Teaching Writing Through Genre Analysis

7/31/2019 Teaching Writing Through Genre Analysis

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TEACHING WRITING THROUGH GENRE ANALYSIS

An Application of Genre-Based Approach in Pre-writing

PGDELT 2001 HUANG XIN

1. INTRODUCTION

Many language teachers in China are aware that teaching writing is more

difficult than teaching other language skills. This is cultural interference due to the

difference in the style of literacy and rhetorical patterns of expression in their native

language and the target language. Consequently, when students write in English, they

do not create the text themselves; they only translate their thoughts word by word

from their native language into English, often with grammatically incorrect results.

However, producing a successful piece of written work obviously involves

competence in a number of connected spheres. There is the knowledge of the topic,

knowledge of the audience, particularly the extent to which the writer relies on the

reader sharing knowledge, and finally there is knowledge of language conventions.

My students are four-year English majors who are expected to start their writing

course in the second year. At this stage, they have acquired a relative range of

command over Basic English grammar and have a satisfactory performance on the

sentence-level. But they still cannot do a good job on the discourse-level. I usually

have two periods (50 min. each) of contact with the students each week. And a usual

school-term lasts 17-18 weeks. Although being exposed to a writing task frustrates

most of them, my students are in urgent need of a good mastery over writing fordifferent purposes. They actually wish to attain a wonderful performance on writing.

In my teaching context, inadequate understanding of how to organize their

written assignments often handicaps students. They are simply unable to master the

structural conventions of the various text types they have to produce. But, part of the


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rhetorical context and part of the content of student writing is determined by who the

audience of the writing is and what the purpose of the writing is. Assignments that

direct students to write for the general public or for anyone who might be interested

tend to be much more difficult to write than assignments in which students have an

idea why they are writing and who will be reading their writing. Are they writing to

entertain someone? Are they writing to inform? To persuade someone? Or simply to

explore their own thoughts? Depending on the answer, the content and structure of the

writing will be quite different.

In response to these questions, Ill try to introduce a genre- based approach into

teaching practice. Although it is new to Chinese teachers and learners, the approach

has been proved an effective method in improving learners writing abilities. This

approach has been influential in ESP teaching of writing and begun to attract attention

in L2 field.

2. A GENRE- BASED APPROACH TO WRITING

Genre-based approach is relative newcomer to ELT. It shares some similarity

with product approach. It emphasizes that writing varies with the social context in

which it is produced. The central aspect is purpose and audience in addition to the

subject matter, the relationships between the writer and the audience, and the pattern

of organization.

In the field of genre research, Australian theories have developed from systemic

functional linguistics, which is concerned with the relationship between language and

it s function in social settings. The forms of language are said to be shaped by key

features of the surrounding social context, defined as field (the activity going on),

tenor (the relationship between participants) and mode (the channel of

communication).


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The Australian systemic functional literature has promoted several instructional

frameworks for implementing genre pedagogy. The most widely recognized model is

derived from the LERN project. This model maps out a teaching- learning cyclein

the figure of a wheel (Cope & Kalantzis, 1993). The teaching-learning cycle outlines

the process of genre instruction in three phases: modelling, joint negotiation of text,

and independent construction of text. In the ELT field, Dudley-Evans (1997) also

identifies three stages in genre approach to writing. First, a model of a particular genre

is introduced and analysed. Learners then carry out exercises, which manipulate

relevant language forms and, finally produce a short text.

It is widely recognized that if students are expected to write in a particular genre,

they first need to become familiar with its purpose and features through immersion in

the genre and the explanation of sample texts. The familiarization and immersion will

lay a solid basis for the students to develop into next stage in the cycle. At the stage of

deconstruction in the cycle, the students will be instructed to do genre analysis so that

they will be familiar with language features and procedural stages of a typical genre.

2.1. What is Genre Analysis

Genre analysis is the study of how language is used within a particular context.

Genres differ in that each has a different goal and they are structured differently to

achieve these goals. The organizational stages of these genres can be individually

characterized. A genre has a particular schematic structure: a distinctive beginning,

middle and end. It is this which constitutes the genre of a text.

The aim of genre analysis is to identify how linguistic features are chosen by

expert users of the genre to realize their communicative purpose and explain these

choices in terms of the social and psychological context. The aim of genre-based

language teaching is to raise learners awareness of both the rhetorical organization

and the linguistic features closely associated with the genre.


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Genre analysis attempts to reveal the similarities between texts written for the

same reason. By analysing how writers conventionally sequence material to achieve

particular purposes, we can begin to describe characteristically schematic types and

show how they are realized linguistically. This information can then be used by

students as models to develop writing skills.

2.2. Benefits of Genre Analysis in Pre-writing

Studies of the role of examples in learning other cognitive skills have shown that

the major benefits of examples accrue to students who invest more time in analysing

them. In genre teaching, active analysis of a model before taking on a specific

writing task may help students construct new textual patterns or enrich the patterns

they know. Student writers are able to infer linguistic and procedural features from

models. And those who actively look for and contemplate such features in the models

they read are more likely to construct reliable new structures.

