Running Head: GENRE ANALYSIS 1

GENRE ANALYSIS
ANTHONY ORTEGA
UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT EL PASO
MRS. SALOME
W 12:00










GENRE ANALYSIS 2
The topic these two genres are focusing on is whether the legalization of marijuana would
benefit in a medical or economic matter. Washington and Colorado are the first two states to
legalize marijuana for recreational purposes but also have an extreme tax on it. One of the genres
is typography, an article from the website norml.org the article is titled, Revenues from
Legalization the author is Dale Gieringer. The other genre is iconography, an interview from a
news station the interview was titled, Colorado sees Boom in Marijuana Sales Tax by Dave
Roberts. In this analysis Anthony will write about the purpose and audience of each genre, he
will talk about the rhetorical issues of each genre, he will explain the structure towards each
genre and he will conclude by stating which genre is superior.
In the typography genre it is trying to persuade the audience to change their views. The
genre is meant to explain and inform the audience. The purpose of an article is to be chosen and
read by a certain audience member and it can be broken down into sections so it can be easier to
comprehend. The intended audience might be political officials, business men, and even people
in medical professionals. The language is very formal in order to maintain an impression of
being legit toward the audience. The audience will spend as much time needed to understand the
genre, but the genre is not meant to confuse only simplify a greater situation. The audience is
already aware of what media and mainstream news says but the genre is trying to show the topic
in another light. This genre is more suited for a variety of different people while the other genre
is being showed a broad audience.
In the iconography this genre is more of an informative piece. Its not trying to change
anyones view just to help them become aware of what is going on. The intended audience is

GENRE ANALYSIS 3
business men and anyone viewing the news. The audience will not spend a lot of time on this
genre because it is simplistic it will go straight to the point. The language is informal to get the
point across easier and the vocabulary is easy to understand. Anthony believes that the language
is suitable for the audience, and if the information is aimed toward the business men they should
be able to understand without any troubles. This genre differs to typography because it is a visual
and you have to listen and dont get to comprehend every little thing.
The rhetorical issues in iconography include ethos, pathos, and logos. The credibility
comes from the fact that it is on a broadcast network. This is effective because most people
including the audience trust a professional company. The genre tries to evoke an emotional
response by making the audience worried about keeping up with laws in order to not get in
trouble. Anthony believes that the genre is successful in getting this emotion across because they
are implying consequences that may cause the audience to be worried. Iconography contrasts
with typography in a rhetorical sense because the iconography is able to convey more pathos
than typography.
Typography contains all three of the rhetorical issues. It has ethos because the author has
a PH. D, which provides comfort in knowing hes the type of person to go out and get the correct
information. The pathos would most likely be excitement and curiousness from all money talk to
the big business executives and the politicians. This does seem to be effective because most of
the audience is all about making money. The logos in the genre is put in order by saying what
should happen and then goes to saying why they should make it happen. This genre compares to
the other because they both contain all the rhetorical issues.

GENRE ANALYSIS 4
The structure of the genre iconography is limited by its time since its an interview; it is
not limited by the audience since its on a T.V network. The genre is organized by introducing a
problem and an average man that everyone can kind of relate to then it shows the problem he is
facing and what he is doing to overcome the problem. The genre uses images that catch the
audiences attention. These elements contribute by helping the rhetorical issues in the genre. A
huge contrast between the genres is that iconography can use images and sound while in
typography there are only words.
The structure of the typography is not limited in space or time the typography could be
written as long as it needs and the time to create it wouldnt be a factor. The audience is limited,
to people with internet access. The structure is organized by starting off by saying all the things
that our possible if you change your view on a certain thing and it goes into more detail on the
benefits that are possible if you do change. The genre contains no images only a lot of words,
this may harm the genre or may help by making it seem more professional without containing
images. The genres compare by both having important information they think might help their
audience out in the future.
In conclusion the author wrote about two genres, typography and iconography. One was
about an article while the other was about an interview. The author analyzed the two genres and
wrote about what audiences they were reaching out to, the purpose of each genre, and how each
genre was structured. The author chose the typography as the better of the two genres because it
contained more information and seemed more professional and reliable.


GENRE ANAYSIS 5

references
D. Roberts, Colorado sees boom in Marijuana sales tax revenue, (personal communication,
November, 21, 2013).
D. Gieringer (1994) Revenues from Legalization