PB2B

Almost every writer has their own technique and style in their writing, yet to convey their style to the audience they use certain “moves.” Moves can be anything in the writing world. The kind of language they use, the way they communicate to the reader, and the structure of their essay are just a few examples of moves writers use. Two articles that I have read so far stood out to me because the authors used different and various moves to capture their audience. Kerry Dirk’s Navigating Genres gives clear rhetorical strategies that help bring his point across and it also incorporates a different style which sets it apart from other articles. Mike Bunn’s How to Read Like a Writer is similar to Dirk’s article, yet it explores a different topic and it has an interesting style. Both articles have similar ways of communicating to the audience in terms of perspective and also have similar use of language. On the other hand Bunn’ and Dirk’s articles differ in the way they are structured and how they hooked the reader.

Authors can use many kind of perspectives like first or third person point of view. In this case both Dirk and Bunn, use the first person point of view strategy to connect with their audience. Plenty of “I” and “you” language is used throughout both writers’ articles respectively. For example in Bunn’s article he states, “When you are reading like a writer you work to identify some of the choices the author made so that you can better understand how such choices might arise in your own writing.” (Bunn, pg. 121) This strategy is very straightforward and I, myself, enjoy when writers attempt this technique because it feels more like a conversation and it makes reading more interesting. Along with “I” and “you” language, both writers use rhetorical questions and questions. Dirk uses many questions like, “What rhetorical moves might I use, effectively or ineffectively?” (Dirk, pg. 15) In this case, this is a rhetorical question, it does not need to be answered. But sometimes writers, like Dirk and Bunn, use questions and then answer it on their own usually after the question was mentioned. Why do they do this? I believe these authors use this move to continue to hold on to the readers’ attention. Sometimes as a reader you begin to daze off and lose track of what you are reading. With questions like these, I believe we become more interested in the material because it is something unusual to see in writing.

The difference between these two writers’ styles is the way they try hook their audience in their introductions respectively. Writers usually use a hook to grab the attention of the reader immediately and so that they can also begin to establish their point of their topic or essay. For example Kerry Dirk begins his essay with a joke, “What do you get when you rewind a country song? You get your wife back, your job back, your dog back…” (Dirk, pg. 14) He then goes on saying you might laugh at the joke or not -- I personally laughed so much – and I believe this is risky to use at times, yet in this case it is used well. He is not going of topic as he is using this to build up to his thesis which is what a genre consists of. On the other hand, Mike Bunn has a strange hook that you wouldn't often see.  He begins his essay with an anecdote, which isn't wrong to do, but in my opinion it was somewhat off topic. And though it was off topic, somehow his essay still kept me interested. These authors used their own moves to try to convince the reader into continuing to read their topic. Through both respective ways, the authors attempt was successful in hooking me because it was something new to me as a reader. Sometimes as a reader and a writer you want to switch things up and not follow specific conventions that are held for writing.

Both Bunn’s and Dirk’s moves were successful in their own ways in capturing my attention as a reader. They had a similar way of approaching their audience by using a first person point of view style of writing which I enjoyed. With this perspective I believe their point came across more clearly and smoothly because it felt as if it was a simple conversation and not a dull lecture of some topic. Each writer’s hook was different and interesting, Dirk kept his hook on topic to his essay, while Bunn used a different technique and both still kept my concentration as a reader. The rhetorical moves both authors used helped establish a bridge between the author and the audience as it helped me, as a reader, understand their topics better.

Sinceriously

Carlos Alberto Pena