Genre Models: Popular Health Articles

ENGL 105: Writing at the Research University, with Paul Blom

Section 004, Fall 2025

T, Th; 9:30am-10:45am

Phillips Hall, Room 222

​

Thurs. Sept. 11, 2025

​

​

Log into our Canvas course site and then to go Modules>In-Class Activities.

Click the link to open today’s lesson plan slides (these slides).

You’ll need to have access to our daily lesson plan slides during every class session.

Open your materials for today; keep Canvas open also.

If you run into issues accessing our Canvas course site and/or our lesson plan for today, please let me know asap.

Sit with your group members (names listed on next slide).

1

Student Working Groups

Make sure you sit with your group members at the start of every class:

​

2

Announcements

• Remind Paul to begin recording (Zoom recording available after class).
• As you read and work, please feel free to contribute to the following Google Doc, “Suggested Readings or Other Content” (Link also at Canvas>Modules>In-Class Activities).
• See the extra credit assignment prompt on Writing in Business (Canvas>Files>Extra Credit - Writing in Business). Due by 11:59pm on Mon. Dec. 1.
• Unless otherwise instructed, always submit all drafts as Word documents.
• Rough drafts (part of “Daily Homework”) go to Canvas>Discussions; final feeder drafts submitted for a grade go to Canvas>Assignments.
• The lesson plans (Canvas>Modules>In-Class Activities) walk you through specific homework instructions for the next day. Always refer to those.
• Make sure you’re checking your UNC email regularly.
• Grades/feedback for Feeder 1.1 have been posted! Grades visible at Canvas>Grades. Feedback available at Canvas>Assignments (SpeedGrader). Always look through my comments and use it to guide your work moving forward.
• Feeder 1.2 received! Look for my feedback later this week; use it to guide your work moving forward.
• Regarding media literacy, see this column from DTH, “Don’t Just Read this Headline.”
• Today (Thurs. Sept. 11) is Patriot Day and the National Day of Service and Remembrance.

3

Today’s Class

Last Class:

• Structure of scholarly discourse
• Introductions and conclusions
• Feeder 1.2 workshop

​

Today’s Class:

• Looking at genre models for popular health articles

​

TODAY’S LEARNING OBJECTIVES - By the end of this class session, you will be able to:

• Explain the methods and purpose of reading existing genre models to improve your own research and writing process
• Read and analyze existing popular health articles and use those models to guide your own research and writing process
• Define and describe the typical content, sections, structure/organization, tone, style, and layout of a popular health article
• Emulate existing popular health articles to guide your research and writing process
• Begin outlining your own popular health article

4

Preparing for Today

Everyone should have already:

• Confirmed that you have access to post to the course website. (Didn’t get my email invite? Email me asap.)
• Looked through my feedback on your Feeder 1.1 final draft (Canvas>Assignments).
• Submitted your final draft of Feeder 1.2 for a grade (Canvas>Assignments).
• Read the UNC Writing Center’s handout on introductions and their handout on writing conclusions.
• Brainstormed a list of potential info to include in a popular health article.
• Read the model popular health article assigned to your group (Canvas>Files>Unit 1>Model Popular Health Articles or Popular Science Articles>Student Examples):
• The Tarheel Thinkers (TTT): Bass - Keto Diet and Epilepsy
• On the Move: Hicks - Vaping
• The Brunch Club: Pasupula - Detox Tea
• Ruof Puorg: Remeis - 3D Prosthetics

5

Your Chosen Topics for Unit 1

• NAME REDACTED: Correlation between screen time and eyesight
• NAME REDACTED: Development of the COVID-19 vaccine
• NAME REDACTED: Comparative removal of Bisphenol A as it impacts health.
• NAME REDACTED: Myostatin and activin-A blockers to preserve and build muscle
• NAME REDACTED: Chronic stress and cancer
• NAME REDACTED: CRISPR gene therapy to treat disease
• NAME REDACTED: Effects of sugars and artificial sweeteners on health
• NAME REDACTED: Energy drinks and adolescents
• NAME REDACTED: Teeth clenching and muscle performance
• NAME REDACTED: Pain mitigation for children and needles injections

6

(Many of your initial topics narrowed just a bit! Remember that topic selection/preliminary research is a crucial step in the writing process! Your topic scope and/or research question/thesis may change a bit as you research and compose!) 

