Jessica Reyes

Zack De Piero
Writing 2
WP1 Revised
One Genre, One Topic, Infinite Audiences
A text cannot belong to no genre; it cannot be without a genre. Every text participates in
one or several genres, there is no genre-less text (Derrida). In other words, every single thing
you read falls into a genre, no matter how textual or visual that thing may be. Furthermore, when
multiple sources of the genre of online articles are discussing the topic of obesity, they utilize
different techniques and rhetorical devices to communicate effectively with [their] different
communities [and audiences] (Losh and Alexander). As two of my articles are more scholarly
and one is more personal, it is imperative that readers understand the rhetorical devices being
used in each piecesuch as perspective, purpose, context, and tonein order for readers to
determine who each intended audience is and thus be influenced to feel many different emotions.
In order to decipher the discrepancies within a genre, one must look in further detail at
the action it is used to accomplish and why the author made the choices he or she made to
accomplish that action (Dirk). The article titled Understanding the American Obesity
Epidemic published by The American Heart Association, discusses the fact that health issues
continue to arise as the rate of obesity increases in the United States, where the article
Overcoming Obesityand Making it Last published by the U.S. News, identifies ways to cope
with and overcome obesity. On the other hand, the last article entitled How to Love and Accept
Your Body Unconditionally posted by Mindbodygreen, encourages people to accept and
embrace themselves, regardless of their body size and shape. Even though each of these online

articles are on the topic of obesity, each of the three sources [create] a completely different
rhetorical effect and address the topic in completely different ways, in order to better appeal to
their specific audience (Losh and Alexander).
In order to begin understanding who the intended audience of each article is, one can start
by determining the purpose of each piece. This helps you understand what the discourse is
trying to accomplish and thus, who its intended for (Carroll). The American Heart
Associations article was published by a medical professional whose goal is to inform people of
the negative aspects of obesity in hopes of influencing them to live healthier lives. At the bottom
of the website it states Our mission is to build healthier lives, free of cardiovascular diseases
and stroke. That single purpose drives all we do. The author makes many references to
organizations and individual professionals, all of which help to validate the article and convince
readers that the information provided is credible and trustworthy (UnderstandingObesity
Epidemic). The author also provides links to share the article to different social media websites,
which helps its audience believe that the mission of their work is truly to inform society of the
obesity epidemic.
Similar to the first article, the article titled Overcoming Obesityand Making it Last
was also published by a health professional. The author, Yvette C. Terrie, is a registered
pharmacist whose goal is to provide facts about obesity and how to overcome and live with the
disease (Terrie). Unlike how the first article referenced multiple people and sites, this article
mainly seems to obtain facts from a specific site called Pharmacy Times. Because this article
seems to rely on only that one website, it may lead readers to assume that the information
presented is not as credible as they would like, thus potentially deferring them from reading
more. On the other hand, the article How to Love and Accept Your Body Unconditionally was

written by Dr.Kelly Neff, from a completely different perspective on obesity. Rather than
producing a factual based article, Neffs article is more advice and encouragement based. This
articles purpose is to encourage people to love yourself no matter what and how to empower
yourself with positive thinking (Neff). This website states that their mission is to revitalize the
way people eat, move, and live! Neff is trying to attract readers by appealing to all of the people
who have felt bad about themselves at some point in time and want some words of advice.
The next step in determining the intended audience is understanding the context and tone
of each piece. The first image you see when you pull up the Understanding the American
Obesity Epidemic article is a picture of an obese man whose stomach is bulging over his
waistband. Immediately readers are interested, as the image encourages them to not want to look
the way the man in the picture does. The first line of the article is Obesity--everyone knows its
bad and that its everywhere (Understanding Obesity Epidemic). Because the author uses
this as the introductory line, readers can assume that the statement has a significant value and
that the article will focus on obesity in a negative light. The tone of this piece is very much
educational and professional.
As the first image that appears in the second article, published by the U.S. News is also an
image of an obese man with a splurging belly, you can see that the author Terrie, also depicts
obesity negatively. However, unlike the first article, the first sentence in this article is Even a
modest weight loss can improve overall health (Terrie) That being said, it is evident that a
different appeal is being approached in this article. Where the American Heart Associations
articles first sentence outright calls obesity bad, Terries first sentence is more positive,
suggesting that every bit of hard work contributing to a persons individual weight loss is very
much worth it, as they are ultimately improving their health with each pound lost. Although this

