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Eric Long
Ms. Eaker
UWRT 1103-018
3 October 2014

Multi Genre Project: Authors Statement

This project is used in relation to our recent inquiry research project to incorporate the
gathered information and present it in multiple genres. My inquiry topic was on the debate of
whether NASCAR is a sport, and whether race car drivers are athletes. To represent this
information, I chose to use three different genres, including a PowerPoint presentation,
Scrapbook page, and Album Cover. Each of these genres have their own target audience to an
extent, but ultimately, they are all created towards skeptics of auto racing. One of my main
points in the project is to convey my information from my research in a way that persuades
these auto racing skeptics that NASCAR really is a sport and race car drivers really are athletes. I
show my beliefs on this topic by using supporting information found through research. There
were many sources that I used to compile this multi-genre project and the information in it,
such as the following websites: SportAccord.com, BleacherReport.com,
NewEnglandSportsOnline.com, SBNation-BurntOrangeNation.com, and Jalopnik.com. I also
used the peer-reviewed article titled Physiological Responses to High-Speed Open-Wheel
Racecar Driving. The majority of these sources supported and strengthened my beliefs on this
topic, but some sources were used because they argued against my belief, and made me
consider different aspects of the topic.

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The first of my three projects is my PowerPoint presentation. This is used to display

information to an audience in a professional format. PowerPoint presentations are commonly
used in corporate and academic settings to either inform or persuade the audience. This genre
is primarily text based with some images mixed throughout to support the text. It is also
acceptable to use charts and graphs in this genre when it is necessary to display trends or
numerical data. I used this genre to show lots of evidence from multiple sources and studies
throughout the web that support my belief that NASCAR is a sport and that race car drivers are
athletes. I used the Microsoft PowerPoint program to build this project, and organized my
bullet points and slides in a way that built on the previous ones. This genre gives me a chance to
present the main points of information found in my research to inform my audience on the
topic, and to persuade them that NASCAR really is a sport, and that racecar drivers should be
considered athletes. The format of my presentation includes bullet points with the concise
details to support a main point. This method is effective for this genre to present lots of
information without boring the audience by covering the PowerPoint slide with words. The
bullet points show the main ideas of a topic to the audience, and allow the speaker to elaborate
more if needed. My target audience for the entire project was skeptics of auto racing, and the
PowerPoint is aimed at that group, but specifically focused on skeptics aged 18-50. This is the
target group for this presentation because it contains a group of people that are old enough to
learn and be engaged with the professional PowerPoint presentation, but not too old to not
understand the technology involved in this genre. This genre effectively targets auto racing
skeptics overall by presenting the information through bullet points and visual aids that should
make them reconsider their prior opinions on the topic.

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The second project completed was a scrapbook page. This is used to artistically display
pictures with captions from a past event in a way that is very pleasing to the eye. Scrapbook
pages tend to highlight main events or memories that happened over the course of a year or
special event. I used five pictures found online that support different topics and facts found
through research, and applied captions in complete sentences to each picture that recap the
memories that are typically included in the scrapbook genre. These pictures chosen were all
mounted on a paper to add a neat and appealing border, which was then mounted to the
yellow page of the scrapbook. The scrapbook page is put together in a way that shows my
memories from the past racing season. The pictures included all pertain to a different finding
that supports why race car drivers are athletes and why NASCAR is a sport. Each of the pictures
and captions show typical events that take place over the course of a NASCAR season like hard
crashes, exhausted drivers, and workouts during the weekdays. This projects target audience is
obviously skeptics of auto racing, but specifically those aged 10-18. This younger age group is
the target because the amount of images in relation to the information present in text is more
appropriate to this audience. The visuals tend to teach younger kids better than a genre such as
a PowerPoint presentation, so the scrapbook page was chosen to achieve the same goal of
persuading the audience my beliefs on this topic.
My final project created was an album cover. This is typically an interesting picture or
piece of artwork that is used on the front of a music album. The album cover is designed to grab
peoples attention, and inspire them to listen to the songs included. The cover typically has the
band or artists name, along with the name of the album, record label, and a few of the main
tracks. These names are typically something catchy that a listener will remember. I created all

