Genre Study Assignment Isaac Saypharath ENGl 1101-003 Ingram 8/4/2013

In this assignment, the instructions were to take to pieces of writing (one from high school and one from university) and analyze those pieces. The pieces I chose were a book report that I wrote for my AP Psychology class my senior year of high school and an essay that was to be read for my ENGL 1101 class. I find these pieces to be important because the book report was the first long piece of writing I did (spanning to eleven pages) and the college essay to be read showed that writing shouldn't be limited and that each student should express themselves in their writing.

Analysis of On Killing Book Report

The author of the text is me, having to write a book report for my AP Psychology teacher. My purpose in writing this paper was to give a summary of the important parts of the book, as well as give the reader an insight into the act of killing and its effect on the human psyche. This

paper describes the ranges at which soldiers kill, ranges spanning from long range to hand to hand range. This paper was written because I was had an opportunity over Christmas Break to gain extra credit, provided that my paper was at least four pages long (it turned out to be eleven) and that it had good content. On Killing was a book that I wanted to read before I was given the opportunity of gaining extra credit, and the fact that extra credit would be given if I finished the report, I was suddenly given an incentive for reading the book, as well as studying it. On Killing sports messages that revolve mainly around why soldiers kill, and how the military is able to condition soldiers to kill so easily. My paper was mainly a short summary of all these reasons that soldiers killed. Grossman gives us a detailed view of what causes a soldier to kill and why he does it. Through intense training and the breakdown of the human mind, one is able to kill another with little to no hesitation. Participation in an activity such as killing is dependent on the membership of a group, proximity and legitimacy of a leader, physical distance from killer to victim, severity of desensitization of the individual, and also the temperament of the individual himself (such as the presence of anti-social personality disorder). Peer pressure causes an individual to kill, not due to the fact that they would be an outcast, but because the other members of the group as depending on each other for survival in every combat situation that they get into. The leader is there to ensure that the killing has been committed and must lead not only through example (such as Lt. Calley), but must also demand that the men under his command kill (such as the Roman

centurions). The leader's influence can be effectively exercised only when that leader has legitimate authority by rising through the ranks and proving himself to his men but must also have the respect of his men so that they will dutifully serve under him. The desensitization of the individual soldier can also play a factor in his resistance to killing. If he dehumanizes his target, than he can block out the emotional pain associated with killing. In addition, physical distance, such as killing hostiles from a bomber, can leave the individual at peace because he himself wouldn't physically see the victim that he killed. Lastly, the temperament of the individual can also decide whether or not he participates in killing. If that individual is a sociopath, he will have no regrets on the completion of his actions. The "natural soldier" however, follows strict guidelines in order to justify his kill and not have to deal with emotional pain. All these factors put together are the reasons why a soldier can kill in combat and how it may come as easy to them. It also gave examples of how soldiers kill (from the long ranges of high altitude bombers, to the extremely close range of hand to hand combat), what this does to their mental health (whether they crave more for killing, or if they are so disgusted by it, that they acquire Post Traumatic Stress Disorder), and how many soldiers are coerced to kill whomever they are ordered to (through the demands of the leader and because of participation and activity with a certain group that they are a part of or want to join). Most of the messages in this book report were explicit because the teacher needed to know exactly what the book was about, therefore the need for implicit messages was unnecessary. Explicit messages are seen in the examples of the ranges that soldiers kill at, as well as the various quotes from the book that showed how soldiers were

affected by the will of superiors and therefore had to follow orders blindly, with no regard to conscience (the example of Lt. Calley killing a women and her family himself, to show his soldiers that hesitation is a sign of mercy is prime example that comes to mind). The main value that I wanted to convey to whoever reads my paper, was that soldiers aren't heartless killers. In the essay I write, " Through intense training and the breakdown of the human mind, one is able to kill another with little to no hesitation." The reason they kill, is because they are conditioned to do it. Through the countless hours of training as well as physical punishment if the task they were given is done wrong, soldiers are conditioned to kill, almost exactly like how Pavlov's dogs were conditioned to salivate at the sight of food. The act of

killing is drilled into the minds of recruits, to make sure they kill targets on sight. Soldiers are also influenced by authority, and as a result of having to follow orders, they have to kill, or else be subject to court martial (possibly under the charge of insubordination). The genre of book reports exists (in my opinion) only in educational settings. The limitation of book reports, is that they are just that, a book report. The writer's job is to mostly summarize and point out important parts of the text, and why they are important. However, an advantage of a book report is that the reader does not need to read the complete book to get the main ideas from the book they want to read. I feel that this text is successful in fulfilling my purpose because I was to give an educational summary of the book that I chose to read. If I was to receive extra credit, then I had to write a report summarizing the book, and I did just that. The intended audience WAS my actual audience, and I was successful in having both of the audiences be the same. As a result of my directness, my teacher game me the extra credit. This book report taught me that in order to

be successful in college, I would need to be direct in the essays that I submit to my teachers in order to achieve and adequate grade.

