WP1 Reverse Outline

I.

II.

III.

IV.

V.

VI.

VII.

Introduction
a. Introduce review sites: Yelp, TripAdvisor, Amazon
b. Thesis: Across the board, from Yelp to TripAdvisor to Amazon, poorly-rated
reviews often demonstrate subjective and exaggerated content that utilizes a
sarcastic tone to portray the reviewers negative experience based on conventions
such as describing customer service and the uses of humor and sarcasm.
Convention: customer service
a. Why: quality of service affects mood
b. Upsetting reviews having irritated tone
i. Example: Yelp- We left but I returned to speak to the manager, who stated
that he thought we were holding up a table. Ok, then. We wont hold up
any tables again
c. Things related to customer service that are vented about: taste, texture,
presentation of the food, and the restaurants atmosphere
Topics that are mentioned in a majority of the positive reviews are also the topics that
are butchered about in the sarcastic reviews
a. how attentive the waiters are
b. how fast the food is served
c. how polite the employees are
d. Pathos is impacted
TripAdvisor hotel reviews also demonstrate this use of mockery.
a. TripAdvsior example: Pretty sure Im going to end up with some sort of disease
due to sanitation conditions similar to those of a homeless crackhead
i. prompt the audience to think the reviews are not appealing
ii. discourage audience from going
Amazon reviews utilize sarcasm as well
a. Example: Ill make my own from horse poop
b. Product reviews on Amazon typically mention
i. the pros and cons, the quality of the product, how worthy the item is
considering the price, the reliability of the seller, shipping speed, and a
product description
c. Logos, or logic, does not exist in these reviews because the customers are
overwhelmed with their negative emotion
Differences within a genre (reviews)
a. Amazon is most different because it can be the least subjective
b. Food quality varies from person to person
c. Product quality (if something breaks), everyone will be upset
d. Examples
i. Yelp: Best pho in the area, hands down
1. More opinionated
ii. Amazon: I wasted my time buying these, but at least I got a full refund
easily
1. Not as bitter
Impact on audience
a. Identifying genre connects audience with the content

i. Affects pathos, logos, and ethos

b. the audience points the direction at which a genre is executed and a genre depicts
who the intended audience is
i. Yelp reviews are catered to readers
1. reviews are meant to be informative
2. help readers decide whether or not they are interested in dining at
the restaurant
This reverse outline helped me a lot, even more so than the reverse outline for WP2 because it
pointed out my faulty structure. I initially described Yelp, TripAdvisor, and Amazon and its
conventions, without relating it to my argument. However, I reorganized it by making each
paragraph a point that supports my argument, and describing the three sources together within
each paragraph. This new structure was able to allow me to more clearly portray my message and
back up my argument more clearly. I was also able to eliminate some unnecessary descriptions or
sentences that did not necessarily drive my argument further.