Genre Across Scholarly and Non-Academic Context

Oren Merry
Perm #7592892
De Piero, Writ 2
2/18/2015

On January 21st of 2010 the Supreme Court of the United States ruled on a legal case
that would change the course of the U.S. forever. In Citizens United v. FEC the Supreme Court
ruled that organizations, such as corporations, are allowed to donate an unlimited number of

Comment [ZD1]: Excellent opening

already, Im paying attention and wondering
whats next.

funds to a political campaign. The effect on the ruling allows politicians to be practically
sponsored by a company. Many fear that being supported by a large corporation could affect a
politicians lawmaking ability. When analyzing this court case, I took the New York Times
article, A Trickle-Down Effect of Citizens United and the academic text Citizens United at

Comment [ZD2]: Is it your analysis of the

court case? Or your analysis of the authors
analysis of that court case?

Work into consideration. The authors purpose for writing the article is evident in the diction
used when providing the evidence for his/her argument. Specific moves are also used
according to the audience expectations of the author. These two articles are uniquely qualified
to highlight these points.
The New York Times has been a prominent news source since 1851 and continues to be
so to this day. The genre that characterized A Trickle-Down Effect of Citizens United, written
by The Editorial Board, is an Opinion/Editorial piece. It is an opinion based take on the issues

Comment [ZD3]: I need more of a

specific, driving thesis statement, Oren.
What, exactly, are you going to be arguing
here? And what specific points are you going
to use to make that case?
Comment [ZD4]: You might want to rethink this topic sentenceremember: its got
to drive home your argument in some way.
Does this sentence do that? If so/sorta, how?

regarding the Citizens United ruling. The focus in this article is based on the failures of the
court case. The author explains how politicians are exploiting the court ruling in their benefit.
The diction used is particularly accusatory and alarming. Instead of purely informing the
audience, the author uses specific words to convey the urgency that the situation entails. Its
not surprising taking advantage of this permissive environment. (1, The Editorial Board)

Comment [ZD5]: Nice. Now Ill be

looking for textual examples.
Comment [ZD6]: Id advise you to refrain
from using free-floating quotes (ie, sentences
that start and end with a quote). The reader is
probably going to be left wondering, Who is
saying/citing this, and how/why is it relevant?
Wheres it coming from? Try to introduce the
quote and give it context.

Instead of simply providing the details for the audience to understand the facts, the author
goes a step further and insists the inevitability of the wrongdoing. The Supreme Courts
central rationalebased on the unrealistic notion. (1, The Editorial Board). The authors
purpose to incite anger and action, due to the explained evidence, is directly translated to the
diction used when providing the facts. Every author has specific rhetorical conventions and are
influenced by their audience. When the writer sat downwhom was he or she implicitly
talking? (87, Rosenberg) The audience has a large impact on the overall paper, and the
rhetorical features provide the pathos that a paper like this involves.
Citizens United at Work is an academic journal written for the Harvard Law Review.

Comment [ZD7]: How does sentence 1

relate to sentence 2? That connection wasnt
clear to me.
Comment [ZD8]: The last few sentences,
youve been analyzing AUDIENCE. You didnt
do that, though, in the topic sentence or the
first couple of sentences.
New paragraph or new topic sentence

The purpose of the article is to understand the landmark court decision and its effect on the
common man/woman in todays workplace. The concern of the article is the exploitation of
workers in favor of a specific political campaign, due to the corporation that one works for. The
injustices that are caused by the Supreme Courts ruling are highlighted and used to argue
against the overall decision. The legal framework with extensive employee protectionsno
longer serves its function (5, Harvard Law Review) While still following the conventions of a
scholarly piece, the language used is directed against the decisions and is meant to provide the
reader with a perspective instead of the specifics of the lost protections. extensive
employee protections (5, Harvard Law Review). This is a perfect example of a specific word
choice. To add pathos to the argument the author adds the word extensive (5, Harvard
Law Review). The specific words used are there to highlight the arguments from the author.
Moves are crucial for an essay to have meaning. Without moves, the writing turns to be
uninvolved and shallow. Authors make a conscious decision to use every word. writing is a

Comment [ZD9]: <~~ These ideas are

what this paragraph is ultimately about. (At
least it seems to me to be that way.) Consider
giving this a promotion and booting it into
your topic sentence.

word-by-word, sentence by sentence process. (121, Bunn) These choices come together in

Comment [ZD10]: Excellent quote to use

for moves

stylistic moves. The moves used in A Trickle-Down Effect of Citizens United are the use of
direct examples relating to the topic, cumulating as a call-to-action. When highlighting the
flaws of the case, the author utilizes specific repercussions of the decision. .Mike Ellis, a
Republican state senator from Wisconsin dropped his re-election bidput together an
ostensibly independent Super PAC (1, The Editorial Board). The use of this example is the
starting point as which to base the call-to-action off of. Without regulations, the author argues,
politicians will take advantage of the ruling. Florida law regulates only explicit advocacy for or
against a candidate (1, The Editorial Board). The specifics used in this opinion piece are used
to underline the faultiness of the overall decision. In the end the authors use the provided
evidence to offer the reader with a specific call-to-action, and Vermont have recently taken
steps along these lines. More should follow in their lead. (1, The Editorial Board). Due to the
lack of background information, yet inclusion of in-depth political analysis, the audience meant
for this article is an educated voter. As the audience expects, the author is rallying political

Comment [ZD11]: Nice follow-up analysis

here, Oren.

