Hobart 1

Jessica Hobart

Professor Beckelhimer

ENGL2089

20 October 2017

Genre Analysis

In a meeting of the Board of Trustees of the Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton

County, a vote was agreed upon by the seven members to potentially close and sell the North

building of the Main Branch of the library system. This vote did not go unnoticed, causing many

stakeholders to get involved in discourse surrounding this issue. A large stakeholder, of course,

is members of the general public in Cincinnati and Hamilton County. One way in which the

public participates in this discourse is through speeches made at Library Board meetings. During

these meetings of the Board, the public is allowed to attend. If they wish to speak, they can do so

for no more than three minutes. The Board is not obligated to respond to these speeches or

answer any questions (Meeting of August 8). These speeches are a very specific type of genre

that the public uses to advance their position on the issue.

The purpose and audience of these speeches go hand in hand. Citizens are speaking at

Library Board meetings to persuade the Board to retract their proposal to close and sell the North

building of the Main Branch of the library. Naturally, at Library Board meetings, the audience of

this genre is Board members, in addition to other members of the public who attend. One may be

inclined to conclude that the Board itself and other members of the public would be the most

effective audience with regards to the purpose.

The purpose and audience influence the diction of the speeches. Since the purpose is to

persuade the audience of the speeches, many members of the public use persuasive language
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techniques like pathos, anecdotes, and repetition. A speech from one meeting incudes an

example of pathos, This public space is where people can find warmth from our cold bitter

winters, a place where people can find community (Meeting of October 10). Words like

warmth from our cold bitter winters evoke empathy towards those who use the library as

shelter. Another speech exemplifies an anecdote, Forty years ago, I used to sleep at 6 and Vine.

This library is an institution that allowed me to get an education. And now, Im a professor at a

local university (Meeting of August 8). Many speeches also include anecdotes in an effort to

communicate the personal importance of the library to the Board. Purposeful repetition was used

less frequently, but is an effective way to drive a point home, It was built was public money, in

the public interest, and must continue to be a public space for the people of Cincinnati

(Meeting of August 8). This repetition stresses the importance of keeping the North building a

public space. In short, the audience and purpose help to shape the word choice of the speeches.

Unique features of speeches themselves influence the diction as well as the tone.

Members of the public speak directly to the people they are aiming to persuade. The spoken

nature of speeches influences diction because oral discourse is inherently different than written

discourse. Speakers are trying to communicate a message without grammar or spell check.

Sentences turn into ramblings, run-ons, or fragments. Word choice is more passionate and

heated. This is illustrated by the following, I believe there is a lane for everything. Capitalism is

one of them. And when capitalism gets out of its lane, with one of the things like what access to

public services the common man has, thats when capitalism becomes a problem (Meeting of

August 8). When full of emotion, people lose track of grammar, and resort to yelling or

shouting to communicate their points. To organize their emotion, many people used a similar

method in their speeches. A majority of the speeches started off with a personal statement of
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support for the library, then talked about concern for the issue at hand, followed by more

criticism, and finally a call to action. The following excerpts from a speech illustrate this

concept, I love the library I was really concerned when I read the North building will be

close Please ensure transparency in this process (Meeting of August 8). This organization

follows the general structure of persuasive speeches. Unique features of speeches like the oral

nature and organization influences the diction and tone.

As discussed, the diction and tone are influenced by the audience, purpose, oral nature,

and organizational structure of the speeches. How effective are the diction and tone, and

therefore, the speeches themselves? The personal and improper diction combined with the

passionate and outraged tone compromise professionalism, potentially causing the speeches to be

taken less seriously by the Board. As a result, the speeches are effective, but only to a certain

extent. The publics emotions and desires are effectively communicated, but the persuasiveness

is lacking. At the meetings, the Board consistently defends their decision and fails to respond to

the publics requests. The Boards decision seems unlikely to be swayed without convincing

facts and monetary significance. Nevertheless, this genre still serves as an important

contribution in the issue of the potential shut down and sale of the North building. These

speeches are a significant way for the opposing opinions of the community to be conveyed to the

decision-making organization.
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Works Cited

Hamilton County Library Board Meeting of August 8, 2017. Youtube, uploaded by Waycross
Community Media, 9 August 2017, https://youtu.be/j1p88WD7dvg.

Hamilton County Library Board Meeting of October 10, 2017. Youtube, uploaded by
Waycross Community Media, 10 October 2017, https://youtu.be/1wSMDANNKUw.