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Zhuangni Lin
Professor Matt Wilson
Writing 2
April 12, 2016
Food Reviews and Recipes
Before working on a writing project, we all have to determine a genre for the text. The
knowledge of genres goes far beyond a simple discussion of types, such as books or music
(Dirk, 250). Instead, according to what Swales said, Genres are types of text that are
recognizable to readers and writers, and that meet the needs of the rhetorical situations in
which they function (Swales, 467). Genres can act as a guide for an author to determine and
deliver on the audiences expectation by their specific conventions and rhetorical features,
and Ill use two writing genresfood reviews and recipes, to help me illustrate it.
A food review is usually a general evaluation based on some basic information of the
restaurant, the level of service, the texture and flavor of the food. Since it serves as a valuable
reference for other people, it has to be comprehensive, objective, credible and persuasive.
Rocks CY NOODLES HOUSE is a typical example of this genre.
A food review needs to be comprehensive, showing the readers specific details of the
restaurant instead of just food itself. In Rocks food reviews, she presents location, opening
hours, contact information and official website of the restaurant at the beginning of the
passage, making it convenient for readers to search for it. Before writing about food, the
author also includes the decoration, the atmosphere, the background, the menu, the quality of
service, and the price level in her review. When it comes to food, she depicts clearly the
presentation, taste and texture of it. All of the descriptions above make readers impressed
with the restaurant.
In order to increase its reference value, a food review should be a mixture of pros and

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cons, showing its objectivity and contributing to the ethos. According to Carroll, Ethos
refers to the credibility of the rhetor (Carroll, 54). Rock mentions her favorite dishes and the
combination of food that she would like to recommend all based on her personal experience.
Instead of keeping complimenting the food and the ambience, Rock reminds us that CY
Noodles House doesnt have a liquor license (Rock), so she could not console herself with
sake. The recommendation and the reminder work together to show the sincere attitude of the
author, building trust for the author.
The purpose of a food review is to let the readers know what they should expect at the
restaurant and then persuade them whether or not to go there. Rock speaks highly of the
restaurant in her review and tries to persuade her audience to go there. She uses a lot of
colorful adjectives and vivid metaphors such squishy, full-flavored describing the food
there, making the readers feel that they are personally eating at the restaurant and appealing
to their emotions. Moreover, she even makes a promise to readers that CY Noodles House is
your best bet for noodles in South Salt Lake to encourage readers to go there (Rock). The
vivid descriptions and firm promise not only make the restaurant more attractive but also
make the food review more persuasive.
A food recipe is a set of instructions that describes how to make a culinary dish. Its
usually composed of the name of the dish, text and flavor, preparation and cooking time,
required ingredients, cooking directions, and the number of servings. Unlike the food review,
a recipe is written to guide its audience to cook a certain dish, which requires it to be
appealing, concrete, accurate and easy to understand. Cols Fiery Fish Tacos with Crunchy
Corn Salsa is a typical example of this genre.
In order to attract readers to follow it, a recipe first needs to arouse their interest in it.
In Cols recipe, she writes a brief description of the dish below the title using several
descriptive words and makes a promise that Your guests will swim back for seconds

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(Louise). These descriptions show readers how delicious the dish is and motivate them to try
to cook it.
The recipe is instructional, so it needs to be concise and easy for readers to understand
and follow. For the structure of a recipe, each part is separated from each other and is listed in
order, which is clear enough for the audience to follow. For the directions of cooking, each
step is not required to be written in complete sentences. For example, sprinkle with spices to
taste (Col). These features make it easier for readers to understand what they should do in
each step.
The purpose of a recipe is to ensure that readers who follow it could successfully cook
the dish. It needs to be as specific and accurate as possible. In the list of ingredients, Col uses
a subject-specific vocabulary of ingredients and seasonings like jicama, black pepper,
and many measurement symbols with concrete amount of material such as 1/2 cup, 2
teaspoons. While writing about the directions, she indicates the size of bowls or cookware,
the level of heat, and the estimated cooking times with a lot of action verbs. She also includes
some cooking tips based on personal experience in the footnotes. All these elements work
together to make sure that anyone who follows the recipe can cook that dish.
Although food reviews and recipes are both writings related to food, their different
conventions separate them from each other as two genres and help them accomplish their
respective rhetorical purposes towards their intended readers. Knowing what a genre is used
for can help people to accomplish goals (Dirk, 253). We can conclude that its the genre that
determines how the paper turns out and how the author treats their audience.
Work Cited
Carroll, Laura. Backpacks vs. Briefcases: Steps toward Rhetorical Analysis. Writing
Spaces:
Reading on Writing (2010). Print.

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Col, Louise. Feiry Fish Tacos with Crunchy Corn Salsa. n.d. 12 4 2016.
<http://allrecipes.com/recipe/74337/fiery-fish-tacos-with-crunchycorn-salsa/?internalSource=recipe
%20hub&referringId=782&referringContentType=recipe%20hub>.
Rock,

Amanda.

CY

NOODLES

HOUSE.

2016.

12

2016.

<http://www.slugmag.com/foodreviews/cy-noodles-house/>.
Swales, John. The Concept of Discourse Community. Genre Analysis: English in Academic
and Research Settings. Boston: Cambridge UP. 1990. 21-32. Print.