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Jasmine Coe
Zack De Piero
Writing 2
A Whale of a Future for Orcas at SeaWorld
The California Coastal Commission, or CCC, has voted to permit SeaWorlds expansion
of their tanksbut has barred the breeding of Orcas in captivity; the artificial insemination of
Orcas; and the sale, trade, or transfer of Orcas in captivity. The topic of SeaWorldtheir
business of capturing, breeding, and using Orcas as show animals along with their harsh living
conditionshas been one of great controversy and debate for a long time, discussed on a
plethora of social media sites and news outlets. The future of the Orcas is vital, theyre a
contributing part of our eco system, and deserve to be rid of the harsh lifestyle theyve become
subject. Three news articles have recently been posted
uproar it has caused

covering the CCCs decision and the

from Fox 5 news, BBC news, and Times of San Diego. Each outlet is able

to cover the story in an unbiased piece while utilizing the same general rhetoric and conventions
to construct the article; yet their styles of writing and information slightly differ from one
another.
All three of the articles I read had essentially the same rhetoric in regards of purpose,
context, and length. The purpose of all three articles was to inform the public of an ongoing
event, A state panel Thursday approved SeaWorlds plan to nearly double the size of its killer
whale enclosure but sentenced the San Diego theme parks famed Shamu show to eventual
extinction by prohibiting the breeding of the mammals, (Stone, 2015). Context within all three
articles was centered around the CCCs vote and SeaWorlds views on their decision, and how it
could affect not only SeaWorlds business but the entire Orca show all together. However, all

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three articles differed in length. The Times of San Diego article was the longest, the Fox 5 news
article was shorter than the first, the BBC article was the shortest; the length of the articles
differed depending on what type of news source the piece came from. These rhetorical features
make these articles part of their corresponding genre.
Within all three articles the style of writing differed, but their use of evidence was the
same. The Times of San Diego article had an informative style, using an orotund and
sophisticated tone of voice. The Fox 5 news article while still formal has a more casual tone and
is easy to read; when discussing the CCCs decision to put a cap on the amount of Orcas
SeaWorld can have, the author uses a sarcastic tone to address that The park has 11 killer
whales, (Fox 5 Digital Team, 2015). The BBC news article had a mature and informative style,
it had no underlying humor it was strictly facts. Although they slightly differed, the style of the
articles generally remained informative and formal; this is vital to maintain an unbiased position
which also make them part of their genre.
Following their rhetoric and style, all three articles use the same type of evidence. Each
article utilizes direct quotes from people in attendance at the event in order to provide factual
proof, In a statement SeaWorld said it was "disappointed" with Thursday's ruling. SeaWorld
plans to build two additional tanks for viewing and research, (BBC News, 2015). The Times
of San Diego and Fox 5 news article both also use visual evidence including videos and pictures
from/related to the event

a visual representation of the topic, these depict on a different and

more visual level what the writer is saying (Losh & Alexander, 2013). The use of these types of
evidence and support provide credibility with the reader, one of the most important components
of the news article genre.

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In addition to their similar rhetoric, style, and evidence, each article has the same
conventions. Each article has a bold heading to grab the readers attention, links to social media
sites for readers to share the article on, and use direct quotes throughout the article. They also
each have links to related articles, other kinds of articles you can find on the site, and a comment
section for readers to share their thoughts at the bottom of the page. These conventions are all
very common amongst pieces in the news article genre.
As far as surface level features, these articles have the same in common. The
name of newspaper or news channel the story was featured on; theres bold titles and publication
informationwho wrote it, when it was posted. They contain pictures or videos to connect the
reader to the story in a visual aspect. The structure and amount of quotes present in the story also
give away the kind of genre the pieces belong to, news stories tend to have a lot of direct
sources. Similar techniques used by these writers was 2nd order thinking. 2nd order thinking is
conscious, directed, controlled thinking, and it's when we examine our premises and assess
the validity of each inference, (Elbow, 1986.) The authors of these articles clearly had to
formulate and organize their information and ideas to properly portray the event in a formal
matter. There were few dissimilarities which were in the amount of information the writers used
and level of sophistication in their tone. The similarities in techniques they used stems from the
fact they were writing news articles. To write for the public and represent a newspaper or news
channel, you have to write in a formal manner. 2nd order thinking is a way of writing in a logical
and accurate forman appropriate way to cover a story and present it to the public. The
dissimilarities I think are because of the different writing styles. Not everyone writes the same
exact waythe amount of information and tone of each article is more likely than not, because it
was three different writers, writing for three different newspapers/channels.

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The articles Ive covered are only one type of the many textual genres out there; its
incredibly important to learn genre because it can be beneficial to your writing not only
academically, but in your everyday life. If you ever have to writewhether it's a report, business
document, or an emailyoure writing for a certain genre. Dirk iterates, But once we recognize
a recurring situation, a situation that we or others have responded to in the past, our response to
that situation can be guided by past responses, (Dirk, 2010). What Dirk is saying is, if you've
never written for that particular genre before, you might look to previous works in the same
genre to get a general idea of what you're supposed to be writing. This could nonetheless
improve your writing, simply because you have something to go off that is relative to what
you're doing. Studying or knowing genre can not only be beneficial to students, but your
everyday person who has to write anything. A sense of genre overall can just better your
comprehension of any type of text; this displays understanding and competence which can
potentially open doors into bigger and better things.
In summation, each news article covered the topic concerning the Orcas; in doing so
each article was able to maintain the common rhetoric, style, and conventions of that youd find
in most news articles. However, while still keeping all these features, they managed to differ
(even if only in the slightest bit) from one another

yet still fully able to cover the story in the

way a typical news piece would. Its possible for pieces of the same genre to report on a story
while still having their own twist on the expected features for their corresponding genre.

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Works Cited
Alexander, Jonathan. "Introduction: Spaces for Writing." Understanding Rhetoric: A Graphic
Guide to Writing. By Elizabeth Losh. Boston: Bedford-St. Martins, 2013. 2-23.
Print.
"Coastal Commission Approves Expansion of SeaWorld Orca Tanks." FOX5 San Diego San
Diego News Weather Traffic Sports from KSWB. 08 Oct. 2015. Web. 10 Oct.
2015. http://fox5sandiego.com/2015/10/08/coastal-commission-approves-expansion-ofseaworlds-orca-tanks/
Dirk, Kerry. "Navigating Genres." Writing Spaces: Reading on Writing. Vol. 1. Anderson: Parlor,
2010. 249-62. Print.
Elbow, Peter. "Teaching Two Kinds of Thinking by Teaching Writing." Embracing Contraries:
Explorations in Learning and Teaching. New York: Oxford UP, 1986. 55-63. Print.
"SeaWorld Barred from Breeding Whales in Captivity - BBC News." BBC News. 09 Oct. 2015.
Web. 10 Oct. 2015. http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-34489029
Stone, Ken. "SeaWorld Wins Bid to Expand Killer Whale Tanks, But Breeding Is Barred."
Timesofsandiego. 08 Oct. 2015. Web. 10 Oct. 2015.