Project Builder 1B: Inspecting Genre Generators

Genre generators use a genre’s conventions to create a random example of work from that genre. For instance, SCIgen “generates random Computer Science research papers, including graphs, figures, and citations”(SCIgen website). This genre generator follows the conventions of a research paper. Each research paper created is divided into several sections with the same order each time. Scientific papers usually begin with a title that highlights importance of topic followed by the author of the paper. Then, there is an abstract that summarizes the question asked and explains the motivation for asking it. After the abstract is the introduction. It presents the background of the question and what to expect in the rest of the paper. Next is the explanation of the methodology used and what models were used in trying to answer the question being asked. For these computer science research papers, charts and diagrams were also included in this section. Then there is an implementation section and a results section that includes the data and analysis of the project. Finally, there is the conclusion section and references section. This specific organization of the research paper (the sections, graphs, and references) is the same each time a new paper is generated, even if the words and topics are different. The research papers are often around 5-8 pages long, and often use Computer Science jargon. They have a scholarly tone that is confident and respectful.

Another example of a genre generator is Pandyland, which is a genre generator that creates random comic strips. The conventions for comic strips significantly contrast with the conventions for Computer Science research papers. While computer science research papers have text and diagrams, the Pandyland comic strips have three panels of pictures. Comic strips are usually short sequences of cartoons meant for entertainment. Some panels have text in bubbles and in captions while others have no text and have the characters performing actions. The Pandyland comic strips are easy to understand and colored. The text in these comic strips is very short; there is often a single statement in each panel or none at all, and the tone is humorous and light.

Similarly, an online meme generator (memegenerator.net) produces memes, which are usually popular images in social media that have white text over them. The text is usually large and in all capital letters. The generator makes single images of people, animals, or cartoons with text on the top and bottom of the photo, depicting what the character is saying. Like comic strips, memes are meant for entertainment. The text is often no longer than two lines and the tone can be sarcastic, witty, or comical.  

An additional genre generator is the Postmodernism Generator (http://www.elsewhere.org/pomo/), which produces Postmodernism Essays. Similar to a research paper, the postmodernism essay generated is academic-based and is meant to explore and expand on a theory or question being asked. These essays also have titles that contain the key words of the essay, followed by the author’s name. For these postmodernism essays, the department and university of the author are also included. These essays are divided into sections and numbered. Each section also has many quotes. At the end of the essay, there is a list of references. These generated essays can range from 2-6 pages of text.

How can thinking about what’s happening in these websites help someone better understand genre?

Each of these websites creates a random example of their genre. After trying out the website multiple times, many examples of each genre are created and can be compared and contrasted. How is a research paper different than a comic strip? Some surface level features are easy to spot. For one, they look completely different. One has pictures and cartoons, and the other has pages full of text with paragraphs. Each individual genre’s conventions and rhetorical devices make that thing that thing, and recognizing these creates genre awareness and an understanding of the genres and the term genre. When someone compares and contrasts the multiple examples from that genre, they can identify the patterns that are used in all of the examples. This is why the genre generators are so helpful. It doesn’t matter what you put into it, no matter what, you get the same patterns each time for each specific genre. This helps that person understand the genre and what to expect from any other pieces from the generator. For example, after generating many research papers, I can see that each research paper created has the specific conventions mentioned in the first paragraph, such as an introduction section and graphs and references. Now I know how to recognize and distinguish a research paper from a comic strip based on the conventions I understand about both of those genres. It also allows me to know what to expect when I read a research paper or what is appropriate when I need to write one. All of this information is given to me from experimenting with these genre generators and gaining genre awareness.

Project Builder 1A: Dissecting a Genre’s Rhetorical Features and Conventions

A Postcard

What makes a postcard a postcard? There are many rhetorical features and conventions for a postcard that help us recognize this thing, and make it into what we acknowledge as a postcard.

