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Preliminary Genre Analysis: WorkshopMonday, July 2nd

+In your groups…

Come up with the 7 criteria for the topic you’ve been given. When you are finished, one member should write your answers on the board.

+Journal

What does Devitt describe as the “conventional conception of genre?” What are the “New Conceptions” of genre? How are they different?

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“Treating genre as form requires dividing form from content, with genre as the form into which content is put” (574).

“Genres develop, then, because they respond appropriately to situations that writers encounter repeatedly. In principle, that is, writers first respond in fitting ways and hence similarly to recurring situations” (576).

+In your groups

Come up with a list of significant quotes from Bawarshi, Devitt, and Reiff and/or Devitt. Post to our Facebook group.

Then finish the sentences:

Genres are….

Genres are not…..

+Now develop your sentences into a paragraph about genres:

Genres are responses to recurring situations. According to Amy Devitt, a genre theorist, genres “develop because they respond appropriately to situations that writers encounter repeatedly. In principle, that is, writers first respond in fitting ways and hence similarly to recurring situations” (576). What Devitt means is that rather than being containers into which content is inserted, genres are general patterns developed by communities that continue to change as the community’s needs develop. Devitt further develops her discussion of genres in the article, “Materiality and Genre in the Study of Discourse Communities,” which she wrote along with Anis Bawarshi and Mary Jo Reiff. In this article, the three researchers give examples of how genres are developed by communities in order to meet specific needs. For example, Anish Bawarshi illustrates the genre of the Patient Medical History Form by explaining that this form “is a good way to understand how doctors function and how they treat us as patients” (550). The structure of this form, which asks patients to list their insurance information and annual income, reveals the value that doctors’ offices often place on earning an income from their services. Devitt, Bawarshi, and Reiff counter the understanding of genres as static formats, arguing that genres are developed by discourse communities to get things accomplished.

+Then, introduce your disciplines

Since, according to various genre theorists, genres reveal useful information regarding the values and goals of discourse communities, I will be using the genres of a community that I plan to enter as a way of analyzing how to communicate with that group. I have chosen to study _______ discipline, because _____. In order to analyze appropriate methods of communication for that group, I will be analyzing three articles from the field, looking specifically at the genre settings, participants, features, subjects, patterns.

+Citing your sources

You should use the citation formats appropriate to your disciplines. Use your articles as examples. In general, the citation formats should follow one of these styles:

 

APA: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/01/

MLA: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/01/

Chicago: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/717/2/

Search for the appropriate type of text to cite, and then follow the guidelines. Most of your sources will be “academic articles accessed through an online database.”

+Peer Review

Look through the different citation formats, and decide which format your discipline follows. Then, find a table with people who are all using that same format. Swap papers with one person at your table.

+Peer Review Structure

First, read through the entire paper, marking anything that you think might need revision. If you are working on a computer, feel free to use track changes. Save the document as “peer review draft”

Circle any area in the document where you think a quote or example would be helpful

Once you have read through your partner’s paper, write a letter to them that discusses: The strengths of the analysis The biggest issue that you can identify Three specific suggestions for improvement Either save the letter on the computer or hand write. Swap with

another person. Work on citations together, if you’d like.

+Tomorrow: Bring your papers for individual conferences

We will not be meeting as a class until Thursday

On Thursday, please come to the library, room 235 A, and bring your laptop. We will be looking for more articles!