Blog Post 5

Before starting this class I thought the word genre was only used to describe music, but Chapter 1 of the textbook taught me that genre goes beyond just music. This chapter explains the different types of genres that are used writers and composers to get their points across to their audiences. Genres such as print, like articles of books, digital works, which could be movies or videos, and “face-to-face” works, which I interpreted to be things like photography or paintings. After describing the different types of genres that are out there, the book goes on to explain the different convention of genre: style, design, and sources. Style is used when composing their work, it’s how they form and communicate what they’re trying to convey to their audience, the tone and voice also play a role in the style. Design deals with the “visual” of a composition and how it is viewed by the outside. Though design deals with the more visual appeal of things, it still plays a role in getting in touch with the intended audience. I know from personal experience that I’m a sucker for good visual advertisement because it catches my eye and sparks my interest, though the work might not always be what I was expecting it accomplishes the goal of the composer which was to drawn in as many people as possible. The last convention that is discussed is sources and how they are used. The chapter explains how sources can literally be anything that a composer will turn to for “facts, perspectives, and models,” that they will then use to strengthen their message and deliver it more clearly. For actual academic works one would have to cite their sources in the document and give credit to wherever/ whoever they got the facts from. When it comes to other genres, like “novels, comics, and music lyrics,” then the composer isn’t necessarily required to have a citation of sources that were used.