greatly. Video Sources have a great advantage in how

they are able to communicate and interact with the audience. They tend to use informal

vocabulary attempting not to be too technical so they may connect with a broader audience. The

options for video tend to be infinite, using imagery, backgrounds, and pictures. The public tends

to trust the video, which makes it more successful since they can use all sorts of other approaches

to aid in getting the message across. On the other hand, we have monographs such as Walton’s,

which is chockfull of formal and very technical language. In the monograph you will find charts

and pictures, but they are usually in black & white, making the whole experience somewhat

bland. Besides the fact that people can just listen to the video and the monograph has to be read,

just looking at the monograph can seem like a daunting task.

Clearly, there is a vast distinction between the two types of genres. It is possible to

speculate that the differences in the two are what might discourage a lot of individuals to stick

with “things we know best”. In the current age, there is so much access to information at just the
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tap of a few screens, and individuals are used to just absorbing information in the fastest way

possible. They do not want to take the time to flip through pages in a book and digest or make

sense of the information ourselves; people just want it to get it fed to them by somebody that has

already done all the tedious work. The next point the paper argues is the language used to present

all the information in the first genre it is extremely intricate and complex, the ideas presented by

Walton are meant for a scholar in the field of hydrology or environmental science. The

information usually presented in videos is trivialized in a manner that most people can just click

on the YouTube video and extract information from it without having a degree. All which can be

accomplished within minutes unlike reading a monograph that can take a large sum of time to

read and truly digest all the information.

Audience and Purpose

The purpose between monographs and video sources usually vary greatly in terms of

what they are each trying to accomplish or whom they are trying to attract. Walton and some

authors of monographs usually work to inform readers, present them with new ideas and expand

on topic that will aid them when conducting new extensive research or give them a basis on

which to continue. Some monographs may also be used to present a completely new idea that

might contradict established conventions posing new questions that might still be lacking proof.

On the contrary Sacramento Valley, which makes an opinion piece that is attempting to persuade

viewers to support a specific proposition on water tables and how they should be regulated.

Video sources can have all sorts of purpose, but depending on the video, the genre is not

constrained to just persuading viewers but can also serve to inform or merely entertain.

The audience dictates a lot on how the content is presented between different genres. In

monographs like Walton’s, it is purposely written for scholars to attempt to add to their
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knowledge. Walton’s books isn’t aimed towards the general public because the manner in which

monographs are written making it difficult to even read it if you’re not a scholar since they

include so much specialized information. Video sources like the one by Sacramento Valley are

aimed towards a certain discourse community usually trying to persuade the community to agree

with them. For example, in this scenario the video is aimed towards the people of California to

support a specific bill in order for the local government to regulate aquifers. While it might be an

issue in California it could be considered as general awareness because the problems with water

and droughts is an issue worldwide.

Even though both genres may be trying to inform people of the lowering water tables

each genre has a unique way to present their point differently. Consequently, since the two genres

greatly differ between each other there is also a huge difference in the types of audiences.

Monographs are aimed towards scholars while video sources are made to be more broad and

understandable by the general public. Walton’s ability to pass the message across is extremely

constrained by whom the content is presented to. The video is aimed towards mostly voters

whose ages can range anywhere from 18 to 100, since their demographic is so broad they have to

make the information presented as broad as possible to avoid much bias from one group to

another.

Rhetorical Issues: Ethos

In order to establish credibility, the genres require certain elements that will add support

to their claims; each genre uses different methods in order to create this notion. In the first genre,

Walton refers to the work of other colleagues so that he can form his foundation. Another way

the monograph establishes credibility is the fact that in order for Walton’s monograph to be

printed it must undergo a rigorous process of critiquing, and to top it off it is printed by an
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extremely reliable source, McGraw-Hill, whom is one of the biggest educational publishers. The

second genre, Sacramento Valley uses water resources research scientist Christina Buck to

present the information in order to make the video more credible. Since they are not established

as a credible source they must work more diligently in order to persuade the viewer.

Pathos

Pathos is a quality to an argument that evokes emotions such as sadness. The use of

emotion is not very common in a monograph, especially since they are scholarly works meant to

aide or provide new theories on a specific topic. This type of genre heavily relies on their use of

sources to be able to persuade their audience. There is an attempt at pathos used by Walton in the

Preface where he pushes for the importance of ground water management. In it he mentions the

competition for available resources in parts of the world, setting a tone why this is a topic of

paramount importance. The second genre, the video source, pathos is the bread and butter for this

type of genre. Since it is a video they have the ability to use different methods to invoke certain

emotions. For example, the video uses pictures sequences at the end, with a voiceover by

research scientist Buck, with dried up wells and other related images. The video is attempting to

generate feelings of guilt and inspiration, in order to get voters to the poll and try to get this state

act passed.

Logos

Logos may be one of the strongest components of rhetoric. Logos is where the author

appeals to the readers’ minds for reason on their specific topic. If the author can use logos

effectively, then chances are that their argument might be more efficient. For example, in

Walton’s monograph, it is chock-full of logos throughout the whole book, by using different

tables and graphs he is able to support the information provided. Referring back to our paragraph
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about ethos, we know that the data is reliable because it comes from other reliable sources; hence

the information provided is more powerful. In the second genre, the presenter Buck does provide

some “facts” throughout the segment but this is where this genre falls weak because she does not

provide where she obtained that information.

Walton’s monograph may seem to be lacking much pathos, but I believe that is what the

authors of monographs are attempting to do. They try to leave out as much personality as they

can because they are pressured to argue a point without appealing to the humane side of the

reader but to prove it using different type of research or facts. In the video source, Sacramento

Valley does not quote any of their sources used through the presentation making it extremely

weak in their logos, but logos and ethos work hand in hand. Hence, why they used a research

scientist to present the information hoping to overcome the shortcomings of their logos.

Each of the genres has their strong points but in order to enforce these strongpoints, it

seems like they leave gaps in their arguments. The monograph is highly strong in ethos and in

logos providing very useful data and backing it up well with their use of exceptional sources.

What the monograph does lack is the use of pathos, which seems to be the strong point of the

video source. Unlike the monograph the video source is free to add as much emotion as it can

create the bias that the monograph seems to be trying to avoid. The use of other sense allows the

Sacramento Valley video to be able to appeal to different emotions unlike the book that is limited

to how the reader interprets the author’s emotions. The video covers their basis with ethos but

falls short on logos with some data given but citing of sources, hence we don’t know how

trustworthy that data can be.

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Conclusion

As demonstrated by looking at the similarities and the differences amongst both genres

we can depict the effectiveness of each one. Overall, they both achieved their purpose by using

the different characteristics at the their disposal for each genre. The video was able to exploit its

use of imagery and sounds to appeal to their audience in order to persuade them to go vote. The

monograph used its plentiful amounts of data and information to convey the message to other

scholars. This paper demonstrates that the video genre is more successful since it applies to a

broader audience and more people are likely to accept the ideas presented by it. Although each

genre offered a distinct argument to their audience, they both discussed the same issue at hand

the maintaining of high water table levels. Their approach may differ in ways, especially since

they are raising awareness to different demographics, yet each genre was successful in calling for

change using alternate methods.

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References

Walton, W. C. (1970). Groundwater resource evaluation. New York City, NY: McGraw-Hill.

Sacramento Valley. (2017, April 11). What is the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act?

[Video File]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xqY-bsiBwPU

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