College Analysis on Don't Tell Me What To Write

The author of Don't Tell Me What to Write is Joe Antinarella, who wrote this to a student audience just starting to learn how to write for college. The purpose of this essay is to educate new freshman students on what writing is like in a university level writing class, as well as what is expected of them when they submit assignments for their writing courses. The most explicit message that Antinarella attempts to convey in this essay, is that students (when writing in university) are to express themselves, and not dwell in the box of comfort that the five paragraph essay format (utilized by students in middle school as well as high school). This is because (as we are now taught to realize in ENGL 1101) that the five paragraph essay format taught to students in middle and high school is the WRONG way of teaching students how to write, and should thus be removed from the curriculum of writing and composition completely. Students are not allowed to express themselves in their writing, something that is now freely and highly encouraged in the writing classes of university. The values that is heavily pushed in this text, is the creativity of students who write, and also that students should be allowed to freely express themselves through writing. To Antinarella, writing should not be mechanical, as if simply spewed out by robots who want to get the job done to receive a grade. Instead, writing should show the creativity and the imagination

that the student has to offer in his/her class. Writing should be more poetic and also more from inner soul of the writer. The rules of the essay genre, are defined simply by the fact, that there rarely are any rules. An essay can be written about nearly anything, from the advances in quantum levitation by way of super conductors (which is a fascinating science might I add) to bacon's cocaine like effects on the brain when it is consumed. An essay is defined as a short piece of writing that is written from the author's personal point of view on a subject. This genre exists mostly in the areas of academia, as well as general education. While highly useful in conveying the author's opinion, essays are generally short, too short to let the author completely elaborate his/her opinion, and instead having to give audiences the watered down version. The advantages of essays however, are that they are short, and can also give a general view of the author's opinion on a subject. I feel that Atinarella did a fine job in fulfilling the purpose of the essay because it teaches writers just entering university and having to deviate from the five paragraph essay that they have grown used to in high school. The intended (and actual) audience of Anitarella's essay was freshman students who are now having to grasp writing, in that they are now able to express their opinion through writing instead of having to adhere to the boundaries that are structured essays (which serve as molds instead of foundations for aspiring writers).

Conclusion In both of the genre study essays previously written, there were little to no similarities. I state this because they are both written about two different things. One essay analyses a book report about the mental mechanics of killing another human being, while the other essay analyses an essay about how students can better their writing, and better prepare themselves for the English courses that are required in university. The only way that these analysis papers are even remotely similar, is in the tone that they are written in, which (I hoped to convey) is in a neutral professional tone. Book reports exist to give the writers a better understanding of the book, causing the writer to study their book intently, in order to create content in their paper that sounds coherent and deliberate, instead of looking as if the paper was written last minute. They are mostly assignments given by instructors to their students, and are usually never written for leisure. Essays are also rarely written for leisure, but unlike book reports, they lack the length and give a short vague opinion instead of delving deeper into the authors meaning behind what he/she has written. Essays are also written from the writer's point of view. This means that their opinion (although extremely vague given that every essay written is short in length) is present in every essay that the writer writes. This genre exists because these opinion type texts exist mostly in magazines as well as the opinion section of newspapers, where they are highly read by the general population, where as book reports are normally only read by peers in the same classroom and/or the instructor. The rules for each genre are normally static and do not differ when a new text is written. Essays are usually short in length, can be written about nearly anything, and they give the

opinion of the writer. However, essays, because they are short in length, give a vague opinion of the writer. This means that the reader of the essay receives part of what the writer is attempting to tell them, but not the full message that the writer wants to convey to his/her audience. The rules for book reports are usually decided upon by the instructor, and what they want their students to accomplish and think about when they read the assigned book. Book reports are written to give a summary of the assigned book and usually do not have an opinion from the author. Each genre has its pros and cons. Book reports are simple to write, as they are only a summary of the assigned book that was read. Not only do they summarize the book as a whole, book reports highlight the most important topics of the book. My advice to writers of book reports is to do just that, summarize and highlight important topics within the text. Essays are on the other side of the writing spectrum. Essays are to be kept short as well as to the point, seeing as how the writer has little room to work with. The writer must effectively convey their message as directly as possible to the reader. My advice to essay writers would be to keep the essay short, be as direct as possible, and to not leave the reader anything to wonder about. These genres can be seen in secondary school, as well as university. The instructor may assign books to read and have a summary on it, or have an essay written about a certain topic. The differences however, is that unlike in high school, where the mold for a good paper was lain out in front of students for them to fill out, university allows the students more freedom to express their thoughts about a topic or book. The expectations in secondary school are lower than that of university because in secondary the student simply has to fill in the blanks of a secondary school paper. In university (in my opinion as a result of my experiences so far), the

instructor gives students vague directions and expects them to fulfill their tasks with utmost excellence. If there is extra assistance needed, the student is to seek out the instructor, where as in secondary school, the teacher went around the room and asked if students needed help. As a freshman, my experience with different genres can only expand with each new assignment that I complete. One thing that I have learned from this assignment, is that if I need extra assistance, then I will need to seek out for that help myself. It is my responsibility to ask for help if needed, as well as finishing all my assignments on time.