Postcards are sent, seen, and read. With each audience, there is a different purpose for the card. In general terms, the audience of a postcard is the reader or receiver of the card. Readers can consist of family members, friends, relatives, or even the sender. With the audience of family, friends, and relatives, the purpose of the postcard is to provide information or give a greeting. If the audience is the sender, the purpose of the card changes. The sender could have multiple reasons for wanting a card; one example could be that the sender wants to remember the location of where they got the postcard. Postcards can also be used for marketing. Businesses send out many postcards as advertisements, in hopes that a picture on the postcard or the information provided will catch a reader’s eye and interest them. The tones and styles of these postcards for marketing would be different than the tones and styles for family, friends, and relatives.  For marketing, the sender would try to include information on the postcard about new deals or about their business. The tone would be to try to convince the reader of the importance of these deals or of their business. For family, friends, and relatives, the tone could be warm or excited in greetings or informative when keeping the reader up to date on the sender’s life. The context of postcards varies from place to place, which is what makes the postcard special. The postcard could come from the sandy beaches of Hawaii or from the Great Wall of China. In this way, the context of the postcard allows the receiver to picture where the sender was and how the sender felt when he or she bought the postcard. These rhetoric features (audience, purpose, context, and style/tone) tie into the conventions of postcards and what makes a postcard a postcard.

The conventions of a postcard help define what is recognized as a postcard. Conventions are considered “the glue,” or the similarities that are seen in many different postcards. Postcards are usually sent by mail. Because of this, postcards usually have addresses and postage stamps on them and can be sent from far away or nearby, nationally or internationally. They are usually rectangular or square, and small enough to fit in a mail box. They are also usually on thick, sturdy paper so that each postcard can survive the rough handling of the mailing process. Postcards can be used as keepsakes on travels, to send love or greetings, as a way to keep in touch with distant friends or family, as announcements, or as advertisements. They can then be put away and saved for memories or posted on a board, wall, or fridge to be looked at often. Because of this, they often have quotes or images printed on them, usually on the front to catch the attention of the reader. Then, on the back, there is usually a message from the sender with the location of where the postcard is from and the date or time it was sent. These conventions differentiate postcards from other genres, such as tweets or romance novels and allow us to recognize a postcard when we see it. 

Examples:

(from http://www.cardsinthepost.com/media)

(from http://idzyanamohddahlan.files.wordpress.com/2011/01/sample-written-postcard1.jpg) 

Blog Blurb: About Me

Hi! I’m Sabrina Leong! I’m from Agoura Hills, California and I’m a sophomore and a Chemistry major. Right now I’m on the pre-med track looking at pediatrics, so I’m taking CHEM109B (Organic Chemistry), EEMB2 (Ecology and Evolution), MCDB1B (Animal and Plant Physiology), a biology lab course, and Writing 2. If anyone wants to study together, let me know! J

Last year I was involved in a program at UCSB called Scitrek, and it was a really exciting teaching program that allowed UCSB students to travel to elementary schools in the area and teach them about science. We would do really fun experiments with the 2^nd, 3^rd, and 5^th graders that helped them understand scientific reasoning and methods. They would form their own hypothesis, test it, make observations, and form conclusions from the data they found. It was amazing working with them, and everyday I was blown away by how intelligent and observant they were. Unfortunately I’m a little too busy to participate this quarter, but it’s a really exciting program and I hope to come back to it.

Most of my time is spent studying, but when I’m not studying I love going to movies, watching TV, reading, and going to state street or IV with friends. My favorite weather is 72 degrees and sunny with a slight breeze, so Santa Barbara is one of my favorite places to live and vacation. When I’m home, I enjoy hanging out with my family and playing video games. I also love going to museums, gardens, zoos, aquariums, and parks. 

My family and I are pretty close, and since I live about an hour and a half away from Santa Barbara, they visit often. My father is a pediatric cardiologist, and one of the main reasons why I aspire to become a doctor. My mother is also in the medical field, and is a pediatric nurse. I have a younger sister, who is a junior in high school right now. I also have two dogs at home, a German Shepard/Doberman mix and a little Dachshund.  

My goals for this quarter are to study hard and have fun! Hakuna Matata!