Retano, Lorena

Wilson
Writing 2
10/12/10

WP1
Blogs and articles are on opposite sides of a spectrum when it comes to their style of
writing. A blog about Orcas will have different content compared to a scientific article about
Orcas. Every genre, blog or scientific article, has distinct conventions that contribute to a
text's meaning, defines the people who will read the text, and sets up the expectations a reader
will have for the text.
The writing conventions that make up a blog are: 1. Blogs are written in a semi-formal
to informal manner 2. Blogs tend to have frequent updates 3. Bloggers tend to write about
personal experiences or are dedicated to a cause 4. Blogs show awareness to the reader 5.
Blogs will include a section for comments or feedback. These writing conventions contribute
to the meaning of the blog sanjuanorcas.com because it is what makes it a blog and not
something else. Blogs have become a part of the growing trend that is social media and the
internet. People who read blogs tend to be looking for information or entertainment that
comes from a personal point of view. By this I mean that the people who read blogs don't
want to read a textbook with a formal writing style. If someone wanted to learn about Orcas,
and didn't want to read a textbook that just states facts about Orcas, they would read the blog
sanjuaorcas.com and read about the actual Orca encounters that someone has had. Someone
might also prefer to read a blog because it is easier to get in contact with the writer of the blog

through their comment section and get questions answered almost instantaneously. This tool
allows for the reader to get a more personal connection with the writer and allows the writer
to directly address their audience.
People who read blogs, expect the blog to be personal and have Unlike waiting for
your favorite author to publish their next book blogs are constantly being updated. The idea
that blogs are constantly being updated contributes to their semi-formal to informal style.
Bloggers don't spend the time to fully edit a piece like an author of a book would and their
readers don't expect them too. This adds to the more personal and conversational style. In the
blog sanjuanorcas.com the author tells various stories about his encounters with Orca whales
as if though he was telling them to a friend. An example of the conversational style used in
sanjuanorcas.com is, On September 26th, I left home on San Juan Island to head back at
Evergreen State College to start my junior year! However, the days that led up to the 26th
were full of orcas! On the 17th, I went out on the water aboard the Western Prince to see the
L54s, who had been all alone at San Juan Island all morning." The titles on sanjuanorcas.com
are also written in a very attention grabbing conversational manner, the same way a best
friend would exclaim the first sentence out of their mouth when they're about to tell you a
juicy story.
The writing conventions that make up scientific articles are: 1. They are written in a
formal manner 2. Use correct jargon to describe the subject they are talking about 3. They are
written with clear organization, usually indicated by sub-headings, numbered sections, etc. 4.
They use a clear title to indicate the purpose of the article 5. They are written by experts and
backed by research 6. They are written with an objective point of view. These writing

conventions contribute to the meaning of the scientific article Understanding Orca Culture by
Lisa Stiffler in the Smithsonian Magazine because it allows the reader to trust the article if it
has these writing conventions. People who read scientific articles are looking for specific
facts about the subject they are interested in. Scientific articles are usually used as research to
back something else up like for example, a research paper for school. Going off this example,
it is imperative that a scientific article include these writing conventions because they are used
as a basis for facts in other mediums. For those who watched Blackfish, the documentary of
the mistreatment of Orca whales at SeaWorld, a scientific article like Understanding Orca
Culture would be very important because it could possibly disprove or prove things that were
said in the documentary.
People who read scientific articles have high expectations for the articles they read.
They expect the articles to have accurate information and be objective. Unlike blogs,
scientific articles are meant to only expel facts. The formal writing style adds to the objective
tone that authors of scientific articles try to achieve. An example of a formal and objective
writing style from the article Understanding Orca Culture is "Orcas have evolved complex
culture: a suite of behaviors animals learn from one another. They communicate with
distinctive calls and whistles. They can live 60 years or more, and they stay in tight knit
matrilineal groups led by older females that model specific behaviors to younger animals."
The writing conventions of scientific articles work with these articles because they allow for
the article to be accountable for the information they are providing. By this I mean that, the
writing conventions set up parameters for readers to check if an article can be trusted or not.
As displayed in the earlier example of it is also extremely important for scientific articles to
use the correct and appropriate language. The use of appropriate language is explained in

Kerry Dirks' essay on genres titled Navigating Genres where she demonstrates three different
ways a ransom letter was written and which one would be most effective. Like so, a scientific
article would be less believable if it did not use appropriate language.
All in all, both scientific articles and blogs have different writing conventions that help
make up their genre. When reading a blog it means that the reader is looking for something
informal and personal to read. When reading a scientific article the reader is looking for facts
and an objective point of view. The meanings of the blog sanjuanorcas.com and the scientific
article Understanding Orca Culture are exemplified by the writing conventions that define
them. Without the writing conventions that make up these genres both of these pieces are just
text. The people that read either of these texts have their expectations defined by the genre
and writing conventions that they are included in. Writers are then expected to follow these
guidelines to fulfill the requisites of that specific genre.

Works Cited
Stiffler, Lisa. "Understanding Orca Culture." Smithsonianmag.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 Oct.
2015.
Martin, Laura Jane. "Scientists as Writers." Scientific American Global RSS. N.p., n.d. Web.
03 Oct. 2015.
"San Juan Orcas - Orca Encounters Blog." San Juan Orcas - Orca Encounters Blog. N.p., n.d.
Web. 1 Oct. 2015.
"Scientific Articles." Orca Research Trust. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 Oct. 2015.
"Voice of the Orcas." Voice of the Orcas. N.p., n.d. Web. 01 Oct. 2015.