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Genre Analysis Activity Assignment (Worth up to 10 pts Participation Grade):
Please make sure you read through this entire document, and TYPE your answers right here on
this sheet. When completed, save it, and send to me in Assignments. I will be grading and
sending it back to your through Assignments—there will be comments from me after doing so.
Step One: The very first step in preparing to write our first essay, the Genre Analysis, is to
choose the subject/topic that you want to focus on. This can be in any area: sports, music,
politics, education, economics, and so on. Your choice should reflect your interests.
Step Two: Choosing Your Genres
Now that you have chosen a subject/topic for your essay, you will need to choose two different
genres that communicate an aspect about your subject
Remember: A genre is a category used to classify discourse usually by form, technique, or
content. A genre influences the format in which information is presented; in fact, the information
is shaped by the genre. Genres have evolved over time because our ways of communication
have also changed. For example:
Oral:
Typography:
Iconography:
Public speaking, podcast,
radio show/program, class
lecture, face-to-face
interviews, songs
Books/textbooks,
magazines, newspapers,
websites, primary source
documents (historical
diaries, essays, telegrams),
laws/policy, transcribed
interviews, written music
lyrics
Webcast, video/music
video/youtube, posters,
cartoons/comics,
photography, instruction
sets (visual), televised
interviews, corporate logo
Which genres have communicated about your subject/topic? Chances are quite a few of the
genres from the lists are applicable. Select from two different columns to ensure your genres
will be different.
Once you have chosen your topic and selected two DIFFERENT genres that illustrate your
topic, you are ready to begin analyzing the two genres you have selected.
Write down the two genres you have chosen (include titles, who or where they come from
(created them/wrote them/ etc.), and what genres they are). Basically you want all the
information you can get—write what you have so far here to keep you focused.
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Subject/Topic/Area of interest you are focusing on: _______________________________
Genre 1:
1. Title of the genre you selected (for example, could be an article title, name of
commercial, name of website, name of you-tube video etc):
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
2. Who created this genre (for example, the author perhaps, the organization that created it,
the person or group who put it on you-tube-, etc.):
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
Genre 2:
1. Title of the genre you selected (for example, could be an article title, name of
commercial, name of website, name of you-tube video etc):
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
2. Who created this genre (for example, the author perhaps, the organization that created it,
the person or group who put it on you-tube-, etc.):
________________________________________________________________________
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________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
Use the following matrix for EACH genre as a way of inputting and organizing the content
of what will be the content of your essay.
*****Important: we are barely beginning our discussion for this essay, so some sections of
the matrix you might not totally understand what is needed yet—don’t worry—and do the
best you can to fill this in. I promise in the next classes it will all make sense. If there is a
question you simply can’t answer, tell me so in the blank—and I can help you when I send
this back to you!
Genre Analysis Matrix for Genre #1:
Intended audience(s) and discourse community (ies) for
the genre you selected.
What does the audience already know about the topic
and genre you have selected? What would they want to
know?
Audience and
purpose questions
Fill in the questions
to the right!
How much time will the audience spend with this
genre?
What was the purpose?
How does this genre establish (or attempt to establish)
its credibility with the audience?
Rhetorical Issues:
What emotions is the genre attempting to evoke from its
audience?
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Ethos, Pathos, Logos
What types of evidence are used to support claims? Is it
valid/reliable? If there is no evidence, what is used to
help support the information presented?
How is the information organized to convey its
message?
Structure
Are there limitations placed on the information because
of the genre? Does it have more freedom to express
what it needs to because of the genre?
How does the structure facilitate its purpose?
How formal/informal is the language?
Style/language
What specialized vocabulary is used?
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What other language features do you notice (text, type,
font, color, visuals etc)?
Genre Analysis Matrix for Genre #2:
Intended audience(s) and discourse community (ies) for
the genre you selected.
What does the audience already know and what do they
want to know?
Audience and
purpose questions
How much time will the audience spend with this
genre?
What was the purpose?
How does this genre establish (or attempt to establish)
its credibility with the audience?
Rhetorical Issues:
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Ethos, Pathos, Logos
What emotions is the genre attempting to evoke from its
audience?
What types of evidence are used to support claims? Is it
valid/reliable? If there is no evidence, what is used to
help support the information presented?
How is the information organized to convey its
message?
Structure
Are there limitations placed on the information because
of the genre? Does it have more freedom to express
what it needs to because of the genre?
How does the structure facilitate its purpose?
How formal/informal is the language?
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Style/language
What specialized vocabulary is used?
What other language features do you notice (text, type,
font, color, visuals etc)?