paper is also a majority fact/evidence based, towards the end there is a shift to a more personal
and encouraging tone, providing readers with logical advice on how to incorporate weight loss
into everyday routine.
In the last article, How to Love and Accept Your Body Unconditionally, the first thing
the audience sees when looking at the article is an image, but rather than having a negative
connotation towards obesity, this image is an overweight woman smiling, showing that she
embraces her body and is happy with herself. The article starts with the author expressing that
even she has struggled at times with accepting her body. She states that she knows shes not
alone here and then goes on to give advice about how to love and accept yourself. Here, Neff is
gaining the reader's interest because they now know this is about a real person and their
experience, rather than just some facts on the topic of obesity. Neff is conveying her story in a
personal, conversational tone and makes the readers feel as if she is talking to them one on one.
An example of this is when she states, I am good enough just as I am, and SO ARE YOU. By
encouraging people and making them feel good about themselves, Neff keeps her readers
engaged and wanting to read more.
All that being said, we can finally interpret who the intended audience of each piece is.
As the first articles purpose is to influence people to live healthier lives by using logic and
factual evidence to appeal to its readers and has an informative/professional tone, one can infer
that the audience of this article: adults or health care professionals who care about their health
and want to learn about the obesity epidemic and how it affects the human body. Because the
second articles purpose is to provide facts about how to live with or overcome the disease, uses
both logos and pathos to appeal to its readers, and has an informative but encouraging tone,
readers can determine that the intended audience of this piece is anyone who has been diagnosed

with the disease and wants logical advice on how to cope with it. Lastly, is the blog article. As
its purpose is to encourage people to love themselves and embrace their bodies, uses pathos to
appeal to its readers, and has a personal and uplifting tone, readers can assume that the authors
targeted audience is overweight or obese people who are learning to accept their bodies.
These articles belong to the same genre; however, they make their audience feel entirely
different ways. In each case, readers were left feeling the exact way that the authors intended,
and that was due to the structure and context of their writing. For example, the
health/professional articles used facts and logic to appeal to readers, leaving them feeling
knowledgeable on the topic of obesity, where the personal article attracted readers through
emotion, leaving them feeling good about themselves and ready to start accepting their bodies. In
Kerry Dirks article, Navigating Genres, she emphasizes that the audience of a piece of text and
what the author wants their audience to think after reading is an enormous aspect of the entire
writing process. She also goes as far as saying that genres matter because they shape our
everyday lives (Dirk). That being said I think its imperative to learn genre because it helps
writers shape the way that they put their thoughts on paper and target a specific audience. With
this in mind, I think that the exigence and purpose of the writer is a huge part of how a piece of
text affects a reader overall, not just the genre itself. In the articles that were reviewed, the tone
used, information stated, and images portrayed all played a role in defining the genre as well as
how the text affected the audience. These articles show aspects that are specific to their genre,
and successfully send their intended message to their readers.

Works Cited
Carroll, Laura Bolin. Backpack vs. Briefcase: Steps toward Rhetorical Analysis. Writing 2 De
Piero UCSB Reader. Winter 2016. Print.
Derrida, Jacques. Gene Theory. Flashcards. Quizlet, n.d. Web.
Dirk, Kerry. Navigating Genres. Writing Spaces: Readings on Writing. Vol. 1. 2010. Print.
Losh, Elizabeth M., and Johnathan Alexander. Writing Identities. Understanding Rhetoric: A
Graphic Guide to Writing. 114-139. Print.
Neff, Kelly. "How to Love & Accept Your Body Unconditionally." Mindbodygreen. 12 May
2014. Web. 20 Jan. 2016.
Terrie, Yvette. "Overcoming Obesity -- and Making It Last." U.S. News. 20 Oct. 2014. Web. 18
Jan. 2016.
Understanding the American Obesity Epidemic. Understanding the American Obesity
Epidemic. American Heart Association, 17 Jan. 2016. Web.