​

I will update this list after class today once everyone has chosen their topic.

• NAME REDACTED: Organic produce vs. GMOs
• NAME REDACTED: Effects of melatonin on Alzheimer’s disease
• NAME REDACTED: CTE and teens
• NAME REDACTED: Heavy metals in feminine hygiene products
• NAME REDACTED: Finasteride and hair loss prevention
• NAME REDACTED: Health effects of seed oils
• NAME REDACTED: Negative physical effects of anabolic steroids among young adults
• NAME REDACTED: Tik Tok and adolescent attention span
• NAME REDACTED: The effects of artificial sweeteners on gut health

Popular Health Article: The Contents

LET’S BRAINSTORM! If you had to write a popular health article on a recent health/medical study, what kind of info would you include and/or what questions would you need to answer? (I will clean up your list later today and release it as “One Potential Structure for Your Popular Health Article” (Canvas>Files>Unit 1):

• We need a headline or title
• Optional: a “hook” to grab reader’s attention
• General background info on the topic
• Basic info about the study: Who did the study? Where? When?
• What is the topic?
• Why? What motivated the study?
• Definitions of complex terms
• Previous research/results (context)
• Hypothesis
• Methods
• Flaws/limitations of the study
• Results of the study
• Conclusion, what’s next? Call-to-action
• The impact of the study (larger implications)
• Citations/bibliography (in CSE, it’s called References)
• (Consider your style and tone as you write.)

7

Unit 1 Project Expectations

• Instructions for UP1: Unit 1 Assignment Prompt (Canvas>Files>Unit 1)
• Always refer to the Unit 1 Assignment Prompt, including the grading rubric, to guide your work.

8

Analyzing Genre Models

In-class exercise looking at genre models of popular health articles; this is a formal analysis, i.e., an analysis of the article’s form. Find the article assigned to your group (Canvas>Files>Unit 1>Model Popular Health Articles or Popular Science Articles>Student Examples):

• You’re going to create a reverse outline. For each section of the article, note what kind of info is present. Does the order/organization make sense? (Consider DOCCS: Design, Organization, Content, Citations, Style.)
• Be sure to state the hypothesis of the study on which the student-author reported. In your outline, state the hypothesis where it appears.
• Consider the style/tone throughout as well as when the student-author is more or less detailed.
• What do you notice about the use of citations?
• What else stands out to you or seems worth mentioning about the article? What is worth emulating from this example? How can you apply this to your own popular health article?
• Write all of your answers below the name of your article, listed below below (in the next few slides, 10-13).
• Choose a reporter(s) to quickly walk us through your article when we regroup as a class. (Ideally, your reporter should be someone who hasn’t been your group’s reporter yet.)

9

The Tarheel Thinkers (TTT): Bass’s article on the keto diet and epilepsy�

• Interesting title, relies on the public trends of a keto diet being a fad but it's more than that.
• Hook
• Background Knowledge: Definition of some terms.
• Past research done in 1910’s and 2007
• Hypothesis is stated at the end of the introductory paragraph and background knowledge, leading into the method
• Then they go into the actual experiment, methods.
• Goes into detail about the experiment then lists the flaws and limitations: Ethics of KD, No control group, larger sample size.
• Continues on how the study could be improved.
• Frequent in-text citations, articles contain many authors so they follow (Smith et al.) format
• The conclusion is combined with the impact/larger implications, and is very short.
• Overall article is <1,000 words.
• ​​”After a year, the researchers examined their results and found no change in leptin and ghrelin
• Regulation that could be traced back solely to the KD”- Needs to explain why this is significant.
• In this article, some paragraphs go without using any citations (such as the Methods section). What needs citations? I have also heard in-text citations can potentially trail into the following sentences, if no other source is used/mentioned- is this true?
• Good flow of information
• The author walks through the procedure of the study and explains the steps taken well. However, it gets a little bit too technical and goes past being a popular article.
• A lot of the technical diction isn’t explained in a simplified form. Potentially confusing.
• “Anti-convulsant mechanism”
• Acronyms spelled out but not fully explained. Possibly unimportant.
• Many substances such as “leptin” and “ghrelin” are mentioned with no explanation.
• Mentions the “when” and “where” albeit too much information
• Too much information for a general audience.
• Ex. “Ramona De Amicis and several other researchers conducted a long-term study out of the Department of Child Neurology and Psychiatry at Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Neurologico C.Mondino and the Pediatric Neurology Unit at “V. Buzzi” Hospital…”
• Posits that this study isn't all encompassing, more work should be done.

