Huval 1

Zach Huval
Prof. Eaker
24 November 2014
Authors Statement
When completing this genre project, it was important to me that all of my pieces
conveyed the same overall message, but would appeal to different audiences. I chose three
genres that I feel are all unique, but still present the information that I wanted to present in a
clear manner.
The first genre I chose to entertain was an obituary. Obituaries are written for people after
they are deceased. They are notices of death, usually published in newspapers, that give a short
biography of the deceased person. Most of the time they are very short, and sometimes include a
picture of the person it is written for. Since obituaries are dealing with the heavy topic of death,
the tone is almost always serious. Now, the reason I chose to write an obituary for one piece of
my multi-genre project was because I felt that it helps put a face to ISIS violent tears. In my
research blog I talked about how lethal ISIS was and named some people that fell victim to them.
With the obituary, it helps people understand the extent of their violence, and that it has
consequences. Reading the obituary tells you about Steven Sotloff as a person, instead of just a
statistic. I would say that the audience for this particular genre would be people who were aware
of Sotloff and his sacrifice. This can apply to many people, but I feel like they would get the
most out of this piece. Writing this genre was actually quite painless, because almost all of the
information I used to write the obituary was from one of my blog posts that detailed ISIS
capturing and killing American journalists.

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The second genre I chose was the pro and con list. Usually a pro and con list consists of
the positives and negatives that will result of something. They can be presented in quick, easy to
read bullet points, or written in complete sentences. I think that this genre fits well with my topic,
because it allowed me to present all of the information that I gathered from my research in an
organized, quick manner. After reading the pro and con list that I created, I think you will have a
better understanding of the consequences of American intervention in ISIS affairs without having
to do your own outside research. It gives you the basics, and the main things that you would need
to know if you wanted to learn about American involvement with ISIS. Its hard to pinpoint an
exact target audience for something so broad, but I would have to say that I targeted this
specifically to people who are interested in world affairs, and American well-being but hate to
read long, monotonous articles. Personally, I am guilty of this, so I created this list with that in
mind. Instead of having to sit there and read a long three or four page article about something,
you can just read the bullet points, and have about the same understanding of someone who read
the entire article. I was able to fully utilize my research blog to create this piece. I used almost all
of the blogs that I wrote, as sources to incorporate information into the pro and con list. I would
have to say that this is personally one of my favorite genres, just because of its convenience.
The last genre that I used was a wanted poster. A wanted poster is used to create
awareness about an outlaw, and usually includes information such as their crimes, and reward for
the successful capture of them. Back in the day, wanted posters were printed and posted around
towns and cities that the criminal they were trying to apprehend was suspected to be. Now, in
the information technology age, wanted ads are usually created and posted online, instead of
issuing physical copies. I think that a wanted poster was a good fit for my research, because it
allows me create awareness in a visual form, but still be relevant to my research on ISIS. With

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the wanted poster, I was able to give information about the leader of ISIS, including his actual
bounty issued by the US government, and his crimes. While still being informational, the wanted
poster was still fun, and visual rather, than my other two genres which were writing intensive.
I didnt have information in my blog that I could of used to complete this piece, so I had to reach
to outside sources. I found an informative article on CNNs website that I used to help me
complete this genre. Again, it is hard to say who exactly my target audience is for this piece,
because it can apply to so many different people. Maybe the US government, law enforcement
agencies, bounty hunters?
Genres are important, because they allow the opportunity to express information in
different ways and for different audiences. It is vital that as a writer you understand the different
aspects of genres as well as maintain the ability to write in different ways. After completing this
project, I believe that my overall understanding and ability to present information in multiple
genres has increased vastly.

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Works Cited
"Video Shows ISIS Militants Beheading American Journalist Steven Sotloff." KTLA. N.p., n.d.
Web. 24 Nov. 2014.
"ISIS Fast Facts." CNN. Cable News Network, 01 Jan. 1970. Web. 29 Oct. 2014
.Engalhardt, Tom."No,ISIS is not a threat to the US". The Nation. 7 October 2014. Web. 26
October 2014
Yan, Holly, Arwa Damon, Yousuf Basil, Brian Walker, and Michael Pearson. "After Airstrikes,
Questions Abound over Fate of ISIS Leader." CNN. Cable News Network, 10 Nov. 2014.
Web. 24 Nov. 2014.
"Steven Sotloff." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 23 Nov. 2014. Web. 24 Nov. 2014.