Investigating Genres

Out of the genres that we will be exploring this semester, the one that I thought I knew absolutely nothing about is the Quick Reference Guide. After looking through a few examples, I realized that I've seen Quick Reference Guides all over the Internet as what I thought were just simple articles, but really are their own distinct genre.

1. A Quick Reference Guide is an easy way to get concise information on a topic without knowing much about it. The paragraphs are usually short and to the point, so it's easy to skim through and look for something specific quickly- hence the title Quick Reference Guide. The purpose is to convey a message briefly to an audience with limited experience.

2. Quick Reference Guides are essentially articles that can answer rather specific questions, usually on news topics. I imagine that most people would access them by Googling a question and encountering the article in the results.

Google Inc. "GoogleLogoSept12015."9/1/2015 via Wikimedia Commons. Public Domain License. 

3. The audience for Quick Reference Guides can really depend on the content of the guide. Some of the examples range from a guide to Gamergate that would appeal to a younger generation, to a guide on the effect of e-cigarettes on people's health, which could attract people of any age that smoke or have family or friends that do. The audience is definitely directed toward more tech-savvy people than an audience who prefers print, but other than that it can be very broad.

4. The characteristic that stands out the most in the Quick Reference Guide is the subheadings that pose a question and the paragraphs that follow. The subheadings are usually bolded to facilitate finding the information quickly, and the language is not complicated or flowery.

5. If I had to define a Quick Reference Guide I would call it an article that can briefly inform a broad audience on a range of topics through a question and answer format.

Initially, a Quick Reference Guide sounds rather complicated but after viewing the examples, it really is quite simple. Out of the genres we will be exploring this semester, I feel like this one will be straight forward and a great way to write about almost anything; especially news issues. What do you guys think? Do you think the Quick Reference Guide will be challenging?

Reflection: Both Jake and Bianca wrote about video essays in their Investigating Genres posts. I'm glad that I read them because I had put off looking into the video essay just because of how nervous it makes me. They both explained how versatile and informative a video essay can be, as well as the broad audience it can reach. Jake and Bianca both used variations of bolding and coloring certain words in their posts, which I really liked. I realize that I should put more effort into the organization and aesthetics of my blog so it's more interesting to read and not just a block of text.