Genres

I’m Ron. I have come to the point in my life where my focus is really on helping others and not so focused on myself. My passion has become working with young people and helping them believe in themselves, set goals, and find their success. I have been working with youth in the areas of leadership, citizenship and community service, and raising livestock. I find it very rewarding to see these middle school and high school students believe in themselves and do thing they never thought they could do. These young people are what is driving me to get a degree and become a counselor.

Being a visual learner, I found “Spaces for Writing” and “Why Rhetoric” an interesting change from textbooks. I liked the way they used images and text to explain their ideas. This is a method I use with the youth I work with, it keeps their attention and keep them engaged. It makes a great example of what they are trying to say in that writing rules can differ depending on your audience, purpose, or situation. I found the section on Ethos, Pathos, Logos, and Kairos interesting. I have never been taught any of that, but realized I employ them often in my communications with government officials, board members, parents, and youth.       

“Navigating Genres” was very informative and written in such a relaxing way. Kerry Dirk’s openness and easy reading style made learning about genres clear. The article shows how genres are used properly and in the appropriate setting, and touched on knowing your audience and considering the content. I felt that genre was explained very well through the ransom letter example. Again we were told about audience and purpose.

“Everything is an Argument” was very informative, but read too much like a textbook. The information was just introduced, an example was given, then moved to the next topic. I’m glad it was short.