Project 1, Slidedoc 1 (ENGL 309, University of Idaho)

1. WHAT are GENRES
and how are they rhetorical?

2. first things first:
What is a genre?

3. At its most basic, we can think of a genre as
a type. When people talk about genres,
typically they think of different types of
movies, music, and literature.

4. For instance, here are as many genres (types)
of music as I could think of. I’m sure you could
come up with a few (dozen) others.

5. But of course, as we learned by reading
Kerry Dirk’s “Navigating Genres,” the
definition of genre is way more interesting
and complex than just “types,” and genres
extend beyond music, movies, and literature
to all types of communicative action.

6. Here are just a few different types of
(written) genres:
Course syllabus
Letters of recommendation
Cover letters
Memos
Letter of resignation
Letter of termination
Complaint letters
Promotional flyers
Case studies
Proposals (grant proposal,
eg)
White papers
Scientific articles
Essays
News articles
Sports columns
(blogs, stats sheets, score
reports)
Wills
Eulogy
Birth announcements
Lease
Constitutions (e.g. national
or student government)
Press releases
Employee handbook
Student handbook
Dating profiles
Recipes
Food/recipe blogs
Obituaries
Church newsletters
Reviews (of movies, etc)
Mommy blogs
Facebook status
Interviews
Listicles
Buzzfeed-style quizzes
DIY articles
Sex columns
Beauty advice
Advice columns
Email
What others can you come up with?

7. Rhetorical
Characteristics
of Genres

8. • Genres arise from a social need (what is
prompting the need for communicative action?).
• Genres develop and evolve over time, in
response to changing circumstances.
• Genres are rhetorical: they have purposes and
audiences, and they are circulated in distinctive
ways.
• Genres have a style and certain recognizable
features, though individual instances of the genre
can vary considerably.

9. Let’s take a (morbid) example. Death creates
distinct social needs: the community needs to be
made aware that the person has passed; loved
ones, friends, and others who knew the person
need to be able to mourn in culturally appropriate
ways.
Thus, certain genres have developed around
death:
• Death
announcements
• Obituaries
• Eulogies
• Graveside
speeches
• Grave marker
• Others…?

10. Let’s use the genre of obituaries as
an example.
Because of the audience (community members)
and purpose (to announce a death and to
commemorate the person),
obituaries have certain distinctive features and a
distinct style…

11. • They typically appear in
newspapers, which are read by
many members of the
community.
• They provide a photo and
biographical details about the
person (name, birth/death dates,
names of family members, dates
of major life events).
• They sometimes explain how the
person passed.
• They often
summarize/characterize the
person and their life – what they
want the audience to remember
out him/her (e.g., “she was a
mom above all”).
• They include names of surviving
and dead family members.
• They provide information about
memorial services.

12. Identifying the distinct features and style of a genre
will help you begin to parody it. (Remember that
parody involves imitating something very closely,
with either amplification or some kind of twist.