Veronica Capco

Bocchino

WRIT 2

11 December 2019

The Genre Conventions of Newsletters

When you think about newsletters, you probably think of them as a fancier version of the

newspaper or maybe even as emails sent by some company or organization you have a

subscription to. Unlike newspapers, newsletters are aimed toward a very specific community.

You are most likely involved in some community—whether that be your school, club, or sports

team—that regularly holds events and programs. That said community has to use some type of

genre like newsletters to help keep their members up-to-date about what is currently happening

or will happen. Generally, newsletters will follow similar genre conventions, but they may have

some differences depending on the target audience. The “Stall Street Journal,” “The Anacrapa,”

“The Fire Chicken Daily,” and the KCSB newsletter are all examples of successful newsletters

because they each adhere to the genre conventions of a newsletter that help their audience be

informed about any upcoming events.

The “Stall Street Journal” is a small, one-page newsletter located in the restroom stall of

UCSB’s Recreation Center. The most recent issue of the newsletter discusses several upcoming

events that the Recreation Center plans to hold, which includes an outdoor campus challenge,

yoga classes, dance classes. Even though the Recreation Center is open to everybody including

non-UCSB students, the “Stall Street Journal” is heavily geared toward UCSB students,
especially students who visit the Recreation Center. Three additional examples of newsletters

that are also targeted towards UCSB students will be discussed in the following paragraphs.

Speaking of bathroom stall newsletters, each stall in the dormitory bathrooms at Anacapa

Hall has a one-page newsletter titled, “The Anacrapa.” “The Anacrapa” is written by the RHA

and is targeted towards the UCSB students who live in Anacapa. The most recent issue of “The

Anacrapa” features an array of information about academic resources and exam prep because of

midterm season. The authors may have chosen to list important dates and deadlines that are

related to dropping courses as well as study tips and advice because they want first-year students

to have a successful fall quarter; most residents who live in Anacapa are first-year UCSB

students. Sometimes, it will include any events the hall will be having and encourages residents

to participate. “The Anacrapa” is successful in informing its residents about their events and

advice because of its location. Its residents will inevitably have to use the bathroom at some

point and look at the newsletter as it is attached to the back of the stall door. San Nicolas Hall

has their own version titled, “The Fire Chicken Daily.” Like “The Anacrapa,” “The Fire Chicken

Daily” informs its residents of any upcoming events as well as information that may be helpful.

Instead of being printed on a piece of paper and attached to the bathroom stall, “The Fire

Chicken Daily” is distributed by email to all of the residents in San Nicolas. Sending the “The

Fire Chicken Daily” through email is effective in reaching their audience because the audience

has to eventually check their emails and see the newsletter; however, this may not be effective

for those who don’t have a habit of checking their emails regularly. Another example of this

genre is UCSB’s KCSB-FM 91.9. The KCSB is a student run organization and it sends out

monthly newsletters in the form of an email. The KCSB newsletter focuses on providing students
with information about upcoming programs and daily station operations. Like “The Anacrapa,”

“Stall Street Journal,” and “The Fire Chicken Daily,” the KCSB shares a similar audience of

UCSB students, especially those who are interested in music. Again, like “The Fire Chicken

Daily,” this method will only be effective towards audiences who habitually check their email.

Although these newsletters have different forms and are found in different contexts, they all have

similarities in the ways of reaching their audience.

Every genre will have its own constraints that are unique to that said genre. One

constraint that newsletters would have regarding its purpose is only including information that is

relevant to the community. As stated earlier, all newsletters share a common purpose that is to

inform their audience about any relevant events, news, and information. In order for a newsletter

to successfully serve its purpose, it must present specific information that pertains to its

community. For example, the latest issue of the “The Anacrapa” includes a small section that

asks its resident assistants and desks attendants where their favorite place to study is. This would

not be relevant in another hall’s newsletter like “The Fire Chicken Daily” because the

interviewees work in Anacapa and residents of San Nicolas would not know who they are. This

also applies to the information presented in “The Fire Chicken Daily.” Another example is that

“The “Stall Street Journal” should not include events related to concerts unlike the KCSB,

because its main audience is students who are interested in fitness. Including information that is

irrelevant to the audience would contradict the purpose of keeping the audience up-to-date on the

news of their community.

Newsletters also face constraints regarding how much text, decoration, and information

should be included. A good newsletter will be able to use the right amount of text, pictures, and
decorations so that it will be able to capture and hold the reader’s attention. Since the audience of

“The Anacrapa” and the “Stall Street Journal” are only going to be using the bathroom for a few

minutes, the descriptions of the events cannot be too long; they must be concise and straight to

the point. Both “The Anacrapa” and “Stall Street Journal” are only one page long, so the

information that will be included has to fit within that constraint. The KCSB newsletter and “The

Fire Chicken Daily” are both sent out through email, so there isn’t much of a physical constraint;

however, the text of these two newsletters cannot be too long or else it would bore the audience.

These newsletters cannot have too much decoration, otherwise it might be too distracting to the

reader. A well-made newsletter will have just the right amount of decoration so that it would not

look too dull. For example, the October 2019 issue of “The Anacrapa” uses a few Halloween

decorations that are small enough so that it won’t be too much of a distraction. In the Fall 2019

issue of the “Stall Street Journal,” it has a line of fall leaves decorated at the top of the page.

Both pieces of decoration are effective in adding to the aesthetic of the newsletter because they

both relate to the current season. They also aren’t distracting and don’t interfere with the text.

The type of font and the font size also need to be easy to read in a well-designed

newsletter. For example, “The Anacrapa” and the “Stall Street Journal” both use a simple black

font over a light-colored background. This is especially important for these two examples

because the bathroom lighting may not be the best so it is important that the text is readable.

“The Fire Chicken Daily” and the KCSB newsletter both use colorful backgrounds but they also

use fonts that can be read clearly. KCSB uses many images in their newsletters which can be

effective in capturing the reader’s attention. A genre’s constraints will most likely be dependent

on that said genre’s form. Newsletters should also be formatted in an organized way so that
certain information can be found quickly. Both “The Anacrapa” and “Stall Street Journal” have

their information organized into small boxes with a small header at the top. The authors could

have chosen to do this because it is an easy way to keep pieces of information separate and

organized. “The Fire Chicken Daily” has its text organized into small paragraphs. This is also

another effective way of formatting because it is easy to locate information when it is in small

paragraphs. Unlike the other three newsletters, KCSB organizes its text under its pictures to add

a visual for the said text.

The syntax and diction in a newsletter targeted towards college students should create a

tone that holds their attention. For example, all four newsletters use a friendly and inviting tone

and this can be seen through the use of exclamation points. The authors of these newsletters may

have chosen to write in this tone because it is a simple way of conveying the information and

using rhetoric to invite the audience to join their events. Since every newsletter is geared toward

a younger audience like college students, the tone should be informal in order to hold their

attention. All four newsletters also use short and simple sentences as well as correct grammar

and complete sentences. This shows the audience that the newsletters are presenting accurate

information about their events without being too informal. The newsletters don’t really use any

specific jargon except for a few words like “access card” or “IV” (meaning Isla Vista, which is a

town located right next to the UCSB campus). This is due to the fact that there aren’t many terms

that only a UCSB student would understand.

The “Stall Street Journal,” “The Anacrapa,” “The Fire Chicken Daily,” and the KCSB

newsletter each accomplish their goal of informing their intended audience about any news

related to their community through the purpose, constraints, and rhetorical appeal. The genre
conventions of a newsletter can change depending on its format in order to successfully reach its

audience.