10

On the Move: Hicks’s article on vaping

• Introduces vapes and e-cigarettes and their target audience, and the health effects they can have on people
• Describes the experiment and its methods: conducted to compare people who vape vs. those who do not in order to show possible effects of vaping
• Formal/informational tone
• Unclear hypothesis → researchers studied possible physiological impediments
• Unknowns of the research area
• Results-vaping causes harmful consequences
• Similar studies listed for further analysis → worth emulating for other popular health articles (could have compared the studies to each other in some way to further discussion)
• Citations are well put together, but all sources having a web link and DOI, used correct CSE format
• Has an additional study (about e-cigarettes) in support of the main experiment/study
• Limitations of the main study-the results but could’ve gone more into detail as to why, did a good job explaining all the chemicals but not how they harm
• Larger Implications- not very in depth
• Tone of conclusion changes to be less formal in comparison to the rest of the article (inconsistent tone), also no call to action

11

The Brunch Club: Pasupula’s article on detox tea

• Introduces detox teas with short hook and provides context on how the topic is relevant, mentions the drug that causes negative side effects
• Provides a motivator as to why these teas should be studied (unethical insertion of drugs can lead to severe side effects, imposing health hazards)
• Target audience: anyone who drinks tea- especially those trying to lose weight or detox their body
• Limitations with previous studies, little research and high costs; lack of studies could be why article was not as in-depth
• Provides examples from other studies, reasoning as to why this new study is being performed
• Lots of in text citations in the beginning when going through general background info and definitions. Less towards the end when explaining ethical concerns, limitations, and larger implications.
• Defines terminology/jargon
• Methods and findings are mentioned- harmful drugs (sibutramine) were found in detox teas
• Further suggestions and steps to take (emphasis on affordability)
• Ethical concerns of the study
• Conclusion

12

Ruof Puorg: Remeis’s article on 3D prosthetics

• In introduction, contrasts past struggles with new innovation that solves struggles
• Addresses some shortcomings in technology presented, is not overly optimistic
• In first body paragraph, the author concisely presents the problem and states the study’s solution in accessible and clear language
• Second body paragraph makes the study’s intricacies accessible without sacrificing accuracy, references data, and quotes the study
• Lack of a clear hypothesis, but includes a clear goal. Innovations of the study planned– the implementation of two new methods of control
• Methods and result of the study (how they designed it, how they physically tested the model, the comparison of another study, the results)
• Limitations of the study: which the original authors didn’t address but the student pointed out
• Interesting points about the study (done in response to a problem, innovations) & significance of the study results
• How technology proves to be a huge role in the future (looking ahead)
• Importance of the study& the larger implications of it
• Conclusion, hope for the future

13

Reminders

TIME PERMITTING:

• Take a look at your latest draft of Feeder 1.2. Compare its contents to our brainstormed list of what you’d include in your UP1 popular health article. Think also about our work today looking at existing genre models. Create a brief, rough outline for your own potential popular health article, a list of the info you’ll plan to include. You don’t have to post or share this, but now you have a plan to help you move forward as you construct your own UP1.

​

TIME PERMITTING:

• We’ll return to the lesson plan from 9/4 and break down a few other potential visual sources.

