Alexander Dieguez

Calkins

ENC 1101

December 5, 2014

Genre Analysis

Through my investigation of Tau Kappa Epsilon- the fraternity I initiated into a

year ago- I experienced several revelations, including the discovery of a fault within our system

of communications. As stated in the PowerPoint, a large quantity of members of the fraternity

(about 29%) fail to receive mass texts sent out by the secretary. Because communication stands

as a pillar to any organization’s foundation, it was pertinent to take action through a rhetorical

situation. As the exigence, this issue is the sole reason for my genre, and the problem

surrounding my entire cause (Grant-Davie 351-353). Without notification of events, members

may not be able to work their schedules around in time, which diminishes attendance, and

eventually cripples our sense of brotherhood. For example, if several people are not notified that

a recruitment event was moved to an earlier time, they will not arrive accordingly. This causes

the fraternity to look smaller, and may discourage potential new members from viewing us as a

strong band of brothers. Utilizing Kain and Wardle’s activity theory to understand the different

texts and the reasoning behind their organization and formatting, I developed a PowerPoint

presentation that offers a solution to this issue (280).

Ultimately, rhetorical situations exist to solve the exigence (Grant-Davie 351); and,

communities- utilizing their tools, motives, subjects, rules, division of labor, and more- work

through these rhetorical situations to accomplish certain outcomes (Kain and Wardle 279). Thus,

I studied previous rhetorical situations, other PowerPoints, past emails, texts, and speeches to

understand that most members- though they respect and listen to one-another- do not read long

emails or texts thoroughly. They do not tolerate speeches either, as demonstrated by the vast

amount of motionless heads glued to the desks of the meeting room. This results in the rejection

of most proposals in the fraternity, as they are unaware of current issues due to ignorance. As

noted in my observation notes however, during the presentation of PowerPoints, they often pay

attention because they are short, colorful, and dynamic throughout. This led me to the decision in

constructing a PowerPoint, where motives would adapt to many of my brothers’ interests. Using

graphs, pictures, and simple language further reinforces this adaptation, or “typication,” which

reduces the risk of misunderstandings (Bazerman 372).

Upon developing the genre, I took into consideration the location, the time, and the

audience that would be addressed. It would be on a Sunday at 7:00 P.M. during the weekly

chapter in the Health and Public Affairs building in room 107. During an allotted time slot, I

would be allowed to present the PowerPoint to a specific audience. The direct audience for the

genre is the fraternity as a whole, as it is all fifty five members of the organization whom I

address throughout the presentation (Grant-Davie 347). For instance, in the PowerPoint, I stated

“the choice is yours,” referring directly to the whole chapter. Additionally, during the

developmental stages of the work, I subconsciously wrote as if addressing my twelfth grade

biology class and our teacher- as he required many PowerPoint projects for the course. Despite

variations in his curriculum, he constantly assigned the same type of work: simplistic, yet

entertaining PowerPoints that attracted the audience while sending a clear and concise message.

He repeatedly claimed that tired teenagers need dynamic presentations to capture their attention.

This ideal PowerPoint was something I sought. Vibrant colors and short texts seem relatively

effective to dozens of college students struggling to overcome a weekend’s worth of

entertainment.

Positive or negative, there exist factors outside of the speaker’s control that affect the

delivery of all rhetorical situations; according to Grant-Davie, these are known as “constraints”

(356-351). One negative factor pertains to the hypothetical time of the situation: after 7:00 P.M.

and on a Sunday. Furthermore, the fraternity had already voted against changing the mass text

system about a year ago. Unfortunately, the brother who fought for a change lacked an adamant

foundation, such an estimation on the number of members that do not receive these messages,

the cause of the problem, and/or alternative methods to deliver information .Thus, the option to

expand this issue appeared trivial at the time. Therefore, at a first glance, the return of such issue

may seem unnecessary to many- especially to those who detest unfamiliarity and/or own an

iPhone. I ultimately had to choose the wording carefully, and research thoroughly when

searching for an alternative- GroupMe. This doubt in a new system may persist, however, which

could prevent many from voting for the GroupMe app, even with research and numbers.

To further establish credibility- as it would be the entire organization witnessing the

presentation- I implemented the influence of statistics. Cold, hard evidence- such as the number

of members who do not receive all of the mass text messages- tends to appeal to the masses

through logos. Thus, I spoke during a chapter meeting where attendance was 100%. I asked

several questions while everyone had their heads down to keep the statistics a surprise. I then

went on to ask brothers to raise their hands when a question corresponded to them. After

inquiring on the types of phones everyone had, I asked brothers to raise their hands if they failed

to receive at least 1 of the last 3 mass text messages. I continued by asking those that raised their

hands, what types of phones they had. That provided me with enough numbers to calculate

powerful statistics for the PowerPoint, such as the fact that 1 in 5 members did not receive at

least one of the last three texts.

Despite the obstacles I faced, there were also constraints that enabled an effective genre.

