Genres October 7, Lesson #4

Writing Tip of the Day – Complete Sentences Which sentence is a complete sentence, and which one is a fragment? Tina Fey has been involved with many TV productions. Such as SNL and 30 Rock.

A sentence must contain the following to count as a complete sentence: 1.A subject 2.A verb 3.An object, like a prepositional phrase (in most cases) Example: “Jerry works for Amazon.” Subject – Jerry Verb – works Object phrase – for Amazon

You can revise a sentence fragment by combining it with a nearby sentence or rewriting it so that it’s a complete sentence. Tina Fey has been involved with many TV productions, such as SNL and 30 Rock. OR Tina Fey has been involved with many TV productions. Some of them include SNL and 30 Rock.

Freewriting Contest List all the different things you’ve read in your life. Not specific books but genres (ex: receipts, restaurant menus, street signs, etc.) Any category that contains words on it. Whoever can list the most in 3 minutes gets a prize.

Amy Tan’s “Mother Tongue” – What is the author’s main point? – What does she argue about writing/language? – How effective was she in making these points? – Who was her audience? – What rhetorical appeals did she use (logos, pathos, ethos)?

“Mother Tongue” (continued) – What is the genre of her essay? How would you classify it? – How does this classification affect her writing (style, presentation, tone, etc.)?

What is genre? Genre is a patterned rhetorical action that is situated within a particular discourse community (audience). Not necessarily a classification; involves responding to recurring situations (ex: the need to apply for jobs led to the emergence of resumes). A genre’s features then become the expected ways of responding to the needs of a particular situation (ex: including your previous job experiences in a resume).

Therefore, a genre determines how you write within that same genre. Think back to yesterday’s class. What are some of the genre conventions of an opinion editorial?

Developing Genre Awareness Know the expectations of your writing situation Understand the purpose of your writing Make the effective rhetorical choices Evaluate the impact and appropriateness of those choices

With that in mind.... In groups, write a brief film scene within your assigned genre for the following premise: A man says, “I love you” to a woman. Genre #1 – Horror movie Genre #2 – Comedy Genre #3 – Disaster movie Genre #4 – Action thriller Genre #5 – Sci-fi or fantasy epic

Assignment Priorities 1.Assignment requirements (understanding the assignment’s genre and rhetorical situation) 2.Main idea or thesis (argument is well thought out, scope is right size for your paper, ideas are worth writing about) 3.Global organization (all ideas are connected and tie back to the main idea, clear introduction, and reemphasis of argument’s significance in the conclusion) 4.Paragraph organization (each paragraph has one exclusive main idea, clear transitions from sentence to sentence) 5.Supporting evidence (sufficient evidence to support each point, uses correct citation format for the given discipline) 6.Style and Correctness (proper tone, clear and effective sentences, correct use of grammar/punctuation/spelling)

Tips for Narrowing Your Topic Break the topic up into components, focus on only one of those components (marijuana use among teenagers rather than marijuana use as a whole) Limit your area of focus as much as possible (analyzing an economic downturn of a certain city rather than the entire country) Focus on very specific types or categories (student athletes at UW rather than students athletes in general) Choose a certain lens to view the issue with (fast food trends on the Ave rather than all of Seattle) Shorten the time span as much as possible (past two years rather than past hundred years) Write about a topic you have personally been involved with (student activist causes rather than distant causes)

General Guidelines for Introductions 1.Capture your readers’ attention (“the hook”) through an engaging personal story or interesting fact 2.Set the right tone (casual or professional) 3.Consider what your audience is interested in and what they already know 4.Establish the context of your piece (what issue you are addressing and its background) 5.Use it as a lead-up to the body of your paper and your main idea or argument

Homework for Tomorrow 1.Read pg. 55–63, 64 2.From pg. 63–91, pick one section that discusses writing for a certain field or academic discipline that you’re interested in. Then, on the Canvas Discussion board, reply to the post there. 3.Start writing the first draft of your op-ed (have at least two pages ready for peer reviews on Thursday). Op-ed can be 3 pages, but must be a minimum of two full pages.