Prof. Williams | ENG 1121 - HD18 | Spring 2022

Discussion: Write the “Why nots” for your op-ed essay (by 4/11) AND submit your Genre Analysis

Why not (the alternative)? What basis of understanding do you have about your audience — what are their principal beliefs (or warrants), which by understanding and communicating then gives you the right to challenge (these principal beliefs) and ask for change. 

  • Warrants based on experience: Invalidate their experience, argue that evidence isn’t relevant to their claim, find a counterexample that undermines their experience. 
  • Warrants based on authority: Claim that the authority figure doesn’t have all of the information or invalidate their authority by finding fault in their logic or actions. 
  • Warrants based on systems of beliefs and theories: To some people, facts are irrelevant (Technically, you could debase them for being illogical), so you must challenge the system’s legitimacy or show that the specific case in question isn’t supported by their beliefs. You could also say that the case in question is supported by their beliefs to make them accept it. 
  • Warrants based on culture: Again, facts are irrelevant and you will be seen as challenging the culture. Tread lightly or dismantle.
  • Warrant based on pattern, expectation, correlation: Point out a limiting condition or lack of applicability, which shows that the case in question isn’t supported by this warrant.

GENRE ANALYSIS INSTRUCTIONS: Perform a genre analysis on your publication and create a rubric defining its audience, style, length, theme/ topics, structure, format, and popular rhetorical devices / writerly moves to emulate.

7 Comments

  1. Shawina B

    Warrants based on experience:
    Students who underperform are often viewed as lazy by professors and fellow classmates. What the general population refers to as lazy is often a symptom of depression, anxiety disorders, or other major psychological disorder. Students perceived as lazy, who seek help, are often assessed as having a mental health problem.
    Warrants based on authority:
    Universities, government, and mental health advocacy organizations cohesively agree that mental health is the leading health-related cause of low academic performance and dropout rates.
    Warrants based on systems of beliefs and theories:
    The truth is students who suffer from mood disorders are lazy. Low motivation, lack of energy, and not wanting to do anything, is the definition of lazy. It is also some symptoms associated with a mood disorder; such as depression.
    Warrants based on culture:
    Invalidating someone’s illness because of your cultural or religious beliefs does not make the illness false. It is possible to change your view toward a student with mental health problems if awareness efforts are made.
    Warrant based on pattern, expectation, correlation:
    One may use a cancer patient or a student who has MS to refute the claims of a student with mental problems. The two preceding students may show up to class every day and get their work done. This may be true, but what is also true is, that those students’ mental health is not poor. A person with poor mental health or mental problems does not have the ability to cope effectively with life stressors. Their psychological well-being affects their daily lives. If a cancer patient also lacked the ability to cope with stressors effectively, they would probably exhibit the same behaviors as the student with mental problems. Ironically, a professor or peer would find the behavior justified.

    Genre analysis:
    A Mental Health Crisis Among the Young Arnold R. Eiser
    Philadelphia Dec. 15, 2021

    Audience: Editor and general public
    Style: Letter
    Length: 600 -900 words
    Theme: informative and persuasive
    Structure: Topical organizational pattern
    Format:
    Popular rhetoric devices: Blunt, direct language

  2. ia Macharashvili

    Warrants based on experience.
    Corporations claims and their environmental statements is not enough to solve climate change, as a matter of fact instead of cutting output, governments are planning and predicting a 2% yearly rise, which would result in more than double the production required to meet the Paris Agreement’s 1.5-degree Celsius limit by 2030.

    Warrants based on authority.
    Large corporations don’t have the ability to comprehend the dangers in their actions. Their main thought is and was always profit and success, but not sustainability.

    Warrants based on systems of beliefs.
    some people may argue that climate change is normal, and the environments goes through changes throughout time. But climate change we are experiencing is mainly due to human activity and not a result of natural phenomenon. CO2 levels are now 40% higher than they were before the Industrial Revolution, having grown from 280 parts per million in the 18th century to over 400 ppm in 2015 and on course to exceed 410 ppm this spring.

    Warrants based on culture.
    Climate change affects people’s capacity to access and care for Country, practice culture, and build and sustain relationships with family and communities.

