Retano, Lorena

Writing 2
Wilson
12/7/15

WP1 Revision
When one thinks of a whale, one automatically thinks of an Orca, also known as a
Killer Whale. From Free Willy to the most recent sensation Blackfish, (the documentary that
made everyone Orca rights activists for a couple of weeks) these black and white marine
mammals have always been one of the most intelligent and popular sea creatures. One can
learn about Orcas through a blog like sanjuanorcas.com or through a scientific article like
Understanding Orca Culture by Lisa Stiffler published in the Smithsonian Magazine.
Although these two genres are on opposite end of the spectrum both genres can convey the
same meaning and teach their audience a similar content.
A genre is a category that is made up of conventions or guidelines. These conventions
set up expectations for the reader as well as the writer. For example, if you're reading a
romance novel you expect for John to run through airport security to reach Jane to tell her he
loves her. You expect this because the conventions that make up the genre of romance novels
tell you that lover(a) belongs with lover(b) and therefore must reach them before it's too late .
Just as these conventions tell you what to expect they also create a framework for the author.
In the genre of a blog the conventions that set up the expectations for the reader and
the author are: an informal writing style, writing about personal experiences, and showing
awareness to the reader. In the blog sanjuanorcas.com the author uses his personal
experiences in a conversational tone to teach his audience about Orcas. An example of this is,
"On the morning November 22nd, during my Thanksgiving break back home on San Juan

Island, some friends and I headed out on the water to try to find Orcas. We knew that some K
and L pod members (part of the salmon eating southern resident Orca population) were
making their way out of Puget Sound in Admiralty Inlet the day prior..." This example not
only teaches the audience who K and L pod members are but it also does so in an informal.
Throughout the blog each post is written like a letter to a friend and therefore also shows
awareness to the reader. Another example of this would be, "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! We saw adult male Crewser L92 first, then
Sequim K12 and her sprouter son, Rainshadow K37." This form of presenting information is
different from the way information is presented in the scientific article Understanding Orca
Culture by Lisa Stiffler published in the Smithsonian Magazine.
In the scientific article Understanding Orca Culture the writing conventions that are
apparent are: they are written in a formal manner, they are objective, they are written with
clear organization, and they are written by experts and backed by research. People who read
scientific articles have high expectations for the articles they read. Unlike blogs, scientific
articles are meant to only expel facts. An example of this 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 scientific article presents information through objectivity and facts yet accomplishes the
same goal as the blog.
Even though the writing conventions of both of these genres are on two ends of a
spectrum they both accomplish the same goal, they both teach their audience facts about
Orcas. The writing conventions determine the style of the writing so that the reader can know

what to expect and therefore be able to choose the genre they expect. For instance, if a reader
wanted to learn more about Orcas but did not want a dry textbook format they would opt for a
blog. This works vice-versa if a reader wanted more objective and factual information they
would choose a scientific article. Choosing one genre over the other does not mean that the
information changes it just simply means that the information is presented in a different
manner.

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.