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of these names to follow along with the specifications of the genre, and to also still show my
beliefs on the topic, all while focusing on the target audience. For this specific part of the
project, I was targeting auto racing skeptics that are music fans, and aged 16-60. The target
audience for this piece was chosen because this is a popular age group for listening to music
often, and kids much younger than 16 most likely wont pay close attention to the album cover
to understand its purpose. To combine the requirements for this genre and of my research
topic, I put lots of thought into creating the names for the band, album, tracks, and record
label. I settled on The Raging Racers as the band name, Work Hard, Race Hard as the album
title, Ill Prove You Wrong and No Walk in the Park as the featured tracks, and Checkered
Flag Record Label as the label. This text was placed on top of the eye-catching background of a
racing scene, and written in white font against the dark background for maximum visibility.
In each of my projects in the entire Multi-Genre Project, I incorporated almost every
source used in my inquiry research. My first of six sources used was an article titled Donovan
McNabb Is Right, Race Car Drivers Arent Athletes, They Are Something Far More Impressive.
This article was written by a paid author of Jalopnik.com after an interview with NFL player
Donovan McNabb about racing. My second source was a peer-reviewed article found in the
online database of the J Murrey Atkins Library at UNC Charlotte. This article is titled
Physiological Responses to High-Speed, Open-Wheel Racecar Driving and summarized a
scientific test done to analyze the heart rate and oxygen intake for racecar drivers in racing
conditions. My third source used was an article titled Drivers Are Not Athletes, and NASCAR is
Not a Sport. This came from the New England Sports Online site, and contradicted my beliefs on
this topic. I used the points in this article to consider another side of the argument. The fourth

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source used was an article written by Abram Orlansky of SB Nation, titled Olympic Musing:
What Makes a Sport? This article touched on some of the qualities and characteristics that
make up a sport. My fifth source was a page titled Definition of a Sport from the Sport Accord
website. The site is for a sports union that has official requirements and criteria to judge
whether a certain activity can qualify as a sport. The final source I used for this project was an
article written by Christopher Leone of Bleacher Report, titled Once and For All, Why NASCAR Is
a Sport. This article solidified many of my beliefs that NASCAR should be considered a sport and
racecar drivers really are true athletes.
After careful consideration of the most effective genres to use in this project, and lots of
planning to create the chosen genres at their full potential, I am excited to present my project
to the audience. I am confident that through the combination of the multiple components in
this Multi-Genre Project that my audience will be persuaded to agree with my beliefs dealing
with NASCAR and its drivers.

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Works Cited Page
1) "Donovan McNabb Is Right, Race Car Drivers Are Not Athletes. They Are Something Far More
Impressive." Oppositelock. Jalopnik.com, 18 Nov. 2013. Web. 28 Oct. 2014.
2) Jacobs, PL, SE Olvey, BM Johnson, and K Cohn. "Physiological Responses to High-Speed, OpenWheel Racecar Driving." Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise. 34.12 (2002): 2085-90.
Print.
3) Source: "NESO'S TAKE ON SPORTS." Drivers Are Not Athletes, and NASCAR Is Not a Sport. New
England Sports Online, 16 Feb. 2010. Web. 11 Nov. 2014.
4) "An Olympic Musing: What Makes a Sport?" Burnt Orange Nation. SB Nation, 12 Feb. 2014.
Web. 14 Nov. 2014.
5) "Definition of Sport." - SportAccord International Sports Federations. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Nov.
2014.
6) Leone, Christopher. "Once and for All, Why NASCAR Is a Sport." Bleacher Report. N.p., n.d. Web.
14 Nov. 2014.