Analyzing My Genre

Breman, Joel. "Laboratorian was shown looking through a microscope at samples collected from the field free stock photograph" 3/7/2015 via publicdomainimages.
Public domain.

This post will answer basic question about the genre I'll be writing in for project 3. They will help me to understand better how I will need to write to fit withing the genre of an op-ed. The following are examples of op-ed's from various online sources.


Example 1 (LA Times)
Example 2 (NY Times)
Example 3 (Washington Post)
Example 4 (Washington Post)
Example 5 (NY Times)

Social context:

This genre is always set in a newspaper, either physical or online. This is because it is "opposite the editorials," meaning there have to be editorials to be opposite from.

The subject of the genre can really be anything. They are op-eds about everything someone can have an opinion on.

Anyone can use this genre. It's open to everyone to submit an op-ed, (except, I guess the editorial board, because they would just write an editorial), and then the editors can choose which ones they want to publish.

Usually, this genre is used to express someone's opinion, when they feel not enough people agree. The goal the writers can have could be anything from make a point of view known to start a riot to change something. Usually, it's just to inform the public of a point of view, and make them agree.

Rhetorical patterns of the genre:

Because the subject matter is so widely varied, the content included is, too. Depending on the particular subject, the author could include anything from personal stories to historical facts, statistics, or whatever fits the subject.

Again, because the subject matter varies a lot, so too will the uses of logos ethos and pathos. for example, in Example three, the op-ed is about the struggle of being a widow, so it naturally includes a lot of pathos to show that emotional struggle. on the other hand, Example two tries to convince the reader that religion doesn't make people non-violent, so it needs to rely on logos more heavily than others, as that is something that needs to be proven, not 'felt.'

The genre is typically pretty short (fewer than 750 words) so they don't have much room to develop in interesting or unique ways. More or less, they tend to introduce the topic in a short intro, and dive right into what they want to say. Then the conclusion is a pretty standard one, if but a little bit short. Overall, it's like a normal essay, but in a strict length constraint.

Most of them aren't too formal, and use "I" to remind the reader that it is an opinion, especially in example 3. other than that, nothing really stands out. There aren't many questions, or exclamations, likely because the authors only have a short amount of time to get what they need to say to the readers, which leaves no time to get 'cute' with their rhetoric.

The words usually aren't overly formal or academic, and the language is usually fairly simple, as the author aren't trying to show off how smart they are or confuse people, and they especially don't want anyone to not get what they are trying to say just because they don't understand the language. However, if the subject is technical enough, like in example 2, the language can get a bit more advanced.

Rhetorical patterns revealing social context:

The genre includes and excludes people at the discretion of the newspaper, so if the message is something the newspaper is against, it probably won't be published, and the author will have to find another with an agreeing view on the subject. ultimately, the genre goes along with the newspapers' biases.

The genre encourages the writers to express their opinions clearly and openly, and the readers to take everything with a grain of salt (as it is, after all, an opinion).

The values and beliefs are usually whatever goes along with what the publisher would hold. beyond that fairly vague description, it's probably safer not to assume anything beyond the basic things everyone agrees with, as the point of an op-ed is to reach a whole lot of people, who are hard to generalize.

This genre need supporting evidence, and a good amount of personal input from the author goes a long way in an opinion piece. Long-winded summaries and explanations of general things that are common knowledge, or really anything that doesn't move the piece along would be out of place in an op-ed, as the readers don't usually know what they are getting into before they read the title. This means that most of the readers probably won't have chosen to read about that particular subject until it was put right in front of them.