Hands-on experience with the GroupMe app prior to the PowerPoint, for example, allowed me to

write with confidence and honesty, rather than with assumptions. As I am already familiar with

the program, I know how it works, and attest to all of the “pros” mentioned in the PowerPoint,

including easy access, and its “affordab[ility].”

In order to ensure optimal effectiveness in rhetoric, words must embody meaning that is

constructed through “good reading” (Haas and Flower 414-417). Despite the many factors

influencing my genre, one negative constraint seemed the most difficult to overcome: the

misunderstanding of my intended meaning through certain circumstances (Bazerman 370). In

other words, two presentations, identical in wording, may differ if presented by two different

individuals. Referring to the “felicity” conditions, Bazerman claims certain criteria must be met

before rhetoric can offer adequate meaning (370). Behind even the simplest “utterances,” or

“speech acts” as he calls them, there exist multiple stages within the constructed meanings Haas

and Flower mention (370). At the first level- the locutionary act- lies the literal interpretation;

while the second level- the illocutionary act- bears the intended meaning; and, the final level- the

perlocutionary effect- is the audience's interpretation (370-371). Therefore, audience’s

interpretation of my genre’s meaning may fall inaccurate in the transition from the second level

to the third level.

Such inaccuracy can manifest within the “Solution” slide, for example. The speech act

within this section of my genre intends to give a clear and concise description of the application,

suggesting that it is “beneficial” to our cause. Thus, this implication represents the locutionary

act as well as the illocutionary act in said situation. However, the audience may take the slide as

an insult to our current system- the rhetoric’s perlocutionary effect. This would cause a problem,

as my intended meaning is now misconstrued, and seen as negative. Fortunately, I made it an

effort to minimize the complexity of speech acts by utilizing short phrases or sentences to get a

point across. Such feature can provide “clues” regarding the perlocutionary effect, and utterly

clarify any misunderstanding (Bazerman 376). For example, rather than typing a whole essay

that elaborates on the problem, who it affects, where and when it occurs, and why it happens, I

chose to type “Who, What, Where, When, [and] Why.” It was bold, stretched vertically across a

page with a short description to answer each. I also had to use entertaining animations and

transitions, as well as bright headers and pictures to retain attention. Instead of making all the

phrases appear instantly, for example, I decided to have heading and sentences fall or appear

from nothing- such as the yellow “GroupMe” heading in the “Solution” page. That being said, I

believe this notion- the implementation of short phrases and sentences in the bullet points- is the

most successful asset to my genre’s rhetoric as it prevents readers from losing attention, and

upholds simple and clear meanings.

In terms of rhetoric, I believe that the biggest problem is satisfying the majority of the

chapter with the type of genre chosen, despite my thorough research. According to Bazerman,

“limitations” exist in “easily spotted features” throughout archetypal genres. Furthermore, people

in a community may “disagree” on certain issues, which eventually causes conflict (Kain and

Wardle 278); these different views correlate with a bias that could influence individuals’ views

on what they see. Thus, when they see a PowerPoint on the screen, they could all have different

knowledge about the general structure and ideals, which ultimately influences the final verdict.

For instance, one individual who has slept through most PowerPoint presentations because he

finds them boring, or useless, may ignore the presentation without even giving it a chance. On

the other hand, another individual may consider PowerPoints to be fun and exciting compared to

emails and texts, and may pay close attention to the presentation.

Reflecting on the creation of the PowerPoint, I acknowledge the many steps and theories

needed to thoroughly analyze a genre and its appropriate system. Despite the several successes-

especially in the simplistic nature of a PowerPoint- there is still a doubt involving my work.

Rather than dividing the information into multiple slides, I could have sent a small, one paged

virtual flier through email, which further reduces the possibility of a misconstrued perlocutionary

effect. Even though I worked rigorously to make the presentation simple, I now realize that it is

not yet simple enough as there is still a vast amount of information in the PowerPoint.

Works Cited

Grant-Davie, Keith. "Rhetorical Situations and Their Constituents." Writing About

Writing. A College Reader. By Elizabeth A. Wardle and Doug Downs. Second ed. Boston:

Bedfort/St. Martins,  2014. 347-64. Print. 

Bazerman, Charles. "Speech Acts, Genres, and Activity Systems: How Texts Organize

Activity and People." Writing About Writing. A College Reader. By Elizabeth A. Wardle and

Doug Downs. Second ed. Boston: Bedfort/St. Martins. 2014. 365-94. Print.

Kain, Donna, and Elizabeth A. Wardle. "Activity Theory: An Introduction for the

Writing Classroom." Writing About Writing. A College Reader. By Elizabeth A. Wardle and

Doug Downs. Second ed. Boston: Bedfort/St. Martins. 2014. 273-301. Print.

Flower, Linda, and Christina Haas. "Rhetorical Reading Strategies and the Construction

of Meaning." Writing About Writing: A College Reader. By Elizabeth A. Wardle and Doug

Downs. Second ed. Boston: Bedfort/St. Martins. 2014. 410-28. Print.