​

Lingering Questions:

• Note: Mon. Sept. 15 is a UNC Well-Being Day (no classes held)

​

14

Homework

Next class, Tues. Sept. 16:

• Grammar, punctuation, local errors, and proofreading
• Note: Mon. Sept. 15 is a UNC Well-Being Day (no classes held)

​

Homework due by 11:59pm Mon. Sept. 15:

• Next blog post: STUDENT NAME REDACTED (reflection on week 4, due Mon. Sept. 15 by 11:59pm)
• Catch up on reading/submitting any documents/chapters/assignments you missed.
• Look above in this lesson plan at what you should have already done (“Everyone should have already…”) and make sure that you’re all caught up. You might want to also consult pass lesson plans and/or the “Course Schedule” in our Course Syllabus (Canvas>Files).
• If I don’t have your Feeder 1.2, submit that to me ASAP to minimize losing more points.
• If you haven’t already, look through my feedback on F1.1 and use it to guide your work moving forward (Canvas>Assignments).
• If you haven’t already, read through the instructions and grading rubric for the Unit 1 Project (UP1) in the Unit 1 Assignment Prompt (Canvas>Files>Unit 1). Come to class with any questions you have about UP1.
• Read “Instructions for Posting to the Course Website” (Canvas>Files>Course Website Resources) so you’re prepared to post your final draft of UP1 to the course website when the time comes. Come to class with your questions about how to actually post to the website.
• If you haven’t already, make sure you can successfully log into the course website and confirm that you’re actually able to create a post.
• See “One Potential Structure for Your Popular Health Article'' (Canvas>Files>Unit 1). Revisit the genre models mentioned today to assist you as well. (Consider also looking at the other student models and the real-world models on Canvas at Files>Unit 1>Model Popular Health Articles or Popular Science Articles). Use these to help you start outlining and organizing your content for UP1.
• If we had time in class, look at the rough outline you brainstormed for yourself today in class and/or begin by creating your own outline and eventually begin constructing your own popular health article. (Rough draft due Wed. Sept. 17.)
• Find at least one image of a (preferably funny) local error/typo and email it to me. You can find these either online or preferably in real life and then photographed by you. Submit it/them via Canvas>Assignments. If you run into trouble submitting these via Canvas, you can email it/them to me at paulblom@live.unc.edu.
• Read through the “Grammar and Parts of Speech” PowerPoint (Canvas>Files>Readings) at your own pace. Take notes on material that is new or confusing to you. Come to class with your questions about grammar, punctuation, parts of speech, etc.

15

Looking Ahead

• Rough draft of UP1 due Wed. Sept. 17; final draft due for a grade as a post to the course website by 11:59pm on Mon. Sept. 22. Always refer to the specific instructions in the Unit 1 Assignment Prompt (Canvas>Files>Unit 1).
• We will begin Unit 2, Writing in the Social Sciences, on Tues. Sept. 23. Begin brainstorming local groups/communities/subcultures in the UNC/Chapel Hill area you’d like to observe and study. You will choose your topics in class that day.
• Plan ahead! When do these groups/subcultures meet? Can you get access in time? Start contacting people and/or doing a bit of preliminary research.
• You’ll have to conduct at least one observation of your chosen subculture between then and Wed. Oct. 8 (the due date for your rough draft of Feeder 2.2).
• You’ll have to complete a total of at least two observations by Mon. Oct. 13 in order to complete and submit your final draft of F2.2 on time (due that night).
• Don’t let this distract you from our current project, but…start thinking about when this subculture meets and how you can fit those observations into your schedule.

16

After Class

• If you have other questions or concerns that arise after class, please feel free to email me (paulblom@live.unc.edu), visit me (in Greenlaw 509) during my office hours (Tues, Thurs, 12:30pm-2:00pm est), or schedule a time to meet with me virtually [ZOOM LINK REDACTED FOR PUBLIC SHARING] outside of office hours. (Download Zoom at https://unc.zoom.us/.)
• A few hours after this class session has ended, I will post the recording of this class session to Canvas at Modules>Class Recordings. You may want to revisit the recording, especially if you missed the class. Each recording will be accompanied by a real-time automatically-generated transcript as well as automatically-generated closed captions. You can stream these online or download these to your own devices.
• These recordings are captured through Zoom and are only available to watch/download for 30 days after the recording date.
• These recordings are solely for the purpose of reviewing class material and should not be shared with people outside of our class. (See also our course syllabus: Course Policies>Technology>Recordings of Class Sessions.)
• See also “Using Lecture Recordings: A Guide for Students” (Canvas>Modules>Class Recordings).

​

17