Artist Statement 1

Artist Statement: Informative Genre

Emily Walters

Red Rocks Community College-Lakewood

Author Note

This Artist Statement: Informative Genre on HIV is being submitted on April 23, 2020 for Jeni

Tetamore’s English Composition II course.

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Artist Statement: Informative Genre

During this semester I have chosen to spend my time researching HIV, a world epidemic. I’m

only a few short years away from living my dream in the health care world and taking care of others. I

felt that it was important to choose a topic that would later assist me in my career and better my

knowledge. There is never enough one can learn about in the medical field, many obstacles will be

thrown at a person and they may or may not know how to handle that situation. Though I know I can’t

prepare myself for all of these, I will be prepared to discuss HIV and be confident in the information and

care I can provide for a patient.

Purpose

My goal throughout this process is to spread the word on HIV and educate others on the

subject. I don’t believe this epidemic is taken as seriously as it should. To this day one of the famous

lines I have heard is, “It won’t happen to me”. Many individuals use this statement as a crutch to justify

unprotected sex. This isn’t something that should be dismissed or pushed to the side, HIV is profoundly

serious and without the correct safety precautions it can drastically change one’s life. After my own

experiences I learned that you cannot keep your head in the clouds when it comes to these matters and

it’s better to be safe than sorry.

As someone who is going into the medical field, I feel that it’s important to voice knowledge on

STD’s, especially one’s that are as life altering as HIV. I have yet to get my degree so until that time

comes, I want to use what I have learned and help people as much as I can. My purpose is to inform

people how important it is to stay safe, stay smart, and stay alive.

Audience
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When I started high school my parents’ number one concern was putting me on birth control. I

can remember listening to many lectures on protecting myself from pregnancy, which is important, but

no one ever said much to me about STI’s. I made sure I didn’t get pregnant and was on birth control all

throughout high school, and I never worried about contracting a disease. Unfortunately, at a young age I

had to learn that there is more to worry about than just getting pregnant. I ended up with STI that I will

live with forever. My audience is that younger group that doesn’t know or isn’t educated. My

informative genre put the facts out straight and blunt, I’m hoping the statistics and facts I have

presented can teach young kids such as myself from HIV.

I also put together these genres to get the attention of adults all over as well. Even as an adult

it’s easy to push these issues in the back of your mind. Before getting into the medical field I didn’t know

much on the topic, so I want to reach out and expand this information to others.

Rhetorical Appeals

In my infographic and PowerPoint, I used ethos by presenting the information displayed from

the CDC and WHO websites. These sites are reliable and trustworthy, I needed to prove to my audience

that my information is honest and true. I used logos by revealing statistics on my infographic. Along with

that I presented a timeline on my PowerPoint and discussed facts and research compiled by those with

high qualifications. I explained on a slide exactly what HIV does to the immune system and how it turns

into AIDS, demonstrating logos. In order to get people to hear what you have to say you must give them

the hard facts and truth that they sometimes don’t want to hear. I needed these genres to be powerful

and by using these appeals I hope it gets to someone.

Genre Conventions

For my first informative genre I chose to put together an infographic. I find these pieces to not

only hold a lot of truth but to be extremely engaging. I showed the signs and symptoms from the
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beginning of HIV to the result of AIDS. I also spoke about prevention and treatment. I included some

graphics that I felt tied it all together. With this infographic my goal was to put together as much strong

information as I could but condense and simplify it so I wouldn’t lose the attention of my audience.

My second informative genre was my PowerPoint. I have always enjoyed learning from slides, I

think they are organized and put together well. With this genre I was able to include more information

and go more in depth. I felt it was important for people to know more than just the basics, I wanted the

chance to go deep and speak of what the virus does inside the body and the damage it does.

Conclusion

I am incredibly grateful that I got the chance to spend a semester learning about a topic I have

always wanted to speak more of, I am now confident in my words and knowledge on HIV. This disease is

preventable, and no one should have to experience the agony it can cause. By using our voices, we can

stop others from contracting this horrendous virus. I feel that now I can help and educate people, which

is my dream when I’m in the healthcare field.