Outcome one outlines the importance of writing with both “the demands of a particular genre and situation” and “different audiences and contexts” in mind. Short assignment one was a highly flexible, creative assignment, and I enjoyed the freedom it gave me to write outside of the typical conventions of an English class. To that end, I made all of my poems relatively informal. However, each one was directed towards a completely different audience, related by a completely different speaker, and conformed to completely different formats as required by their genres.

 In the first rewrite, a young boy guiltily denies filling up before dinner. He speaks not to the reader, but to his mother, as evidenced both by his literal salutation of “Hey Mom!” (SA1 Revised 1) and the tone expressed in lines such as “Well hey, maybe I’ve changed!” (SA1 Revised 1). The exclamation marks convey more emotion than is usually found in academic or professional writing, and the colloquial use of the word “hey” communicates a similar level of informality that is appropriate for the audience. This rewrite is also the only one which follows a typical poem’s format, like the original “This is Just to Say.” Although free verse, this rewrite still adheres to a traditional stanza layout and employs poetic literary devices such as repetition, which is commonly used in the genre. Stanzas three, five, and seven follow the pattern of two rhetorical questions which are then actually answered by the boy, again in a pattern, this time in the form of exclamatory sentences preceded by the opening clauses “well hey,” “well now,” and “well oh” (SA1 Revised 1). The sentence “I love your casserole” is too repeated and similarly adds to the repetition and rhythm of the poem.

Rewrite two had an entirely different audience and genre, and the differences in format and diction required as such are readily apparent. In this rewrite, a middle school girl is addressing her diary. A typical diary entry uses the language of its writer without conforming to any particular style because the inherent nature of a private journal implies a lack of audience. The writing, therefore, does not follow grammatical norms, and often intentionally breaks them to express emotion. For example, “LOL,” “GOD,” and “I BURPED!!!!” (SA1 Revised 2) are all capitalized to express extreme emotional reactions or inflection even though within the English language letters are only meant to be capitalized in specific cases. The entire journal entry utilizes the lexicon of a seventh grade girl, which is appropriate given that the only intended audience is the said seventh grade girl. However, the accepted structure of a diary entry is still followed, beginning with “Dear Diary,” going into body paragraphs, and ending with a closing statement – in this case “XOXO” – and the diary author’s signature (SA1 Revised 2).

The final rewrite again dramatically shifted in its “content, structure, appeals, [and] tone” (Outcome 1) in order to best appeal to its audience. This rewrite is an adaptation of the Lord’s Prayer, and is preached to a plum farmer’s congregation. As such, many of the words have been altered to reflect the specific background of a plum farmer. For example, “hallowed be thy name” in the original prayer is changed to “hollowed be thy plum” (SA1 Revised 3) to express entirely new content more fitting for the parishioners. Over half of the prayer consists of literal appeals to God, and they too are all adjusted in a similar fashion, such as the word plum replacing the word bread in the following lines: “Give us this day / Our daily plum” (SA1 Revised 3). While the content and appeals are shifted for the audience, the structure and tone of this rewrite retain their correct format. Archaic words such as “art” and “thy” convey the formality and dignity of the prayer, and each separate thought is given its own line as it is written in the actual Lord’s Prayer.