QRE: the Genre

     Did you ever want to know what the stem cell controversy is about, but without all of the hassle of finding every site that talks about stem cells? Look no further than the Quick Reference Guide! The Quick Reference Guide (QRG) is a post-Internet genre whose purpose is to focus on condensing a certain controversy or topic to its different viewpoints and related evidence in order to allow a person unfamiliar with the controversy/topic to become informed about it with little effort. With my own QRG looming over me, it is fitting to notice the types of conventions that are apparent in the QRGs to fully comprehend this modern genre of writing.

Headings, like this one, guide the QRG along in a coherent manner.

     This is probably the most evident out of all of the conventions in the QRG. Headings usually appear every few paragraphs for most people who write QRGs. However, the use of the headings can vary from author to author. Some may simply write the heading as a statement similar to a sentence outline (like Dara Lind's QRG on Puerto Rico's debt); others might write them as a question (like Caitlyn Dewey's QRG on GamerGate); and others still might write them as fragments (like Dara Lind's QRG on #BernieSoBlack). Regardless of how the authors write the heading, their successive sentences are in response or in relation to the heading, depending if the authors wanted to make their QRG formal (like the #BernieSoBlack QRG) or colloquial (like the Sochi Olympics QRG). Primarily, the headings are there for both the author and the reader: the author, to maintain a sense of direction, unity, and coherence; and the reader, to clearly see the direction that the author is taking for the QRG.

Links and other sources are prominent in the QRG.

     The QRG is the author doing all of the research work and compiling and summarizing the research while presenting his viewpoint in the controversy/topic. Therefore, links, like this one, serve to direct the reader to the main article or source from where the author cited. This action builds the author's credibility as a writer (he did the research) while simultaneously acting as a nod to the contributors. Most authors will use links in this manner, no matter how their QRGs are stylized.

Photos are included in the QRG to captivate attention, just like a blog.

commons.wikimedia.org

     As with most other types of writing directed to the public, authors place photos in their QRGs to keep the readers interested in what they are reading. But the photos are not random ones (unlike the one you see on the right)--each photo relates to the article in some way. Dara Lind's GamerGate QRG features pictures of a person that she noted in her article and of tweets that serve as examples of the insults that female gamers are facing. The Puerto Rico QRG has pictures of people in Puerto Rico, both modern and historical, that provide an outlook of the island and emphasize the author's argumentative points. Abby Ohlheiser and Connor Simpson's QRG of the Sochi Olympics implements pictures that show what the article is talking about. Essentially, photos and visuals are used to make the readers more invested in what they are reading about--seeing is believing, after all; and seeing those pictures will inform them of the legitimacy of the controversy and will convince them to continue reading or, if it is a non-controversial topic, to build on the topic's and the author's credibility.

The information is presented in a way particular and general audiences can understand, just like a blog.

     For the five separate QRGs that I read, each one has interests to different audiences: the stem cell one pertained to a more medically sound audience; the Puerto Rico one pertained to political and economical audiences; the GamerGate one pertained to the social and gaming communities; the Sochi Olympics one pertained to sports-oriented people; and the #BernieSoBlack one pertained to sociopolitical audiences. However, although interests in different subjects might attract different people, each QRG was written in a way that even the general public can understand. Each author uses brief paragraphs (often only 3-5 sentences long) with many simple sentences to give a feeling of accomplish as the reader finishes reading the paragraphs. Each author used basic rhetoric and vocabulary, structured his story or argument simply, and adopted an approachable tone, allowing virtually anyone to read and comprehend his QRG. This is the QRG's power of accessibility: that even a history professor can read about stem cells and understand everything in the QRG. 

Come to think of it, the QRG is a lot like a research blog.

     In its totality, the QRG is what it is named--a quick reference guide. It is supposed to take a lengthy controversy or story, compress it, sprinkle in a thesis from the author to provide a personal viewpoint, and present evidence collected by the author to build his argument or story. It is supposed to be public-friendly: everyone with an interest in the written topic, no matter what the person specializes in, should be able to open a QRG, read it, become invested in it, and understand what is going on in the guide. It is supposed to be loaded with information: it is a research guide and should be seen as such in order to give validity to the author's arguments. Finally, the QRG is supposed to be a vessel of accessible information to increase everyone's understanding about the events that transpire in the world, regardless of previous intellect or background, all a mere click away.




Reflection: I looked at Kian's, Lekha's, and Arrick's QRG blog posts and commented on their posts. It seems that all four of us found the same conventions for a QRG, which I am happy about because that means that I am on the same track as the rest of us are. Now we just have to figure out how to bring all of them together.