support, awareness, and action against the court ruling. The moves used in this article are
directed toward the specific audience that the article is written for. The given examples and
call to action is for those already concerned with this topic and have the specific
understandings that the article needs.
The fundamental argument in Citizens United at Work is that against the court ruling.
The authors use unique moves due to the precision and argumentativeness of their audience:
law students and professors. Due to the location of this academic journal, The Harvard Review,
those reading it expect a piece that makes a solid claim and used a variety of sources to back-up

Comment [ZD12]: Im not clear on what

you mean here. The audience are law folks,
so the author is doing what to tailor
his/her piece to them?

the claims, such as a lawyer would. The moves used are uniquely directed for the lawyer. As a
lawyer would, he/she establishes pathos by using a scenario: you and several other
employees will work full time for the Koch brothers Super PAC any employee who refuses to
participate will be fired. (1, Harvard Law Review). The legality of this scenario is the topic that
is elaborated on and discussed throughout the paper. The use of a scenario, to start the piece,
is unique to the article and even the genre. An academic journal is typically rigid in its
discussion of the topic. This paper utilizes a specific scenario for the reader to empathize with.
Another key move, that is specific to the audience, is the comparison of previous legislation to
our present laws. Before Citizens United, Congress had established a comprehensive statutory
framework regulating corporations and unions political engagement. (3, Harvard Law Review)
This allows the reader to fully comprehend the dramatic changes that occurred due to this
court decision and its overall negative effects on our society. This is a useful strategy for the

Comment [ZD13]: Im getting a little bit

lost on (1) what youre ultimately arguing
about these writers/texts and (2) what each
paragraph is about.
I think part of it is that Im getting lost in a sea
of quotes. Now Im not, at all, saying that
textual examples are a bad thingtheyre
AWESOME thingsI guess Im just not clear
on WHY youre using them and/or WHAT
theyre proving.
Clearer, more specific topic sentences might
be the remedy to this.

audience to better understand the overall effects of the ruling. The comparison move is also
utilized throughout the law discipline as a way to show the positive or negative effects of
something. These moves all are directed toward and expected by the intended audience of this
piece.
Each genre has its own particular strengths and weaknesses. The strength that a nonacademic essay has is the ability to develop a strong pathos. The authors voice shines through
when they are not constricted to the rules of an academic text. On the other hand though, a
non-academic author has to prove his credibility or ethos. When an academic paper has to go
through peer revision it gains immediate credibility. An audience is greatly affected by the
papers source. This greatly reflects in its persuasive ability. When an article is from the New

Comment [ZD14]: <~ the main idea of

this para.

York Times or USA Today the reader understands the papers journalistic integrity and
standards. When the paper source is a random blog, people are much less likely to trust the
article. The effectiveness of a written piece has a lot riding on the credibility of the source.
The anticipated audience of an essay or scholarly journal determines a lot. It
determines the diction used. The intended audience also has a large impact on the moves
used. The authors take into consideration the audience that is reading the paper and uses
moves that most likely assist the argument. Why care about an authors moves? readers
always need to know why they should care. (69, Birkenstein & Graft) Understanding moves
will greatly assist in understanding motives in writings. You can learn how to not be easily
persuaded, by realizing why the author writes what the author is writing. A writer can then
borrow others moves and apply them to their own writings. In the end, a written piece has a
lot riding on its source and withstanding credibility. A successful essay is not just words on a
page.

Comment [ZD15]: Im wondering if this

might be more effective towards the start of
your paper.

Works Cited
Birkenstein, and Graft. ""So What? Who Cares?"" Writing Spaces 2 (2011): 92-101. Print.
Board, Editorial. "A Trickle-Down Effect of Citizens United." The New York Times. The New York
Times, 13 Oct. 2014. Web. 11 Feb. 2015.
<http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/14/opinion/a-trickle-down-effect-of-citizensunited.html>.
Bunn, Mike. "How to Read Like a Writer." Writing Spaces 2 (2011): 71-86. Print.
Citizens United at Work. Diss. Harvard Law School, 2014. Boston: Harvard Law, 2014. Citizens
United at Work. Harvard Law Review, 1 Dec. 2014. Web. 10 Feb. 2015.
<http://web.a.ebscohost.com/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=5fa48616-59a8-44509f67-7836987de579%40sessionmgr4001&vid=1&hid=4209>.
"Citizens United v. FEC." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 11 Feb. 2015.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citizens_United_v._FEC>.
"Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission." SCOTUSblog RSS. SCOTUSblog, 2015. Web. 11
Feb. 2015. <http://www.scotusblog.com/case-files/cases/citizens-united-v-federalelection-commission/>.
Rosenberg, Karen. "Reading Games: Strategies for Reading Scholarly Sources." Writing Spaces 2
(2011): 210-20. Print.

Comment [ZD16]: Beautiful Works Cited!

Thesis Statement
Use of Evidence from
Articles
Use of Course Readings
Analysis
Organization/Structure
Attention to
Genre/Conventions and
Rhetorical Factors
Sentence-level Clarity,
Mechanics, Flow
Other Comments

Did Not Meet

Expectations

Met Expectations

Exceeded
Expectations

Oren,
First things first: nice job. You put a lot of work into this, and
I think its a solid piece.
To get it to the next level, start off by being suuuuuuuper
clear on what, exactly, youre arguing and what points youll
be using to make your case. That needs to surface in your
thesis statement. I needed/wanted more of a roadmap here.
I also think you need to work on your topic sentences. Use
them as idea anchors for your paragraphs.
I noticed that you used a lot of free-floating quotes. I dont
think thats a good habit to get intocheck out my
comments about that.
Hey, all told, I was happy with the work that you put into this.
Z
B+