PB2A

Another Rant About Genres…

The generator, “An Automatic CS Paper Generator,” and the scholarly source, “Personality, Social Stress, and Drug Use Among College Students,” are both genres that are oddly familiar with distinct differences. For the most obvious difference, the generator allows individuals to view multiple random essays as opposed to the article which stands alone. Additionally, although both titles presented in both articles were informative, the generator’s titles were much more specific, arbitrary, and abstract as to what they will discuss. The scholarly source’s title directly addresses what the article discusses, but in a broad aspect. Similarly, in both articles, centered in the middle of the page is the title in bold. Then, right beneath the title is the author’s name, which is also positioned in the center. Additionally, the scholarly source and the generator articles included an Abstract, which is an indication presented earlier to allow the audience formulate and develop an impression as to what will be discussed. Unlike the scholarly source, the generator included a Table of Contents and made use of images, graphs, and outside information to educate the readers. The scholarly source conducted an experiment themselves rather than primarily collect a lot of outside information and organize that into one essay. To introduce and elaborate on their thesis beforehand, they included some outside information, but their primary thesis and argument was driven by the experiment conducted. Both articles included references near the end of the paper to provide credibility and assurance to the audience.

The audience in both ranged from college students to older adults. The diction was very formal and the tone was informative and unbiased. Both articles were driven to elaborate and clearly explain the topic presented. Due to the fact that the article, “Personality, Social Stress, and Drug Use Among College Students” was experimentally driven, they included the method, the experiment, the design, the procedure, the materials, and the result. Neither article had an exigence, or at least it wasn’t clearly illustrated. Both included a discourse, which responded to some type of problem. For example, the scholarly source was responding to the issue pertaining to drug and stress related situations. Finally, both of the articles that were written effectively argued and supported their thesis through data and experiments.

There were multiple aspect to the scholarly piece, “Personality, Social Stress, and Drug Use Among College Students,” that complimented the entity of the article, but the most significant features of the article was the details pertaining to the experiment. The core part of the article revolved around the data of the experiment and the elaborated results. First, the participants were described, which was essential, because the audience knew who the experiment was directed towards. Details such as the gender, age group, and ethnicity of the participants were included. Next, which was the most important part to understand, was the design and procedure. To better understand why the procedure is taking place, it is critical to recognize how the process would take place.  This section of the article emphasized the steps and processes that would occur, such as how the researcher would gather their information. “The experimenter visited classrooms and residence halls, and asked students to complete packets of self-report measures” (Coleman & Trunzo 2). How the experimenter gathered their information allows the audience to identify if the experiment is trustworthy and reliable.

Another aspect of the scholarly article was the materials used. The three main materials used was the stress test, the personality test, and the drug-use self-report instrument. These three resources that were implemented linked with each other and related with one another. For example, “Users of illicit street drugs and narcotics (major drug users) displayed higher levels of neuroticism and lower levels of conscientiousness” (Coleman & Trunzo 3). Neuroticism and conscientiousness were part of the personality aspect, while the extent of the drug use was concluded through the drug-use self-report tool. Based on the stress level, if the stress level is high, there was a higher chance of drug use. Through all these self-evaluations, it was concluded whether an individual was stressed, how this impacted their personality, and how much drugs were used. Finally, the results summarized what was revealed through the experiment. The two ideas that were elaborated on was group personality differences and predictors of drug use. As stated earlier, high levels of neuroticism and low levels of conscientiousness were related to minor and major drug use. Additionally, extroversion and stress were predictors of drug use, which explains why there is a rise in substance abuse for college students.

The experiment aspect of this article was mostly informative and educational. It was the most essential part of the article, because it allowed the audience to comprehend first-hand what the concept and importance of the topic was. The details that the article included allowed the audience to have a full and complete acknowledgement of the problem. The experiment was driven to elaborate on the thesis, and it was essentially illustrated why the topic, “Personality, Social Stress, and Drug Use Among College Students,” is significant and why it is an important problem to address for today’s society. It was essential to better understand the question: which path are college students headed on?