Samuel Warshofsky

Professor Doran
9/24/16

Final Draft
With the 2016 presidential election coming up in November, its difficult not to be
engulfed by the many genres of the political world. Although the delivery of information by the
candidates and their parties may seem new and unique, the same basic distribution methods are
used. News articles, political cartoons, and commercials are the three main genres political
parties use to display information. Each genre is used to reach a specific audience and to deliver
a specific message.
News articles are very effective method of delivering detailed and factual information.
Characteristics of a news articles are detail, credible sources, hyperlinks, and a clear message.
For example in an article concerned with the most recent presidential debate, the author goes into
statistical data about prior elections and campaigns to help keep the message clear and detailed.
After first winning the presidential election of 1860 with only 39.8 percent of the popular vote
in a four-way race, Lincoln entered office with a 25 percent approval rating (by modern day
polling standards) (Butler-Sweet). This quote gives detail about how elections are not always a
popularity contest by giving factual data about Lincoln winning the election without the popular
vote. The purpose of presenting the election in this genre is to give people who are interested in
becoming more knowledgeable about the campaigns a meatier amount of information to absorb.
The intended audience of this genre and topic is people interested in voting. I can conclude who

the targeted audience is because of the specific group this topic appeals to. The author uses logos
in her article by stating facts of past elections. For example, Which resulted in the secession of
seven southern states before he even assumed office (Butler-Sweet). Stating facts draws the
attention of intellectual readers who dont want to waste energy on research. The author uses the
internet as a platform to present her article. The design of the article is a multi-paragraphed and
concise.

The author used mostly her own experience as a sociologist to create her own

composition. The tone of the article is colorful. However, there are parts that come across as
serous.
Another genre that is used in politics is political cartoons. The characteristics of political
cartoons are comedy, exaggerated appearances, and obviously pictures. The example I chose is
an illustration by Nate Beeler that depicts Donald Trump comparing himself to the communist
leader of North Korea. My example has all three of the main characteristics. The purpose of
presenting political cartoons to the people is to display information that is boring for most people
in a colorful and creative way. The intended audience is mostly young adults of voting age. The
intended audience is supported by the easy to read and exciting composition of the cartoon which
draws young readers and activists to the cartoon. The author uses pathos by portraying emotion
through the body language and color of the cartoons. The pathos in the cartoon reaches the
audience by planting anger and distrust into the reader through the cartoon. The author uses the
internet as media for the cartoon because there is more freedom to publish online then in a
newspaper. The author didnt use any sources, political cartoons are strictly the opinion of the
artist or whoever hired them to do artwork. The authors tone is satirical of Donald Trump and
uses an aggressive tone.

Campaign commercials are an effective genre to display one sided information. The
characteristics of political commercials are short simple sentences, negative comments about the
opponent, and positive comments about oneself, and images that draw emotion from the viewer.
My example complies with all of the characteristics except the use of emotional images. The
commercial touches on how Trump doesnt have a strong economic plan, explains how Clinton
does have a well thought out and effective plan, and uses short and simple sentences to get the
point across to the viewer. The purpose of presenting information is this genre, in my opinion, is
to grab the attention of the lazy television watching voter. The intended audience is children, lazy
adults, and uninterested voters. This conclusion is supported by the fact that The average
American then spends [another] 32 minutes a day on time-shifted television (Hinckley). The
director uses pathos and logos to reach the intended audience. For example I will bring
thousands of paying jobs to America(Clinton commercial). This quote from the commercial
uses pathos by telling the viewer that Clinton can make life better by creating more jobs and a
better economy. The media used to transport information in this genre is television.

The

commercial uses Hillary Clinton as a direct source. The tone of the commercial is assertive.
Twitter is a social media platform that allows someone to send a 140 character message out
to the entire world. The purpose of presenting data through twitter is so the everyday average
person can read a short sentence or two about what the candidate has to say. The intended
audience for Twitter is mostly young adults who are active users of mainstream media. This is
supported by the fact that 23% of all online adults use Twitter (Duggan). Tweets from
candidates can utilize pathos, logos, and ethos. For example, Donald Trump uses mostly pathos
in his tweets, @HillaryClinton has been part of the rigged DC system for 30 years? Why would
we take policy advice from her (Donald Trump)? This tweet tries to draw emotion and

sympathy from the reader claiming he has been treated unfairly in the election process. Twitter is
a strictly online platform that can have pictures, videos, and articles attached. Twitter has no real
source because the basic principal for the website is for everyone to have their own opinion.
However, you can quote other people and give them credit for ideas and sayings. I think that
Twitter is an up-and-coming platform that may find its place with the big three genres of the
political world.
A fourth genre I would like to see being used in political campaigns is Snapchat. Millions
of people use Snapchat as a social media platform. The app allows people to view ten second
clips of video or pictures from anywhere around the world. This app could be utilized by
candidates by sending out short bursts of information to voters all around the world.

Works Cited
Butler-Sweet, Coleen. "It's Not a Popularity Contest." USNews. N.p., 26 Sept. 2016. Web.
Duggan, Maeve. "The Demographics of Social Media Users." Pew Research Center Internet
Science Tech RSS. N.p., 19 Aug. 2015. Web. 29 Sept. 2016.
Hinckley, David. "Average American Watches 5 Hours of TV per Day." NY Daily News. N.p., 05
Mar. 2014. Web. 29 Sept. 2016.
"Political Cartoons by Nate Beeler." Townhall. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Sept. 2016.
Twitter. Donald J. Trump, n.d. Web.