Reflection on Understanding Genres (Ch.1)

     Before reading the first page I thought I fully understood genres, that I had it all figured out... I was clearly mistaken. I always thought of genres as: fiction, nonfiction, documentary, rap, metal, etc., so I was very surprised to learn that an academic genre and even a persuasive genre exist; I never thought that those long research papers and persuasive essays I was assigned could be classified under a specific genre. Clearly what I thought I knew and the truth were two very different things. I never noticed all the little things that go into writing and the impact that the planning and choice of genre has on the outcome and overall message of the story; I always thought writers just thought of a good idea and boom they begin writing and revising their work and it comes out great because they are creative and awesome. Maybe its because I've never been very interested in writing, or maybe it's because I've never looked at it that way. I never considered that the genre an author chooses can be so intertwined with the purpose and rhetorical situation, I always saw it as the authors personal style preference or as a classification of a piece, something that is ultimately determined when the piece is completed, never as something preplanned through the evolution of purpose, rhetorical situation, and audience. Another thing I learned was how mode and media were so connected, it makes total sense after reading that section because the media source you use not only gears it towards a more particular audience but that along with design can also affect the way the audience feels when reading your piece. I feel like the media source you choose to use is more important now because if technology, for example you can't except to write a piece geared towards seniors (65+) through a blog because chances are most of them aren't very good with computers. The genre and media source you chose to use can effect the message you are trying to convey and the absence or rhetoric appeals can leave the audience feeling disconnected from the writer. All in all there are a lot of things that go into the planning stages of writing, authors need to have in mind a lot of different elements and concepts in order to successfully get through and make connections with their readers, and the genre plays a key role in the process.