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CGA Assignment Description

The Comparative Genre Analysis Essay requires an analysis of two texts aimed at different audiences—experts and nonexperts—focusing on their rhetorical purposes and structures. The assignment involves writing a 3-4 page paper that explores how genre differences influence the presentation of arguments and identity on the internet. Students should develop a unique claim based on their analysis, supported by evidence from the texts, while considering various questions related to language, genre expectations, and audience impact.

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7 views1 page

CGA Assignment Description

The Comparative Genre Analysis Essay requires an analysis of two texts aimed at different audiences—experts and nonexperts—focusing on their rhetorical purposes and structures. The assignment involves writing a 3-4 page paper that explores how genre differences influence the presentation of arguments and identity on the internet. Students should develop a unique claim based on their analysis, supported by evidence from the texts, while considering various questions related to language, genre expectations, and audience impact.

Uploaded by

kida
Copyright
© All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd

Comparative Genre Analysis Essay: Comparing

texts written for different audiences


Overview
In this Comparative Genre Analysis Essay, you will make an argument about what you have
discovered by analyzing and comparing two different texts, one written for an expert audience
and the other for a nonexpert audience. Your job is to communicate to your readers how
different rhetorical purposes and audiences interact with the argument and structure of a text—
and to what extent those interactions matter.

The Assignment
A 3–4-page, double spaced paper (roughly 800-1000 words) that explains what we learn
when we compare two genres—one written for experts and one written for nonexperts—
that communicate how we find identity on the internet. You will read the essays for their
arguments, for their rhetorical features, for their particular genre constraints, and for their
treatment of expert knowledge.

Your paper’s overall claim should be what you discover from your genre analyses, and so there
will be variation among your peers in how this assignment can be executed—your comparison
can result in a claim about the genres themselves, the interactions among particular genre
features (e.g., how a writer’s perceptions of audience, stakes, and organization shape a text),
the variation in their arguments in terms of the problems they discuss (e.g. is it a question of
definition? Of value?), and so forth. The choice is yours. However, whatever trajectory you
choose for your paper, be sure that your argument uses strong, descriptive evidence from the
source texts.

Your overall argument may take on questions like these—but please do not feel bound to this
list, and please do not believe you should answer all of these questions. The following questions
are meant to stir your invention process:
● What happens to specialized language and knowledge when authors represent them in
different genres?
● How do different genre expectations shape the content of a message?
● What’s a persuasive argument for these different genres, and what do we learn about
how they treat concepts as they are shaped for experts and for nonexperts?
● To what extent does the “information” or the argument change, and why is that important
for us to think about? What are the stakes for realizing this difference?
● How successful are the arguments on these similar contents as they are targeting
different audiences?

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