28 Application: PAID Genre Analysis

According to the National Council of Teachers of English, “Texts are socially constructed from particular perspectives; they are never neutral.” Every text can be analyzed to help the viewer understand what perspective the author brings to the creation of the text.

Hillary Janks provides a useful framework for evaluating the socially constructed nature of texts, which she discusses in terms of four constructs: power, access, identity, and design (or PAID). Below is an activity to help you determine the perspective of a creator and how the genre they’re composing in helps them communicate their message.

Activity

First, identify which genre you’re composing in, i.e., are you creating a traditional paper, an infographic, a TikTok, a poster, etc.? Second, select a text that resembles the genre you want to compose in or inspires your work.

Third, do a little research on who the creator is, where the text first appeared, how it was created, and why. Find as much information as possible on the text, and then do your best to answer each of the PAID questions listed below.

PAID Genre Questions

Power— within the rhetorical situation of this text, what power or influence does the creator have? What power don’t they have? Or how might their composition help them gain or lose power? What is the relationship, in terms of power, between the creator and the audience?

Access— what resources, skills, or information are needed to create this composition? To view it? Will these resources, skills, or information be easy or difficult to access? How does that support or limit who is able to view the text?

Identity— what do we know about the creator of this piece? Who are they? Where do they come from? What values or social positions do they hold?

Design—  how does the choice of medium or media shape the message of the piece? What modes of communication are most prominent? What design elements communicate the power, access, and identity the creator has? What elements do or don’t connect the creator with the audience?

Discussion

When you’re finished answering the PAID questions, compare your notes with the notes of a classmate who analyzed a different text. Discuss what key takeaways you’ve learned about how texts are socially constructed and how genres can enhance or detract from the creator’s intended message for a text.