1. Introduction to Genre Analysis
Rebecca Lorenzo
ENG 101
Spring 2017

2. Encountering Genres
When you encounter a specific writing situation (genre) it is helpful to know what the genre is so you can understand what it is doing and what it is asking you to do.
It is difficult to make meaning/use of a genre if you don’t know its purpose or how to respond to it.
(For Example: Think of the genres of coupons or concert tickets or job applications or tweets or recipes…you get it).

3. Identifying/Analyzing Genres
While SAWAC-ing, you have to analyze the genre you are writing in
In trying to figure out what a genre is, it can be helpful to ask some questions about the genre’s:
Author(s)
Purpose (s)
Audience (s)
Features/Conventions
Take note of the (s)

4. Author(s) Ask, “Who writes in this genre and why?” Further Questions:
What are the characteristics of people who write in this genre? Why are these characteristics important/unique?
What are the intentions and expectations of people who write in this genre? (is it a call to action?)
How do people who write in this genre conduct their research? What does their research look like?
What tools did the author use to create this?

5. Purpose(s)
Ask, “What is this genre doing in the world and/or asking others to do?” and “Why does this genre exist/matter?”
Further Questions:
What are appropriate and inappropriate responses to the genre?
How can the genre be used, modified, shared, repurposed?
Why is this genre important to author(s) and/or audiences(s)? What is it doing for them? Why are they invested in it?
Is there a call to action in this genre?
What genre came before this and why is this genre more effectively achieving its purpose (in other words, why is this genre being used over another)
How do the conventions and features of this genre help it achieve this purpose?

6. Audience(s) Ask, “Who reads or interacts with this genre and why?”
Further Questions:
What are the characteristics of people who read this genre? Why are these characteristics important/unique?
What are people who read this genre expected to know or do before and as a result of their reading? (think about the language or jargon used)
How do readers of the genre know what the genre is and how to appropriately use it?
Is this genre online or in print? How does this impact the audience?
What does the audience come away from this genre with? How does this take away impact how the genre is presented?

7. Features/Conventions
Ask, “What makes this genre different/unique from other genres of writing?”
Further Questions:
What are the structure/layout/design elements of the genre? Are they familiar/standard to the intended/implied audience of the genre? (Often visual, but can also include sound elements and length of text bodies, etc.)
Are headings used? What citation method was used?
What are the genre’s environment(s)? Where is likely to be found/used? Relate this back to the audience and think how one impacts the other and vice versa
How does the genre move from author to audience?
What makes the genre interactive/usable?
What features can be messed with? Which appear rigid? (you may need a larger sample size for this)

8. These categories overlap sometimes, and that’s ok.
Genres are complicated, so overlap is almost expected

9. The categories themselves aren’t important, it’s the genre information you gather from considering them that really matters.
I will never grade you on being able to differentiate what goes in which category

10. Netflix Blurbs Holes Shameless Moana
At a Texas detention camp, delinquents are forced to dig holes every day as a character-building exercise. But what’s the real reason for the digging?
This dramedy based on a Brittish series centers on siblings in a dysfunctional Chicago family who struggle while coping with an alcoholic father
A Polynesian girl destined to be her Island’s chief makes a perilous trip with a boastful demigod to undo his mistake and save her people

11. Mean Girls
Cady joins her new high school’s most powerful clique—but there’s hell to pay when the ex-boyfriend of the clique’s leader wants to be Cady’s guy