Alexander Valle

English 110

Prof Jacobson

20 November, 2022

Composition in Two Genres

            The purpose of this essay is to provide different genres about the same topic. This is to portray the applicability and importance of understanding genres and the audience. The purpose of my work, however, is to provide information to my audience that will benefit them and to raise awareness. My topic is music and the positive effects it has on mental health. The genres I have chosen for this topic are a memorandum and informational pamphlet. The reason I chose a memorandum is because the information I have found from studies show that music is very beneficial for people who are under a lot of stress and anxiety. A memorandum would inform people in a stressful work environment that listening to music will reduce those stress levels and also aid in the quality of their daily lives. Similarly, an informational pamphlet could be placed in a therapist’s office where people go to seek help about the troubles in their lives, and a pamphlet can inform patients who suffer from anxiety and stress on ways to help their struggles while they wait for their doctor. 

            My work in this essay is significant to my audience because it provides information to help them with their mental troubles. The audience is anyone who suffers from mental health illnesses such as anxiety or stress and anyone who is under a lot of stress. By providing this information it will help my audience by providing another method for them to use and to also spread awareness about these conditions as they have only recently become more superficial. 

Genre 1: Memorandum 

Date: 20 November, 2022

To: All Staff

From: Alexander Valle, Company Executive

Subject: Maximizing Work and Life Quality

Hello all,

Recent studies have shown that listening to relaxing and upbeat music for 20 minutes before starting your day improves the quality of life, reduces stress, and anxiety. For reference, a study conducted by the Canadian Center of Science and Education, analyzed how classical music affected university students’ mental health and stress levels. They concluded that the music did in fact help relieve the levels of stress and anxiety in students.

The board and I appreciate everything you do for the company and understand that it can become stressful at times. Use this information as you please, but we highly encourage you to implement this into your life. We believe that this would maximize not only your life quality but your work quality as well.

Thank you for your hard work, keep it up.

Genre 2: Informational Pamphlet 

SUFFERING FROM STRESS AND ANXIETY?

It is common to suffer from stress and anxiety, learn how to help yourself. It only takes 20 minutes!

RISKS OF LETTING YOURSELF SUFFER IN SILENCE

Mental health has always been around, but it has not been as important or talked about as it has been in the past few years. Most adults hide it because they do not want to seem weak. This is apparent in employees because they do not want to seem inept to their bosses and coworkers. But the reality is that if you let stress and anxiety consume you, it will only get worse. In teenagers the risk of stress and anxiety is high, their need to prove that they are not failing or making others proud is something that brings much stress and anxiety. However, not addressing these issues can lead to them becoming unmotivated and lead to more mental health issues such as depression.

 HELP YOURSELF FROM HOME

While the best solution is to seek professional help there is a way for you to help reduce your stress and anxiety levels on your own. This method is listening to upbeat music for 20 minutes at the beginning of each day, whether it be in your home while you are doing your morning routine, on the way to work or school, or as you start your work day, this method can be fun and unless you dedicate 20 minutes right after you wake up to solely listening to music than it takes up none of your time.

The most effective way is to dedicate 20 minutes directly to hearing and feeling the music, but if you have no time and must listen while doing other things it works too. 

WHY IT WORKS

Many studies have shown that there are certain parts of the brain that have a change in activity depending on the type of music that is being heard. For example, the study; Classical and Traditional Music Role in Cognitive Function and Critically Ill Patients written by Anak Putri and Valentina Tjandra explains specifically why this happens. Putri says, “music frequencies above 40 Hz can affect cognitive function. The 40 Hz frequency is the basic frequency in the thalamus so that the same frequency will trigger a cognitive effect on music therapy” the thalamus is the brains main relay station for almost all information that is sent to the primary cortex of the brain, thus regulating sleepiness, awareness, etc. In addition to this “tempo or rhythm also plays a critical role in brain stimulation. Music with a slow beat will affect the whole body by decreasing the pulse and breathing rate. That condition happens because the body tries to adjust to the music’s rhythm or tempo being heard.”

Inconclusion, the music we hear goes far beyond our recitation of lyrics. Music directly impacts our bodies and well-being therefore impacting our daily lives.

If you suffer from mental illnesses or want to relax and distress, listen to calming music.

For additional support and answers visit

www.mentalhealthmusic.com

Once I concluded that my audience was anyone that was in a stressful environment or suffers from mental health issues, I began to consider genres that would be beneficial to my audience. My audience would benefit from information that provides them with ways to reduce stress and anxiety or any mental health issues with music. With this in mind the first genre I considered and eventually used in my essay was a memorandum in a work environment. This came to mind because the memorandum would allow me to provide information to a lot of people in a short and precise way. Whoever needs this information would be able to benefit from it and those who don’t could be in a position where they know someone that may be thankful for this information. The second genre I considered was a newspaper article. I thought this would be a good genre at first because newspaper articles, especially online newspapers, reach a very big audience that can filter what type of news they want to receive. But then I realized that with a newspaper article the title is very important as it is what catches the eye of the intended audience. If I were to provide a title that was not specific or attention grabbing, then my audience would most likely not pay any attention to it and would defeat the purpose of trying to spread a method for people with mental health issues to benefit from. Additionally, newspaper articles would require some sort of quote from someone who benefited from the method I am providing, and I personally do not know anyone who has gone through this. Even though the newspaper article genre did not feel right for me I drew inspiration from this and with the aid of my professor I was able to choose the genre of an informational pamphlet. This genre convinced me because it would already be in an environment where my audience would most likely be as the use of therapists is growing around the world. There is also usually a wait period when in a hospital, clinic, and any type of appointment. From personal experience there is always a sense of boredom while waiting and if there are magazines or pamphlets around, I always see people and myself reaching for them. A pamphlet is also short enough to read while waiting for your turn and the subtopics allow you to read the sections of most interest to you. Therefore, along with the memorandum, the informational pamphlet became my second genre.

            I found myself using the rhetorical practices of stating the exigence, the genre, and using the media to influence my writing. I also aimed to provide some sort of solution to my exigence with supporting evidence to inform my audience that this was real information. The setting of my genres also influenced my decision and writing as they were both short pieces. Ultimately, I believe that using some of the rhetorical practices benefited my writing and allowed me to understand my genres.

Works Cited

The Effect of Classical Music on Anxiety and Well-Being of University students. ERGINSOY OSMANOĞLU, 2019.

https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1232294.pdf

Classic and Traditional Music Role in Cognitive Function and Critically Ill Patients. Anak Agung Putri and Valentina Tjandra, June 2021.

https://www.intechopen.com/chapters/77256