Second, consulting models actively before the writing process may provide the

students with a database for testing whether a candidate idea should be included. The

students may infer that the practice of the writer who produced the model is typical

and may include or exclude information on the basis of whether or not it shows up in

the model.

Genre analysis can also help students consciously structure their texts and

develop effective control over different writing tasks for different purposes. As

Swales (1987) claimed: genre analysis promoted more effective negotiations and

consultations as well as providing each child with their own individual scaffolding

that can be developed to produce successful texts.

Genre analysis can therefore provide the vocabulary and concepts to explicitly

teach the text structures the students are expected to produce. It places language at the

centre of writing development by allowing shared understanding and explicit

guidance. Actually, control over the conventions of a genre is a prerequisite for


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creativity, and students simply require more information on the features that constitute

good texts in order to improve their own writing skills. It can thus provide a

methodological environment that develops writing skills and encourages creativity. It

can provide opportunities for students to reflect on and discuss how language works in

a given context and how it can most effectively be employed to meet particular goals.

3. APPLICATION IN CLASSROOM TEACHING: A LESSON PLAN

So far we have discussed on the genre based approach to teach writing,

specifically focusing on genre analysis in pre-writing stage. According to the teaching

cycle proposed by Australian School of genre theory, I will apply the theoretical

concept of genre analysis in designing a practical lesson plan. Owing to the time limit,

I will only focus on the deconstruction stage in the Teaching-Learning Cycle, which I

would like to define as pre-writing stage in the process of writing development.

The lesson plan is designed in the light of genre-based approach, which focuses

attention on the purpose and the audience of a writing text. Genre analysis will be the

main task, which is expected to be accomplished by students following different stepsinstructed by the teacher. The reason for this arrangement is that Im sure the students

will be enlightened and exposed to a new way of development in writing skills. The

way is quite different from a conventional one and is supported by an established

theory.

The general plan of a 90-min. class will be described as in the

following: (Appendix 1)

3.1. Stage1: Introduction

This is a preparatory stage before the students are introduced into more specific

analysis of genre. The aim of this stage is to create general impression on the students


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for what they are expected to do in the class. The focus is on the general explanation

of the organization of a genre. The following steps will be included in this stage

Step 1: Teacher general introduction of the topic. This may still be a

traditional opening of a class in China. However, I think it necessary

because an explicit introduction about what the students are going to do in the class

will help to release their pressure and protect them from the shock of encountering

with an unfamiliar topic.

Step 2: Ask students to discuss questions which are intended to make sure how

much they already know about the genre theyre going to study.

Step 3: Observation on model genre text. Students are expected to do a brief

observation of the model text by themselves. (Appendix 2)

Step 4: Presentation of the students on the results of their investigation.

Step 5: Teachers comment and brief summary.

3.2. Stage 2: Familiarization

At this stage, students will be instructed to do a specific reading and detailed

analysis on the features of the target genre. Although linguistic features are also

expected to be observed by the students, the main task will be on the organizational

features of the genre. This will enable the students to be more familiar with the genre

they encountered in the first stage.

Step 1: Individual reading of a model text. Students are asked to read while

preparing for questions proposed by the teacher on organizational features of the

genre. (Appendix 3)

Step 2: Group discussion and evaluation. The students will collaboratively work

together with group members in order to add sufficient information about the genre

into mind.

Step 3: Representative presentation. The student representative of each group is

invited to report their ideas on the observation of the genre.


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Step 4: Evaluation on the proposed ideas of representative student. This will

enable the students to pool into mind as much information about the model genre as

they can.

Step 5: Teachers comment and summary. The teacher shows the students

transparency of a model analysis so that they may deepen their understanding in the

discussion. (Appendix 3, Transparency)

3.3. Stage 3: Reinforcing

The concept of the genre established in the first two stages may be loosely laid.

And it is a fact that the students would easily forget new information unless they can

restructure or reinforce in the mind so as to select and store in the Long Term Memory

(LTM). Thus, this stage will require the students to rethink and reinforce through all

kinds of activities.

Step 1: Reordering activity. The students are expected to do a reordering exercise

delivered by the teacher for the purpose that they can use what they have learned in

the previous stages to do a genre analysis by themselves. Each group should be given

a differently ordered version of a same text. (Appendix 4)

Step 2: Presentation. A selected member of each group is allowed to present their

reasoning on the order of the text.

Step 3: Checking. The teacher will show the original text and ask the students to

check their own results. (Appendix 5)

Step 4: Teachers analysis and explanation on the model text.

4. CONCLUSION

As is claimed at the beginning of this paper, genre-based approach is new to

Chinese teachers and learners of English writing. Whether it is applicable or practical

in Chinese teaching context is still unknown. However, it is the authors belief that the

approach will greatly enlighten pedagogical issues and open a new door to the


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teaching of writing in China. It is worthwhile risking to pioneer in this field by

teaching practice. And more theoretical arguments and empirical studies should be

encouraged in the future.

REFERENCES

1.Badger, R. & G. White. (2000). A P

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Teaching Writing Through Genre Analysis