Running head: RENEWABLE ENERGY Vega 1

Renewable Energy: Genre Analysis of a Politial !artoon and an Artile

!arlos A Vega
"he #ni$ersity of "e%as El Paso
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Renewable energy has been a 'a(or to)i for all go$ern'ents around the world for years*
+o'e ountries ha$e already been i')le'enting renewable energy in their ountries* "he #nited
+tates has been e%euting )ro(ets for the researh and e%)ansion of renewable energy* "here are
'any reasons that A'eria is de$elo)ing the use of renewable energy* ,t is 'ainly beause fossil
fuels are finite soures and at one )oint or another they are going to run out or they are going to
beo'e too e%)ensi$e for daily use* Another reason is that the world an sa$e around a hundred
and eighty billion dollars by hanging se$enty )erent of the eletriity )rodution to renewable
soures* "he first genre hosen is a $isual genre- whih is a )olitial artoon- na'ed .Alternati$e
Energy Roulette/ 0Ra'ire1- &2113* "he )olitial artoon is the President of the #nited +tates
)ointing a gas no11le to his head intended with the words gas )ries and an arrow )ointing u) to
reate hu'or with the reader* "he seond genre is a te%tual genre- whih is an artile alled .El
Paso Eletri +olar Grid is one of "e%as Wea4est/ 05olen- &2163* "he genres7 thesis of the
artile and )olitial artoon is to reate need in renewable energy by the go$ern'ent and the ity
of El Paso*
Purpose and Audience
"he )ur)ose of the genres is to reate awareness about the need for renewable energy and
to )ersuade the audiene* Another )ur)ose is to on$ine the state and federal go$ern'ents to
)ro$ide renewable energy* "he artile is 'ore infor'ati$e and detail oriented in o')arison with
the )olitial artoon that has a dee)er 'essage hidden in it for the audiene to diso$er and to
reate hu'or* "he )ur)ose of the infor'ation in the artile is to infor' )eo)le about the situation
in whih El Paso has the wea4est eletri solar grid in o')arison to other ities in "e%as li4e
+an Antonio and Austin* "he )ur)ose of the )olitial artoon is to infor' and reate hu'or about
the struggle of the President Barra4 8ba'a- and A'eria- with the onstant raises of the gas
)ries in the 9iddle East and the i')le'entation of renewable energy*
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"he intended audiene for the artile is readers of El Paso Times and residents of El
Paso* "he )olitial artoon has a wider audiene beause it is onentrated in the federal
go$ern'ent and iti1ens of the #nited +tates- not only El Paso* Both of the genres tie their
audiene to the )ur)ose of the genre by reating awareness of the need for renewable energy for
El Paso or the #nited +tates of A'eria* "he audiene wants to 4now is how the go$ern'ent is
doing this and how it is going to hel) the'*
"he audiene will s)end 'ore ti'e reading and )roessing the artile beause it is 'ore
infor'ati$e* ,n o')arison the )olitial artoon reates an idea and gi$es a hidden 'essage less
diretly- but it an be onfusing for )eo)le that are not infor'ed of the )roble'* "he )olitial
artoon is 'ore infor'al- intended to gi$e a :ui4 'essage to the audiene without the use of too
'any words and with the use of illustration* "he artile is 'ore for'al and is a))ro)riate for this
audiene* "he artile uses )ro)er gra''ar and flows for the reader to follow it fro' to) to
botto'* Between both genres- the )olitial artoon does ha$e s)eiali1ed $oabulary for the use
of artoons to send a 'essage* "hat is how in$estors*o' sends so'e 'essages for the reader to
diso$er on their own*
Rhetorical Issues: Ethos, Pathos, Logos
Eah genre establishes their ethos in different ways beause of their ba4grounds and the
ty)e of genre that is used by the writer* "he )olitial artoon does not ha$e a lot of ethos* ,t does
ha$e the artist;s signature on the )olitial artoon and the website that )ublished it hel)s to reate
redibility for the artoon* "he readers that follow this website trust whate$er is )osted in it- so it
hel)s the artist with their ethos*
Ethos is 'ore $isible in the artile suh as the author7s na'e- date- ti'e and e'ail and
)hone nu'ber to ontat the author* ,t also gi$es a website to find 'ore infor'ation about his
argu'ent* "he El Paso Times has gi$en the author reates 'ore ethos beause they are well
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res)eted and redible here in El Paso* "he author also reates 'ore redibility using referenes
in his artiles fro' Lu4e 9et1ger- diretor of the en$iron'ental grou) li4e- ."he fat that El
Paso Eletri gets 'ost of its solar energy fro' New 9e%io solar )ro(ets shows the )ower of
state 'andates/ 05olen- &2163* =e also :uotes Ro4y 9irale- $ie>)resident of or)orate
)lanning and de$elo)'ent for El Paso Eletri- stating- .El Paso Eletri is wor4ing to get 'ore
solar )ro(ets de$elo)ed in El Paso- but as an in$estor>owned utility- it has regulatory onstraints
that ity>o)erated utilities- suh as those in +an Antonio and Austin- don;t ha$e/ 05olen- &2163*
"he writer doing this is )utting so'e logi in to the artile and will gi$e hi' redibility fro' the
reader and 'a4es his genre 'ore effeti$e*
"he genres e$o4e an e'otional res)onse of uriosity- onfusion and o'edy* "he $isual
genre reates )athos of hu'or to the reader with an i'age of Bara4 8ba'a )ointing a gas
no11le into his head and his faial e%)ressions- for so'e readers are funny* ,t reates a sense of
uriosity and onfusion for the reader that does not 4now about the situation* "he artile does not
e$o4e too 'uh )athos* "he only one is that it builds uriosity on renewable energy ost in
