Mitchell Kim

February 10, 2015

Writing 2
Z. De Piero
Writing Project 2: The Authors Game-Plan
There are many things that can make a paper persuasive. Concrete evidence through
documenting data, performing experimentations, implementing quotations, etc. are all effective
methods to convey an idea and entice the reader. Furthermore, the way the evidence is
presented, or the authors moves, is also very important in persuasion. A poorly written paper
is more unlikely to sway a reader than a clear, coherent one. Thus, an author with competent
and impressive moves can strongly influence the success of the article. By comparing a scholarly
article with an internet blog post, one can see that both are equally effective because of the
writers techniques in displaying his or her assertion. Although the literary genre of the pieces
may differ, the authors choice in moves to present evidence is most vital in ultimately dictating
the effectiveness of the argument.
A Case of Early Sports Specialization in an Adolescent Athlete by Brad Ferguson and
Paula J. Stern is a scholarly journal found in the UCSB librarys database. Ferguson and Stern
explain the benefits and potential risks of enacting an intense training of a single sport at a young
age. Similarly, Ken Reeds Youth Sports Specialization Defies Logic is a blog post on HuffPost
that stresses the danger of sports specialization. To display each articles own method of
persuasion, comparing and contrasting the two in terms of their rhetorical features and
conventions will unveil the authors moves in implementing the evidence.
The structure of Fergusons and Sterns scholarly journal appeals to the professionalism
and competence that is demanded for literary works of this genre, while the blog interests the

mainstream viewers with a structure that is more lenient and relaxing. For example, the title A
Case of Early Sports Specialization in an Adolescent Athlete is very blunt and straightforward.
There are then subtitles and headings such as Introduction, Case, Discussion, Conclusion, and
References. Also, there are bullet points to note the more important aspects and evidence. To
display the data from the experimentation, Ferguson and Stern include tables and charts in the
journal denoted by Figure 1, Figure 2, etc. The structure of the blog, however, adds to the
informality. The blogs title is rather intriguing as it grabs the readers attention due to its
inclusion of a hyperbole in defying logic, and there are no subtitles because the post is fairly
short as compared to the journal. In addition, some of the paragraphs arent exactly
paragraphs. Although the line Specialization works -- but only in the short term is only one
sentence, it is also its own paragraph (Reed). In between each paragraph, moreover, there is a
break, or space, between the next. Thus, both genres manipulated certain structural conventions
to appeal to their perceived audience.
Both genres provided and presented evidence in their own unique way. For example,
amidst the text of the scholarly article, among the evidence that arent included in Fergusons
and Sterns own experiments, there are citations in the form of numbers to refer to the
References section, which is why the sentence A group of US high school sports directors were
surveyed and 78% reported an increase in sports specialization in high school athletes. 10 is
followed by a superscript 10 (Ferguson and Stern). Superscripts are most often found in
academic journals citing an abundance of evidence, strengthening its credibility and
professionalism. Therefore, Ferguson and Stern are adhering to the common conventions found
in scholarly articles. Although the evidence from the scientific article includes its own data found

through experimentation as well as facts and quotations from other sources, the blog can only
provide evidence from other sources. In addition, there is also an absence of graphs and charts.
Much of the context in the blog is focused more on analysis and opinion rather than actual
concrete evidence, differing from the plethora of data in the scholarly article.
While reading the scholarly journal requires the upmost attention and focus due to its
sophistication, Ken Reeds blog post is quite the opposite in terms of formality. The tone of the
essay is very analytical and statistical, most likely due to the fact that the paper is aimed to the
audience of other scholars and researcher among the same field. The context itself, though not
totally confusing, is a little more skillful and advanced. There are no first or second person point
of view personal pronouns (I, me, you), and the diction is rather statstical. On the other hand,
because of the fact that this literary piece is in fact a blog, the tone is more free and
conversational. For instance, the introductory sentence I want to say that I truly believe most
youth sports parents and coaches have their hearts in the right places, is most likely not going
to be found in a scholarly journal (Reed). Scientific scholarly journals are almost always void of
personal opinion, while opinion is often the foundation of blogs. Personal pronouns like I and
we commonly appear on blogs. Although the conventions of the blog are different than those
of the scientific journal, both authors use their own moves in terms of tone to help convey their
argument.
Examining why the author chose to implement a certain move in his or her literary work
shows the effectiveness of the move in its respective genre. For instance, Ferguson and Stern
may have created a candid title to appeal to the expectations of experts who are specifically
looking for articles of that type. In contrast, Reed is trying to captivate the web surfers to view

