Erica Bruckner

Zack De Piero
April 15, 2015
Writing Project #1
A significant portion of the content of pop-culture media sitessuch as BuzzFeed and
EliteDailyare now in the form of listicles. A listicle is defined as an article on the Internet
presented in the form of a numbered or bullet-pointed list (Listicle) such as 45 Signs You Majored in Sociology in College or 10 Reasons Why You Should Travel to Spain. Listicles posted to pop-culture media sites have grown to be their their own particular genre of writing with
their own unique set of characteristics. By examining different listicles that cover the same topicfor the purpose of this essay, qualities one should look for in a life partnerthe similarities
that are customarily present across all listicles are more easily identifiable. Through analyzing
the listicles, 20 Qualities The Person Youre Going To Marry Should Have, 25 Qualities of
The Person You Should Marry, and 7 Essential Qualities to Look for in Your Future Husband,
it becomes apparent that listicles generally tend to follow certain conventions and use the similar
rhetorical devices, which make the genre of listicles what it is.
Firstly, the most glaringly obvious similarity present across all listicles are the format of the
text. In each of the listicles I examined about the qualities I should look for in a partner, the information came in the form of a numbered list of qualities. The subject of the particular item on
the list directly followed the number and ranged from just one word to a short sentence. Underneath each number and quality, there was text that further elaborated on the subject being discussed by explaining things like why it was important or providing some other form of commen-

WRITING PROJECT #1

"1

tary. The number and quality being discussed in that portion of the list were in bigger, bolder
text than the text that elaborated on it underneath. However, the commentary underneath each
number and subject did not always come in the form of text and sometimes manifested itself in
the form of a picture or animated gif that was related to the subject. This difference in the formatting to listicles is due to the fact that the image or gif essentially serves the same purpose as the
textual commentaryto make an observation about the subject or to provide more information.
Furthermore, the format of the listicles titles typically followed some conventions. As we
can see from the titles 20 Qualities The Person Youre Going To Marry Should Have, 25
Qualities of The Person You Should Marry, and 7 Essential Qualities to Look for in Your Future Husband, the titles of listicles customarily begin with the number of items that are going to
be on the list. The titles start off this way to both let the reader know that the article will be in a
list format and to give an idea of how long the list will be. The titles of listicles also are customarily larger and in a different font or style then the rest of the text in order to make it the first
thing the readers eye is drawn to.
The purpose of a listicle is to present information in a fashion that is easily read. The listicles I examined about the qualities one should look for in a partner numbered each quality and
had the commentary place directly underneath each quality, making each point the author was
trying to make very easily spotted on the page. This format allowed the information to be more
easily because the information is broken up in segments for the reader and given to them in
smaller, more understandable chunks instead of presented in lengthy paragraphs that may be hard
to follow. The format of listicles allow each of the authors points to be clearly defined and more
easily understood.

WRITING PROJECT #1

"2

The audience of a listicle is typically someone who is looking for relatively light-hearted
reading material. Listicles are most popular on pop-culture media websites like BuzzFeed and
EliteDailyrather than more serious news outlets like the Huffington Post or the New York
Timesbecause they are meant to get information across easily. The serious news websites
typically cover more complex issues and therefore cannot use a listicle to convey the information. The readers of pop-culture media websites are typically visiting these said websites instead
of the more serious ones because they are looking for relatively light-hearted media. For this reason, listicles tend to be catered to an audience who is not interested in reading depressing,
somber news and instead are looking to read more uplifting and humorous articles.
The tone of listicles is primarily casual, however, they also customarily takes on an authoritative voice as well . In 20 Qualities The Person Youre Going To Marry Should Have, 25
Qualities of The Person You Should Marry, and 7 Essential Qualities to Look for in Your Future Husband, the listicles read as if the author was addressing the reader like they were giving
advice to a friend that they felt more knowledgable than. For example, in 7 Essential Qualities
to Look for in Your Future Husband, the author writes, one of the most obvious qualities to
look for in your future husband is commitment. No, Im not just talking about in your relationship either. Is he committed to honesty, to his relationships with friends and family, to his job,
and to his word? (Argintar). The fact that the author uses the words no, I'm not just talking
about contributes to the casual tone because this excerpt sounds like the authors stream of
consciousnessas if she were casually talking with a friendand does not sound as if she were
talking with, for example, a professor or boss. The tone of the excerpt is also authoritarian at the
same time because the author assumes to know more than the reader when she implies that the

WRITING PROJECT #1

"3

reader would assume that commitment" would only mean commitment to the relationship. Listicles casual tones are in some part due to the fact that readers of listicles are usually just casually exploring the internet, searching for funny or interesting articles, and would rather read things
that are relatively casual than formal. The tone of listicles also customarily takes on an authoritative tone because the author must sound believable and relatively knowledgable in order for the
reader to buy into what they are saying and continue reading.
Everything considered, I believe that doing a thorough analysis of writing genres is something people should do if they aspire to be a better writer. I believed this writing project improved my understanding of genre by making me take a closer look at and really think about how
the kinds of conventions and rhetorical devices differ from genre to genre. Through exploring the
characteristics that make different writing genres unique, I believe that I improved my writing
because, going forward, I will now take into account the different rhetorical devices and conventions I should consider when writing different genres of text. Exploring genre made me realize
that I should take the time to identify the conventions and rhetorical devices of the genre Im
writing under in order to make sure that I am writing to the best of my ability. Genre is important
to everyone because it dictates what is an acceptable and unacceptable manner in which to express ones ideas. Genre is important because, without a fundamental, basic understanding of
genre, one would have no idea how to get across information in an appropriate manner.

WRITING PROJECT #1

"4

Argintar, Laura. "20 Qualities The Person Youre Going To Marry Should Have."
EliteDaily.com. 15 Jan. 2014. Web. 12 Apr. 2015. <http://elitedaily.com/women/20qualities-the-person-youre-going-to-marry-should-have/>.
Listicle. OxfordDictionaries.com. http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/us/definition/
american_english/listicle (12 April 2015).
Wallen, Daniel. "25 Qualities of The Person You Should Marry." LifeHack.org. Web. 12 Apr.
2015. <http://www.lifehack.org/articles/communication/25-qualities-the-person-youshould-marry.html>.
Williams, Heather. "7 Essential Qualities to Look for in Your Future Husband."
AllWomenStalk.com. Web. 12 Apr. 2015. <http://love.allwomenstalk.com/essentialqualities-to-look-for-in-your-future-husband>.

WRITING PROJECT #1

"5