Laptop
Genre Analysis
Heather D. Ostertag
University
of Wisconsin-Stout
Introduction:
This genre analysis will evaluate
the purpose, content, possible audiences, structure, stylistic aspects, visual
design, and hyper textual features of three articles reviewing a product in the
personal computer or laptop market. This analysis will aid me in the
identification of elements that are needed and/or commonly seen in the reviews
of products in the same genre as the a PC computer or a Mac computer, this will
also be the product that I will be reviewing in the next phase of this project.
These elements will aid and guide me towards fundamental principles for
creating a thorough requirement of criteria and other relevant conventions to
be used when I write my own review for the next project.
The sample reviews to be discussed
in this genre analysis center on different personal computers. Some examples
that will be reviewed are Mac laptops, PC laptops, and Dell laptops. The
reviews focus on 15-inch laptops. These documents were found in three online
forums: consumerreports.org, itpro.co.uk, and techradar.com. All three reviews
address the audience that the industry is trying to reach. The reviews also
have a clear and have fulfilled the purposes of an evaluation.
Audience:
Each review targets a specific
audience –people who are interested in purchasing a personal computer. These
articles are organized into categories identifying different aspects of the
laptop. They also compare and contrast different brands. This gives the reader
the ability to look at key features of the product as well as pricing, product
advantages, and product disadvantages. This gives the reader the opportunity to
develop an opinion of his or her own about the given product, such as the
specific brand of laptop.
Primary
and Secondary Sources:
The author makes comparison to other
projects in different ways. One way that we can identify these different
comparisons is by primary and secondary sources. Most of the articles use
primary sources such as the author themselves. It seems as though they are the
ones who have personal experience with the computers. There are some examples
from itpro.co.uk in which they get their information from a secondary source. There
is an example, which states “The Dell’s Nvidia graphics easily beat the Iris
GPU in Unigine Heaven (32fps vs 17fps) but the Intel silicon took the lead
in some 3DMark tests (below)” (Jennings, 2014, p.4). The graph that is shown
indicates scores produced by Dell’s Nvidia. This is very helpful for the reader
so they are able to look at a visual of how others liked the product. The fact
that the author chose to use a secondary source helps the reader in another way
as well. The use of a secondary source helps the reader to follow the outside
source to get more information. This also helps strengthen the authenticity to
the review. This graph shows that the author is backing up his information with
other reliable sources. This also makes the writer more credible. One example
that I found for a primary source was in consumerrepots.org. In
consumerreports.org (2014) they first states “Choices among computers can be
confusing” (p.2), which lets the reader know that the writer knows where the
reader has been and what they are thinking. This is a great way to connect to
the reader.
Metaphors/
Analogies:
Another aspect of analyzing these
reviews is examining metaphors and/ or analogies. The interesting thing about
these reviews is that the writer did not include any metaphors or
analogies. There are a few reasons why
people may not want analogies or metaphors. The people reading the reviews do
not want metaphors or analogies, they want the facts. If people wanted to read
something less cut and dry they would go to a different source or medium such
as a newspaper. Also since this is a review on technology, people are going to
be more serious rather than if they were going to look at a review for
something less serious. In my review I plan to do the same. It makes sense that
the review is to the point and has facts and does not give more information or
extra information.
Structure/
Content:
Another important subject to look at
when reading a review is the structure of the article. The structure of all three articles is
separated by categories or titles. There are a variety of categories, often
overlapping themes. The most common category is the Verdict. This would make
sense due to the fact that all of these are reviews. On review states “The 15in MacBook and XPS 15
are fantastic laptops. They’ve got ample power, stunning screens, exceptional
physical design and great ergonomics”(Jennings, 2014, p.3). I think that this
is the most important part of the review. The final verdict is what the reader
is looking for. In my review I will make sure to sum up all of the pros and
cons in a final verdict section, so that it is easy to read. If the reader
wants to read more in detail, there is opportunity in other categories such as
the pros and cons section.
In comparing items outside of just
laptops, Consumerreports.org states “Desktops deliver more performance for the
money than laptops and are less costly to repair.” (2014, pg.2) This was placed
under the pro section of the reviews comparing a desktop computer to a laptop. This
also expands to other areas to compare. It does go beyond what the reader is
expecting. In my review I would not go too far from what the viewer is looking
for. But in this case it may be nice to give reasons why a desktop would be
better or worse than a laptop.
The content is an important topic to
discuss. The overall information for the reviews is very similar. The most
common aspect seen in the reviews is how other people rated the laptop. This
gives the reader a chance to get a second opinion other than his or her own.
The evaluation is established in different ways. On techradar.com they have sections called “We liked”, “We disliked”,
and “Final” (Eitelbach, 2014, p.3) verdict. In contrast consumerreports.org had
two categories. The categories were split into pros, and cons sporadically
through out the article. This is a little more difficult to find if you want an
overall conclusion. I think that these are the most important categories
The titles and headings used in my
review will also be descriptive to produce and increase searching with key
words through search engines. All reviews’ titles and headings are optimal for
search engines when the reader is looking for a reliable review. Writing for
the Internet is a crucial skill and should be thought about carefully from the
titles to the content. If text is not thought about in terms of use for search
engines, then there is a chance that the reader will not come across the review.
Conclusion based on the communication styles of these three reviews; I believe
that my review should be published in an online blog that features reviews that
would attract consumers who are thinking about purchasing a laptop. My research
and analysis indicate that reviews of personal computers or laptops are
typically written for this type of publication.
References
Eitelbach,
David. "An All-around Excellent Multimedia Laptop. http://www.techradar.com/us/reviews/pc-mac/laptops-portable-pcs/laptops-and-netbooks/dell-inspiron-15-7000-1259007/review. Future
US, Inc, 25 July 2014. Web. 23 Sept. 2014.
Jennings,
Mike. "MacBook Pro 15in v Dell XPS 15 Head-to-head Review Read More: Http://www.itpro.co.uk/laptops/21797/macbook-pro-15in-v-dell-xps-15-head-to-head-review#ixzz3E9AaJuDm."
Itpro. Dennis Publishing Limited, 12 Aug. 2014. Web. 23 Sept. 2014.
"Computer
Buying Guide." Consumerreports.org. Consumer Reports, 24 May 2014.
Web. 23 Sept. 2014.
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