This document discusses genres and how they can be defined and analyzed. It provides several definitions of genre and notes that genres have common features, purposes, and inspire certain types of actions. Genres also have conventions for form, presentation and content. The document discusses how genres can be difficult to define rigidly, interact and influence each other, relate to the media in which they are presented, change over time, and are intertwined with social and cultural needs. It provides insights into analyzing genres and understanding how texts work and inspire actions.

1. Kingfisher School of Business and Finance

2.  “The word genre comes from the French (and originally
Latin) word for 'kind' or 'class'. The term is widely used in
rhetoric, literary theory, media theory, and more recently
linguistics, to refer to a distinctive type of 'text'*.”
(Chandler)
 “Conventional definitions of genres tend to be based on
the notion that they constitute particular conventions of
content (such as themes or settings) and/or form
(including structure and style) which are shared by the
texts which are regarded as belonging to them.”
(Chandler)

3.  Genres are groups of texts that have specific features,
specific purposes, and inspire (or create) certain types of
action.
 Genres often have particular sets of “rules” or
expectations for form, presentation, or content attached
to them.
 It’s difficult to define genre exactly or to be able to rigidly
assign texts as “belonging” to a particular genre,
although plenty of people have tried.

4.  Genres can be seen as systems; different
genres interact with and influence each other.
 Sometimes one genre incorporates another, or
multiple genres can be seen at work in one text.

5.  Genres relate to the media in which they are
presented.
 “The interaction between genres and media can
be seen as one of the forces which contributes
to changing genres. Some genres are more
powerful than others: they differ in the status
which is attributed to them by those who
produce texts within them and by their
audiences.” (Chandler)

6.  One way that we understand genres is by looking
at different texts within a genre and comparing
and contrasting their features.

7.  “Every genre positions those who participate in a text of
that kind: as interviewer or interviewee, as listener or
storyteller, as a reader or a writer, as a person interested
in political matters, as someone to be instructed or as
someone who instructs; each of these positionings
implies different possibilities for response and for action.
Each written text provides a 'reading position' for
readers, a position constructed by the writer for the 'ideal
reader' of the text.” (Kress 107)

8.  Genres change over time; they are dynamic,
adapting to different groups, media, and
purposes.
 Genres can be re-purposed as the needs of
people and groups change, or as society
changes the way in which it uses information
technologies.

9.  Genres come from and inspire social action and
are intertwined with the needs and values of
cultures and social groups.
 Classifying genres can be difficult, but generic
analysis can be useful in helping us understand
how texts work and what kinds of actions they
inspire.

10. Carolyn Miller’s 1984 essay on "genre as social
action” identifies five specific features of genre
common to writing. Genre is:
1.comprised of categories of discourse resulting from
social action;
2.rule-governed to some degree;
3.distinguishable from form;
4.constitutive of culture;
5.a mediating force between the individual and society.
(36-37)

11.  Purpose
 Content/subject matter
 Textual features and conventions
 Format and design conventions
 Medium
 Audience (real and constructed) and their expectations
 Cultural and social background

12.  Identifying textual features
 Understanding audience needs and expectations
 Understanding conventions for design and content
 Knowing appropriate style and tone
 Having a pre-made structure
 Expecting actions and change
 Analyzing and understanding how to make writing
effective

13.  We can classify texts as belong to a genre in
different ways:
◦ By subject matter (management books, self-help books)
◦ By type of text (letters, memos, speeches)
◦ By medium (written, oral, mixed communication)

14.  Business communication texts normally classify
genres:
◦ First by medium
◦ Second by type of text
◦ Finally by subject matter.

15.  Three types of media:
◦ Written (conveyed in writing)
◦ Oral (spoken)
◦ Mixed (contains features of both oral and written
communication)

16.  Letters
 Email
 Memos
 Reports
◦ White Papers
◦ Feasibility Studies
◦ Informational
◦ Persuasive
 Promotional Materials
◦ Brochures
◦ Advertising copy
 Web sites
 Documentation
 PowerPoint presentations
 Applications
 Employment documents

17.  Phone calls
 Meetings
 Speeches
 Conversations
 Presentations
 Audio/video recordings

18.  Instant Messages
 Web sites that contain audio and video
 PowerPoint presentations that contain media clips
 Performance evaluations (written plus a meeting)

19.  Locate sample texts
 Analyze purpose and audience
 Note similar features (content, presentation,
design)
 Ask questions of the writers
 Look for sources of advice about this genre
(style manuals, advice books)
 Use documents as models