Bedford Book of Genres Chp 1

   Sophia Fundora

   After going through the assigned readings in the Bedford Book of Genres, I realized that this class will involve moving away from the genre of term papers and beginning to explore more with our writing by being genre specific with more attention to audience and purpose. There are also a variety of different genre of overlaps that give writers a lot more area to explore. Your purpose with your writing or story telling really determines the genre and what kind of piece you will be writing, like with the example of Annie L. Burton's Memories of Childhood's Slavery Days  in which she chose to write about her experiences as a memoir versus poetry or editorials.

   Chapter 1 also touched upon rhetorical situation which involves taking what you know about what your audience expects to read and receive from your piece into consideration when writing. You must also take into consideration your own purpose for writing that piece, which going back to the basics could be to present a narrative, inform, and/or persuade. You must also take ethos, pathos and logos into consideration with your intended audience. Ethos, pathos and logos concern credibility, emotional appeal and logical reason. Taking the medium in which your piece will be viewed on should also be considered, whether it be print, digital or face-to-face. 

   All in all the first chapter of the Bedford Book of Genres covered the basic foundation of writing especially when considering your audience and how to get the reaction or outcome you expect from them.