Reflection about DOCSV

For project one, the professor told us to analyze a text. The first time I heard the word analyze was in my first year in the University. I thought to myself that it would be the same thing. For example, I thought that we needed to get background about the text, and sources to back the authors main point. Moreover, find out if the author had a strong claim. For instance, check if the author had good evidence, clear statements, credibility, and good logic. However, the analysis we needed to do was completely different. We call it genre analysis. Basically, we analyze the text based on its genre using the genre tool kit, and some techniques called the DOCSV. DOCSV stand for design, organization, content, style, and values.  Each part of this analysis requires us to look for certain things in the text. For example, language used, logos, pictures, tone, and vocabulary. The text me and my group analyzed was “Basics for Handling Food Safely.” This text was a fact sheet. I found this fact sheet pretty exciting and useful because it contained useful information and was well organized. I learned a lot about this genre. For example, it contains bullet points, charts, and small uncomplex sentences. I learned that these factors help the reader go through the fact sheet easily and understand the points clearly. Moreover, the tone that the author used in this fact sheet was professional and informative. I learned that this tone was used because the fact sheet is used for informing (instructing) the readers about the appropriate ways of handling food and storing it. What I found challenging about the DOCSV analysis is style. Style is basically what features relating to language does the author use. To find these features, I need to really understand and find certain evidence the author uses to recognize the language he is using. Sometimes, I get confused when reading a text, and it becomes really challenging for me to do that. To improve this skill, I think that I need to read more texts and try to analyze them.