What are Genres and how are they Rhetorical slidedoc file for Eng 309 Project 1.

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 syllabi
• Letters of
recommendation
• Cover letters
• Reviews (of movies,
etc)
• Buzzfeed-style
quizzes
• Dating profiles
• Memos
• Wills
• Letters of resignation
What others can you come up with? Add them
to the ENGL 309 Brainstorming Google Doc!

7. Rhetorical
Characteristics
of Genres

8. 1. Genres arise from a social need (what is
prompting the need for communicative action?).
2. Genres are rhetorical: they have purposes and
audiences, and they are circulated in distinctive
ways.
3. Genres develop and evolve over time, in
response to changing circumstances.
4. Genres have a style and distinctive 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, and the dead person’s property must be
redistributed.
Thus, certain genres have developed around the
social needs created by death:
• Death announcements
• Obituaries
• Eulogies
• Graveside markers
• Wills

10. Let’s think about the rhetorical
characteristics of one death-related
genre, obituaries.
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 understand how you might parody it.
(Remember that parody involves imitating something very
closely, with either amplification or some kind of twist.)