QRGs: the Genre

In this post I will be analyzing QRG's (Quick Reference Guide) through the five assigned questions. I will be analyzing them in regard to the five articles that we discussed in class earlier this week. 

Made by Hunter McAdams 

• What do the conventions of this genre - the Quick Reference Guide - seem to be?

The conventions of a Quick Reference Guide as demonstrated in these examples are hyperlinking, using sub-headings, asking questions, writing in an informal way, and providing images and statistics. Each example also has the basic conventions of any article, such as a title and an author that is recognized for the article. They also have a short introduction, informative paragraph before diving into the body of the article.  These conventions are what make up a QRG.

• How are those conventions defined by the author’s formatting and design choices?

The conventions are defined by the author's formatting and design choices in many ways. An example of the author doing this is with the informality of the QRG, the author writes it like a blog post, using informal vocabulary and leaving lots of white space. The hyperlinking is done in the QRG, linking websites/articles to words inside of the QRG. The author also uses sub headings to introduce a new topic, sometimes the sub headings are formed as questions. This shows the reader that the topic is questionable and sometimes debatable. 

• What does the purpose of these QRGs seem to be?

The QRGs are to inform people/readers on issues or current events happening in the world. The QRGs are written in a simplistic manner so it is easy for anyone to read. The QRGs are fairly direct, getting straight to the point and being as informative as possible. For that reason the QRGs are a god news source. 

• Who is the intended audience for these different QRGs? Are they all intended for similar audiences? Or different? How & why?

Each QRG has a specific audience and a general audience. For example, the E-cig QRG can be directed specifically at E-cig smokers. The article is also for the general public. Whoever has an interest in E-cigs is the intended audience. The author is also banking on the headline striking interest in someone so they continue to read the article. The QRG's are interesting articles that have the intended audience of those who share a personal connection with the topic of the QRG, yet they are also for the general public to read as a way of news. 

• How do the QRGs use imagery or visuals? Why do you think they use them in this way?

The QRG's use images and/or visuals to draw emotional appeal. A prime example of this is the image of the little girl covering her ears in the QRG on the Greek debt crisis. It is there to make the reader feel sympathetic. The tone of the image adds a gloomy, depressing feel to the article. By adding this to the article it will in turn make the reader "feel some type of way".

Reflection: After reading the "QRG: the Genre" blog posts from Mathias, Carrie, and Betsy I found out that we all had similar responses to the questions being asked in this blog post. I think this is because we discussed these questions in class so we all obtained a better understanding of a QRG. I thin we all have a good understanding of a QRG and really understand the conventions and the purpose of the conventions in regard to the audience. After reading their blog posts I came to realize how important images are. I didn't fully know how important they were before but now I understand.