    Genre analysis:
    Audience: Large corporations
    Style: op-ed Publication
    Length: 500-700 words
    Theme: informative

  3. Alberto Jorge

    Warrants based on experience.: people say gun violence isn’t going to stop . Just because we are trying to prevent it from happening isn’t going to change anything so either way it’s going to get worse. Gun violence is still going to cause more deaths.

    Warrants based on authority: Risky persons who should not have weapons are sometimes referred to as “the mentally ill” in gun policy arguments. However, this term, which is used by both sides, is extremely deceptive. Despite the fact that forty million Americans have diagnosable mental illnesses, they represent no threat to anyone. It would be futile, unjust, and stigmatizing to bar all of those folks from owning guns. It would also keep out a lot of people who aren’t mentally ill but are nevertheless dangerous.

    Warrants based on systems of beliefs.: The first key conclusion is that police officers are generally opposed to gun control, with nearly all officers expressing serious doubts about the efficacy of gun control measures. In order to own a gun you need a permit first.

    Warrants based on culture.: Gun changes and can affect the way people live and learn how to deal with this situation.

    Genre analysis:
    Audience:across the United States
    Theme: informative and persuasive
    Length:600-800 words
    Style: letter

  4. kaylasmall

    Warrants based on experience.
    People say that voting is easy and that anyone who is a citizen 18 and over can vote when in reality voter disenfranchisement is very real and impacts so many people especially minorities.

    Warrants based on authority.
    The government comes up with ridiculous things such as poll taxes and literacy tests that set people up to fail in the past so that their votes would not count

    Warrants based on systems of beliefs.
    One out of 44 adults is disenfranchised. The qualifications for voting is what makes it so difficult, you have to have a government issued ID for example, which costs a fee, so now US citizens who are low income may not be able to have the chance to vote because of their income status instead of their citizenship.

    Warrants based on culture.
    Looking into history, it was only males, more specifically white males who could vote, we are now in a time that should be more inclusive of everyone and not have to still fight for people to be able to vote
    Genre analysis:
    Audience: Citizens of US & gov of US
    Style: op-ed Publication
    Length: 500-800 words
    Theme: informative
    Style: Letter
    Popular rhetoric devices: logos

  5. Isaiah F

    Warrants based on Experience: Healthcare in America has always been a problem. A hospital bill can skyrocket some much that it can cost you more than an average apartment monthly bill. A lot of people are in debt because of their medical bills.

    Warrants based on Authority: Ever since 2010, when ObamaCare or Affordable Care Act (ACA) finally was established low-income family finally had signs of relief that their medical expenses just got more affordable. According to the ACA, the federal government is now responsible for paying off 100% off the courage cost of families and individuals that are newly insure. Sadly, even though this sounded like a good plan for the average american in 2010, indefinitely the obamacare was considered to be a failure.

    Warrants based on Culture: According to the Commonwealth Foundation, 41 percent of working americans (72 million people) are currently have/paying off medical debt. In addition to that, in totality 79 millions adults are facing medical expenses if you count the other 7 millions of the elderly adults facing the same problem.

    Audience: Citizens of US & Gov of US
    Length: 500-700 words
    Theme: Informative, Interesting
    Style: Letter/NYTimes (Magazines)

  6. Shawn Dorsey Jr.

    Warrants based on experience: Many parents and educators believe that cursive writing lessons do little to prepare young students for an increasingly digital world. Such opponents of cursive writing suggest keyboarding lessons should take precedence over teaching handwriting skills.
    Warrants based on authority:

    Warrants based on systems of belief: Another quandary facing the fate of handwriting: If technology advances to the point that students use electronic or digital gadgets to write their names, do their school work, and communicate, will teachers eventually decide that preschoolers shouldn’t bother learning to write their ABC’s?

    Warrants based on culture: Our society is quickly losing its ability to communicate via cursive writing. It is not taught, or rather it is not stressed, in American schools as it once was. We are becoming completely dependent on machines to communicate with others.
    Genre Analysis
    Audience: School System
    Length: 500-900 words
    Theme: Persuasive
    Style: Op Ed

  7. Alija

    Warrants based on experience: NYC will become a safer city… nyc was once upon a time the safest city. It is now becoming one of the worst because of how crazy crime is becoming
    Warrant based on authority: The people who commit majority of the crimes are mentally unstable
    Warrant based on systems of beliefs : NYC residents think that they must arm themselves
    Warrants based on culture: Certain people don’t see the bad in violence and crime because it’s a way of survival where they live

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