o')arison with fossil fuel* ?or e%a')le- ."he 9aho +)rings +olar Pro(et near @e'ing
reei$ed 'uh attention reently when El Paso Eletri regulatory filings in New 9e%io
re$ealed the utility will buy )ower fro' it for A*BC ents )er 4ilowatt>hour* ,t osts El Paso
Eletri about 12 ents )er 4ilowatt>hour for natural>gas generated )ower/ 05olen- &2163*
"he logos in the genres an be found in the e$idene used to su))ort their state'ents-
suh as referenes to detailed re)orts- sy'bols re)resenting a situation and referenes fro'
sub(et 'atter e%)ert* "he only logos found in the )olitial artoon is the gas no11le has writing
saying gas )ries with an arrow )ointing u) si'ulating the raises on gas )ries in the 9iddle
East* "he artile logos are the referenes fro' a detail re)ort all .Reahing for the +un/
released by En$iron'ent "e%as Researh and Poliy !enter- .+an Antonio and Austin ha$e
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aggressi$e 0solar3 )rogra's- but they ha$e so'e of the lowest 0eletri3 rates in the state* "hat;s
also beause those utilities ha$e di$erse energy )ortfolios with se$eral different energy soures/
05olen- &2163* As well as the use of :uotes fro' an inter$iew 'ade to Ro4y 9irale* ?or a
good e%a')le- .Wind- solar and natural gas will be the 'ain soures of future eletri
generation* =owe$er- what is needed is an eono'ial way to store solar and wind energy/
05olen- &2163*
Between the )olitial artoon and the artile there is a big differene in rhetorial issues*
"he artile is onentrated in infor'ing- establishing 'ore redibility and reating logi using
referenes in the artile;s ad$antage* "his hel)s the )ur)ose of the artile to infor' the audiene
and reate trust between the writer and the reader* "he )olitial artoon artist direts 'ore of his
attention towards e$o4ing e'otions to the reader li4e hu'or* But not in establishing redibility
for his wor4 or using a lot of logi* "his affets his 'essage with the audiene that does not
4now his wor4*
Structure and Delivery
"he infor'ation in the artile is sha)ed to be infor'ati$e and detail oriented to the
audiene* 9ore o)en for writing and using referenes fro' sub(et 'atter e%)erts* =owe$er- it is
li'ited fro' his )ersonal o)inion in the artile* ,n the )olitial artoon- the artist has 'ore liberty
)resenting his )ersonal o)inion to reate hu'or* =owe$er- it is li'ited to a few words and
sy'bols to re)resent his idea and so'eti'es he is not able to send his 'essage learly* "he
)olitial artoon genre is less organi1ed and less diret using re)resentations and a few words to
be able to send his 'essage- sattered all o$er the artoon* "he artile genre is better organi1ed
starting with a )ro)er introdution and body of the artile and the infor'ation is 'ore diret to
the )oint*
"he genres ha$e other o''uniation features li4e the olors used in the no11le and the
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arrow- the artoon of the )resident of the #nited +tates and )itures in the artile* "he olor red
re)resents danger is used in the no11le and the arrow loo4ing u) for the high gas )ries* "he
)resident7s faial e%)ression re)resents sadness and his ation re)resents loss of ho)e* "he
)iture in the artile hel)s the reader to $isuali1e the )ower )lant they are getting 'ost of their
eletriity* All these ele'ents ontribute to the )ur)ose of eah genre on their own way of
sending their 'essage 'ore diretly or using olors and re)resentations for a better thesis
understanding fro' the audiene* "he ontrast between eah genre sha)es the way that the
'essage is sent* "he re)ort uses 'ore fats and less re)resentation- but it la4s in )ersonal
o)inion* ,n ontrast- the )olitial artoon- is 'ore o)en on their )ersonal o)inion and uses
re)resentations and olors to send their 'essage- but la4s fats and logi*
Conclusion
"he artile was 'ore effeti$e than the artoon in on$eying his 'essage by using fats
and referenes to establish the logos in the artile* @oing this- the writer reates strong ethos with
the reader- establishing the trust between the writer and the reader for a better flow in
o''uniating his 'essage* ,t la4s )ersonal o)inion- but his )ur)ose was not to gi$e one- (ust
to infor' his audiene about this situation and gi$e the' a better e%)lanation for why this was
ha))ening and how it is going to hange* "he artoon was 'ade 'ore for hu'or and $ery s'all
logi behind it* "he illustration need it 'ore re)resentation of the 'essage that the artist is trying
to on$ey to his audiene* ?or that reason it was not too effeti$e in o''uniating the 'essage
to the audiene- 'ore with the reader that is not well infor'ed about the situation* "he i')at of
the artile on his disourse o''unity was greater* Gi$ing the audiene a better understanding
of the )oint 'ade and gi$ing the' 'ore 4nowledge about the situation and that is e%atly what
the writer wanted for their audiene to gain* ?or that- the writer was suessful in his goal that it
was reating awareness that El Paso needs 'ore i')le'entation of renewable energy )ro(ets*
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Reerences
5olen- V* 0&216- february &E3* El )aso eletri solar grid is one of te%as; wea4est* El Paso
Times Retrie$ed fro' htt):FFwww*el)asoti'es*o' FiG&&DDBB1&Fe)>eletri>solar>grid>
is>one>te%as>wea4est
Ra'ire1- 9 0Artist3* 0&211- Hanuary 1B3* Alternati$e energy roulette IWeb @rawingJ* Retrie$ed
fro' htt):FFwww*in$est'ent)ostards*o'F&211F21F1CFlaugh>out>loud>alternati$e>
energy>rouletteF
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