Prompt 4: Considering Delivery And Style

By: Ian O.

      One of this main dilemmas anyone is going to run into when researching is whether the source they are looking at is right for them. This can either range from whether it is professional enough, accurate enough, or even if it fits their audience. To look at this further, we are gonna look at both a blog post about marketing, found here, and a scholarly article about marketing, found here. We will analysis the use of both styles, look at delivery, and determine when to use both kinds of writing in order to make your research as good as possible.

                                                                The Articles: 

      To start, we have our example of the blog post. This is a post written by Micheal Andrews, a freelancing content strategist who has a wealth of experience in the field. The article itself is delivered in a way that makes the reader think they are having a discussion opposed to being lectured at, allowing a more casual feel. The article isn't backed by huge amounts of statistics, but instead consists mostly of the authors own experiences and stories.

     On the other side, we have the scholarly article. This is written by Yoo Myongjee, a graduate student out of the University of Nevada. This article is very cut and dry, relying on a basic claim followed by example format. The examples are typically based on statistics and polls, and has a very professional feel to it, almost feeling like a lecture.

                                                           
                                                            What They Bring:

     In terms of style, the blog post brings a much more casual sort of feel, with the scholarly article being very professional and strict with it's focus. This can be seen in both the language being used as well as how examples are supported. Much like how I mentioned before, the blog post was typically supported by personal experiences and stories as opposed to the scholarly article which was based around statistics. This means if you are looking for something that showcases the cold facts, a scholarly source might be better, however a blog post might be better if you are looking for something you want your readers to relate to and feel more. Some concerns, however, can be biases the writing has as well as inaccuracy within the examples.

     On to the delivery, the first thing to notice is that the blog post tends to be much more loose with how it addresses the reader. It feels more like a conversation, with the professionalism sprinkled on but overall a casual tone with it's word choice. The scholarly article was much different, with the delivery being completely based around statistics and facts, and much of the dialogue being strictly third persona and professionally based. It feels more like a lesson then it does a conversation and can be difficult to read for many.


                                                               Which to Use?
 
       With both article examples analyzed, it is time for us to look at when to use each type. The blog post shows a much more casual and free versed style of writing, sacrificing cold facts for experiences and stories when it comes to it's examples. This means it might not benefit when researching for a research paper or a analysis report, but instead should be used for a persuasion article or a blog post. It's casual feel makes it great for getting the audience to relate and think while still presenting information.

     The scholarly article is a much different type, showing strict professionalism and cold facts with statistics. This does mean is sacrifices a lot of relate ability, making it hard for a persuasive point. With this in mind, it is much better to use scholarly articles when writing research papers and analysis papers, as opposed to blog posts or other casual styles of writing. It's upfront facts and professionalism makes it great for a paper that needs that professionalism or  paper that relies on being backed by a multitude of facts and statistics.




Citations:

Andrews, Micheal. "Content Strategy for Product Reviews." Web log post. Http://storyneedle.com/.              31 July 2014. Web. 23 Mar. 2016. 

Myongjee Yoo , Sojung Lee , Billy Bai , (2011) "Hospitality marketing research from 2000 to 2009 :              Topics, methods, and trends", International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management,            Vol. 23 Iss: 4, pp.517 - 532

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