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

A Discourse is a sort of 'identity kit' which comes complete
with the appropriate costume and instructions on how to
act, talk, and often write, so as to take on a particular social
role that others will recognize. Imagine what an identity kit
to play the role of Sherlock Holmes would involve: certain
clothes, certain ways of using language (oral language and
print), certain attitudes and beliefs, allegiance to a certain
lifestyle, and certain ways of interacting with others. (Gee
142)
Gee, James Paul. Social Linguistics and Literacies: Ideology in Discourses, Critical
Perspectives on Literacy and Education. New York: Routledge, 1990. Print.

Academic (writing in and for school settings)
o Arts – e.g., criticism
o Sciences – e.g., IMRaD reports, lab reports
o Humanities – e.g., essays

Professional (writing in and for careers)
o Business – e.g., memos, grants
o Technical – e.g., instructions, specifications
o Legal – e.g., legal briefs, IRAC analyses, amicus curiae

Public (writing in and for the public or government)
o Journalistic – e.g., features, editorials, reporting for newspapers,
magazines
o Civic / Political – e.g., policy briefs, resolutions, bills

Popular
o Fiction – e.g., novels, stories
o Creative non-fiction – e.g., memoirs, personal essays
In this simple Venn
diagram, note that these
general types of writing
have very little in
common with each other.
Basic grammatical rules
probably sit at the very
middle, but beyond that,
functional words, style,
evidence, citation format,
logos, pathos, ethos,
media, and genre differ
(in some cases greatly).
Academic
Public
Professional
Popular
One of the course goals for WRIT 1122:
 Demonstrate the ability to incorporate and attribute or document
source material in rhetorically effective ways.
o Academic writing – formal, in-text citation following a predetermined
style with accompanying Works Cited/References page
• In the sciences: APA, CSE, NLM
• In the humanities: MLA, Chicago/Turbian
o Public writing – in-text contextual signal phrases (e.g., “A study from
Michael Jones published in 2005 in the journal Cell Biology”) with no
Works Cited/References page
o Professional writing – business, genre or location specific style, some
not published outside of the business, but sometimes based on
academic styles such as IEEE or Chicago. Many companies have their
own style that you will be expected to learn if you work there.
o Popular writing – popular writing, even creative non-fiction, cites very
little, and if it does, it is closer to public writing (in-text context signal
phrases).


Activity, Genre, Context, Rhetoric, and Argument

Activities are some action that you are taking. They can produce
objects, symbols, motivations, data, rules, and social structures.
E.g.,
o Biology experiment
o Diary
o Computer coding

Activity systems are the interconnected social and artifact layers
most common to an activity.
o Biology experiment is most often conducted in a lab and reported on to
other biologists
o Diary is most often written by somebody as a means to remember or
reflect on some moment from the past.
o Computer coding is most often used to determine procedures for
completing an action on that computer.

Genre – commonly practiced and accepted form or model of
communicating; each form is distinct from other forms.
o Genres are socially constructed; that is to say, they are dynamic (they
have and will change) AND they are determined by a community of
practice.
o Genres are ways and means of action that structure other actions and
objects/motives as they are used—they are parts of an activity system
that shape perceptions and expectations.
We match our activity to a genre. Sometimes the activity
determines the genre; for example, a biology experiment in a
biology lab course results in a biology lab report. However,
sometimes the rhetorical situation determines the genre; for
example, if we conduct a biology experiment we might write about it
as an IMRaD report (academic), or grant proposal (professional), or
newspaper article (public), or a children’s book (popular).

Context – the “situation” or absolute constraints of a
communication situation.
o Which genres are used in the most contexts?
o Which genres are used in the least contexts?
o Do certain genre features transfer (e.g. such as, applying the
concept of thesis or citation style) to various genres?

Activity Systems require that we constantly evaluate the
genres we have available to us and the rhetorical features
and argumentative strategies we use.
Activity System for a cell biology
course in college
(Russell, 1997).
Genre system of cell biology
course in college
(Russell, 1997).
Commodification –
translated and
transformed so that those
outside the system can
understand. `
Qualification – words that
address warrants and
assumptions.
“Facts” – Argument is
presented; argument is
hidden.




Context determine the limits (constraints) of an acceptable
argument (premise, claim and evidence) about an activity.
Genres provide a framework of how to “read” and “write” the
activity.
The intersection of activity, context, and genre determine the
most common rhetorical features (including logos, ethos, pathos,
kairos) available to us.
The means of delivering that communication are further
determined by the media and modes expected of that
intersection between context, activity, and genre.
Given these layers, think about the question I asked at the
beginning of the term.
What is good writing?


Hopefully, it is clear that academic writing cannot be
expressed in a simple sentence. One of the motivations for
our approach to WRIT 1122 and 1133 at DU is that
understanding that evidence and argument change for
different contexts, and that understanding the rhetorical
situation and available means and media of persuasion are
more important than just learning how to write a memo, grant,
or SWOT (all of which will look different four years from now
and also further depend on who or what you are writing them
for).
Of course, others have still tried to define “general” principles
of academic writing…
Features of academic writing
 Complexity
 Formality
 Precision
 Objectivity
 Explicitness
 Accuracy
 Hedging
 Responsibility
http://www.uefap.com/writing/feature/featfram.htm
Six Features of Academic Writing: A Guide For Students
 Provide context
 Thesis
 Navigation
 Evidence
 Counter-argument
 Conclusion
http://myweb.uiowa.edu/egand/Six%20features.pdf
Characteristics of Academic Writing
 Clear
 Specific
 Supported
 Focused
https://www.rmit.edu.vn/sites/default/files/file_basic_page/characteristics_of_academic_writing_new.pdf
These three “features of academic writing” resources show
difference and contradiction because they each have unstated
assumptions about the rhetorical situation. There are many
types of writing that defy these lists:
 Research-based writing should be question driven and not
thesis driven
 Sometimes your goal should be to simplify complex topics
rather than make them more complex (complexity for
complexity’s sake is bad writing)
 Clarity and precision depend entirely on the audience and
their expectations. There is no “universal” academic
audience.