GENRE ANALYSIS

MWA 3

What is genre?
Genre is a category of artistic, musical, or literary composition
characterized by a particular style, form, or content.

A composition can be in any genre whether it be an essay, website, article,
book, film, journal, blog, speech, or almost anything else you can think of.
Genre Analysis
For this genre analysis I will be analyzing two genres that address the topic of Nursing.
A documentary titled Lifeline: the Nursing Diaries
A blog entry from a site titled Salary Data for Registered Nurses by Brendon Barnett

I will address several aspects of each genre.
Audience
Message
Rhetorical elements
I will then compare the two to figure out which genre is the most beneficial and effective.

Documentary
Lifeline: The Nursing Diaries
Director: Richard Kahn.
CBS Broadcasting, 2004. DVD.
You can watch the documentary series in sections at
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pWxw4QRsTjg
Summary
This is an engaging documentary that shows autonomous nursing
actions that the media commonly ignores or assigns to physicians,
including life-saving interventions, patient education and family
support. Lifeline: The Nursing Diaries, a production of Discovery
Health and CBS News Productions, gives an unusually good sense of
the real value of skilled nursing, but avoids fostering stereotypes of
nurses as handmaidens or angels.


Blog Entry
Salary Data for Registered Nurses
Author: Brendon Barnett
Publisher: Kathy Quan
Site: www.thenursingsiteblog.com
Summary
The blog entry Salary Data for Registered Nurses is
an excellent source of information for anyone
interested in entering the Nursing field. Barnett
provides detailed information about what a Registered
Nurse can expect to make in different states and areas,
as well as the shortage of nurses in the nation.

MESSAGE
Message
Lifeline: The Nursing Diaries
Filmed real-life situations
Surgeries and procedures
Everyday tasks
Patient-nurse
relationships/communication
Hospital environment
Medical vocabulary


Salary Data for Registered Nurses
Nursing information and data
Becoming a registered nurse
Registered nurse salary
Employment rates
Top paying states
Top paying metropolitan areas
RN and Nursing job shortage



AUDIENCE
Audience
Lifeline: The Nursing Diaries
An audience interested in
Reality
Action packed drama
Raw experiences
On site experiences
Medical field register and jargon

Salary Data for Registered Nurses
An audience interested in
Monetary benefits
Outlined
Organized format
Paragraph headings
Clear data and facts
Informal but informative
Common vocabulary
Graphs and charts




RHETORICAL
ELEMENTS
Rhetorical Elements
An ethos based argument is used to convince the audience of the speakers
credibility or character.
A pathos based argument is used to persuade an audience by appealing to their
emotions.
A logos based argument is an appeal to logic to persuade an audience by reason.
Rhetorical Elements
Lifeline: The Nursing Diaries
Methods of persuasion: Ethos and pathos
Ethos
Credible information comes directly from
Registered Nurses
Shows the character of a nurse
Pathos
Filmed tragedies and complicated medical
situations that allow the audience to
understand what nurses go through on a
daily basis


Salary Data for Registered Nurses
Method of persuasion: Logos
Statistics
Data
Numbers
Graphs
Facts
Research
Maps


Overview
The message of both sources possess the same characteristics
Informative
Credible
Information essential to anyone deciding on whether to become a nurse
The intended audiences are similar for both genres and both address an audience
That has taken an interest in nursing, either to become one or to increase their knowledge on the subject
That is trusting both sources to address their informational needs in an accurate and clear manner
Both genres use rhetorical elements such as ethos, pathos, and logos
The documentary appeals to ethos and pathos by filming real nurses at work and having to deal with tough situation
The blog takes more of a logos approach by providing realities when discussing the salary
of nurses in the United States



Genre Analysis
Which genre is the most effective source of information: blog entry or documentary?

After contemplating on the analysis of the two genres, I have come to the conclusion that the
documentary is most effective in relating information on nursing to the audience. The blog is a
great source for anyone interested in the monetary aspects of the nursing field, but the
documentary covers everything else the audience is seeking. Because the documentary takes such
an intimate look at the everyday tasks and routines of a nurse, it is the best source to show an
aspiring nurse what they are in for.
Works Cited
All Slides
Barnett, Brendon. "Salary Data For Registered Nurses." The Nursing Site Blog. Kathy Quan, 21 Apr. 2014. Web.
20 Apr. 2014. <http://www.thenursingsiteblog.com/>.
Nursing Diaries. Dir. Richard Kahn. Perf. Richard Kahn. CBS Broadcasting, 2004. DVD
Scanlon, Janae. MWA 3 - Genre Analysis. University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, 2014. Print.
Slide 1
"Genre." Merriam-Webster. Merriam-Webster, n.d. Web. 12 May 2014. <http://www.merriam-webster.com/>.
Slide 4
Summers, Harry Jacobs. "Lifeline: Nursing Diaries." The Truth About Nursing. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 May 2014.
<http://www.truthaboutnursing.org/>.