Genre
SEPTEMBER 2015
Genre is a simple term that is often used to classify writing into segregated categories. All these individual genre categories exist because of their underlying similarities. In the book, Engaged Writers and Dynamic Disciplines, Chris Thaisis and Terry Meyers Zawacki imply that the idea that genre may not be so simple (16). Genre in writing may seem to be classified by the prescriptive rules and expectations within each field, however, these only aid in the development of genre (Thaisis and Zawacki 16). Its not these patterns of genre writing, but the recognizable motives behind them (16). These patterns are creating recurring situations in writing that create a community of discourse which become a genre. The two texts being analyzed confront two different respective genres- “Pushing for Progress” is an academic essay, while “A Solution to Climate Change” is an oral speech. With different objectives in mind, both works use different discourse features to aid in their genre’s discursive expectations.
In the student academic essay, “Pushing for Progress,” the genre’s expectation was to set up a clear argument. The writer shaped this argument through their use of cohesion, creating a dialect throughout the paper in which the reader could follow and align oneself with. Laura Aull, a writing professor at Wake Forest University, states in Decoding College Writing, “Cohesion refers to the way that a text logically fits or sticks together” (67). This idea of cohesion is vital to an academic essay because it aids the writers in connecting not only their main points together, but also their own viewpoints to the evidence they present. Accomplishing cohesion can be done through textual cohesion (e.g., transitions) or through lexical cohesion (e.g., reiteration). In “Pushing for Progress,” the author uses both these tools. For example, they write, “In addition to helping the environment, the carbon tax could also benefit the United States budget and the United States people.” This example illustrates the author using the transition in addition to carry into a following idea, while also reiterating the benefit the environment which was discussed previous, then brings the reader back to the overall main idea of the carbon tax. This approach helps organize the author’s thoughts and the reader’s thoughts throughout the piece. This clear cohesive argument following the strong thesis statement allowed the essay to meet its academic expectations.
In comparison, the oral speech “A Solution to Climate Change” was also effective in fulfilling the discursive expectations of its respective genre. The purpose was similar to the academic essay in presenting an argument, but the writer had to take a more authoritative stance. This was accomplished through the use of boosters to display the writers support of the evidence proposed. In doing so, the writer shows assertive commitment to the argument (Aull 22). This assertiveness is displayed when she articulates her argument stating, “I am advocating change that will increase awareness of climate change and will reduce the global carbon footprint. I am advocating a carbon tax, which will help build awareness…” Her continued use of will followed by an adverb and advocating emphasize the support of the carbon tax, and make it the stance accessible for the listener to understand quickly. In an oral speech genre, it is necessary to entice the listener with enthusiasm and urge them into conformity with the speaker stance. Boosters allowed for the writer to successfully open and close her speech with support and alignment for the carbon tax, making her successful within the genre discourse.
These two works both used different discourse features to effectively fill their genre expectations. The academic essay exposes cohesion being used to form structure around a strong argument, and transition the reader through. The technique followed a more formal and structured discussion. In comparison to this, the oral speech uses a stronger approach, using frequent boosters to align oneself. This allowed for the listener to be boldly invited into the speaker’s argument through their boosting avocation for the carbon tax. Both works were successful in promoting the carbon tax and following the patterns established within their genres. Furthermore, they immersed into their community discourse of underlying shared motives within their genres.
Works Cited
Aull, Laura. Writing 210: Decoding College Writing. Benson Copy Center, Wake Forest
University, 2015.
Thaiss, Chris, and Terry Meyers Zawacki. “Engaged Writers Dynamic Disciplines.” Engaged
writers dynamic disciplines (2006). Print.