the blog by creating an exaggerated, yet intriguing title with the overstatement for special
effect (Style in Arguments). Furthermore, while Ferguson and Stern have an essay formatted as
a subtitle with complete paragraphs and charts, graphs, and bullet points to provide different
varieties of displaying evidence in a formulated, professional manner to help the reader picture
the data a helpful aspect of a scientific journal to create a structured, organized paper with
credibility, Reeds structure is rather relaxed with many breaks and spaces to make for easier
reading. Thus, both authors featured tangible, surface-area moves to aid in strengthening their
respective genre.
In terms of rhetorical features, both authors were successful in manipulating the tone.
Because the audience of the journal is directed at other experts, the tone of the essay should
follow suit as efficient and qualified. The blogs tone can be more relaxed and conversational
because the blog is proposed for a wider audience who arent experts on the subject. Even
though the papers are opposites in terms of formality, both entries strongly assert their point
through the use of the authors moves, showing that the literary genre each piece is classified in
is less important. Rather, how the evidence is displayed is what determines the success of the
paper.
Although the genre is not as vital as the authors moves, it is not irrelevant. Itd be foolish
to believe that the genre has no effect on the essay whatsoever. At times, it can limit the audience
of an article. Had the author of a scientific journal wanted to appeal to a larger audience by
decreasing the sophistication, he or she may lose credibility among the main, more important
audience, the scientific scholars. In addition, had the author of a blog wanted to sound more
brilliant and canny, increasing the complexity may bore or confuse mainstream viewers. If the

reader knows something about what the writer cares about and is trying to accomplish, it can
help orient [the reader] to the reading and understand some of the choices the writer makes in
his or her work (Rosenberg). Thats why the features of a scientific journal are more rigorous
and strict because the expected audience are brainy scholars, while the features of a blog are
more free and personal because the expected audience are common people. Therefore, because
the conventions and rhetorical features of a genre are usually characterized to satisfy a specific
audience, there is no need to persuade readers who are not in that perceived audience.
Furthermore, the authors moves attracts the intended audience, making for a more effective
argument among people whom the paper was proposed for.
After comparing two different literary genres, one can see that although the rhetorical
features and conventions differed, both authors used moves to effectively communicate their
argument. Moreover, the authors moves were shown to be more vital to an articles success
than the genre itself. Regardless of the genre, how and why the author presented evidence a
certain way determined the persuasiveness of the article. Thus, if one were inclined to create an
exceptional article for an intended audience, one should identify some of the choices the author
made so that [one] can better understand how such choices might arise in [his or her] writing
(Bunn).

Works Cited
Bunn, Mike. "How to Read Like a Writer." Writing Spaces: Readings on Writing. West Lafayette,
IN: Parlor, 2010. N. pag. Print.

Ferguson, Brad, and Stern, Paula J. "A Case Of Early Sports Specialization In An Adolescent
Athlete." Journal Of The Canadian Chiropractic Association 58.4 (2014): 377-383.
Academic Search Complete. Web. 11 Feb. 2015.

Reed,

Ken.

"Youth

Sports

Specialization

Defies

Logic."

The

Huffington

Post.

TheHuffingtonPost.com, n.d. Web. 11 Feb. 2015.

Rosenberg, Karen. "Reading Games: Strategies for Reading Scholarly Sources." Writing Spaces:
Readings on Writing. West Lafayette, IN: Parlor, 2010. N. pag. Print.

"Style In Arguments." Style and Presentation in Arguments. N.p.: n.p., n.d. 309-25. Print.
Did Not Meet
Expectations

Thesis Statement
Use of Evidence from
Articles
Use of Course Readings
Analysis
Organization/Structure
Attention to
Genre/Conventions and
Rhetorical Factors
Sentence-level Clarity,
Mechanics, Flow

Met Expectations

Exceeded
Expectations

Mitchell,

Other Comments
What a solid paper. Excellent workespecially on the
analysis front.
Check out my comments throughout your paper.
Z
A-