INSTRUCTIONAL GENRE (School Genres)
INSTRUCTIONAL GENRE (School Genres) Dr. Rudi Hartono, S.S., M.Pd. ENGLISH DEPARTMENT FACULTY OF LANGUAGES AND ARTS SEMARANG STATE UNIVERSITY
Dr. Rudi Hartono, S.S., M.Pd.
Tasikmalaya, September 7, 1969
S-1 (English Linguistics-UNPAD Bandung)
S-2 (English Education-UPI Bandung)
S-3 (Translation Studies of UNS Surakarta)
Mobile Phone: 082137054727
E-mail: [email protected]
What is meant by the term ‘genre’?
Genre is a style, especially in the arts, that involves a particular set of characteristics. (CALD, 2008)
Genres are goal-oriented social
processes that have evolved over
time in our culture to enable us to
achieve our purposes.
Genre-Based Writing
Genres of Writing
Functions of Text
Schematic Structures of Text
Linguistic Features of Text
Genres of Writing
Spoofs
Anecdotes
Recounts
Narratives
Reports
Descriptive
Procedures
Explanations
News Items
Analytical Expositions
Hortatory Expositions
Discussions
Functions of Texts Texts
Functions To retell a humorous twist Spoofs
To retell events for the purpose of Recounts informing or entertaining To classify and describe the
Reports phenomena of our world.
Analytical To persuade the reader or listener
that something is in the caseExpositions To inform readers, listeners or viewers about events of the day
News Items which are considered newsworthy or important
Functions of Texts Texts
Functions To share with others an account of an Anecdotes unusual or amusing incident To amuse, entertain and to deal with actual experience in different ways, I.e. to
Narratives gain and hold the reader’s interest in a story. To describe how something is accomplished through a sequence of
Procedures actions or steps To describe a particular person, place or
Descriptions thing To persuade the reader or listener that
Hortatory something should or should not be the
Expositions
Functions of Texts Texts
Functions To explain the processes involved in the formation or workings of Explanations natural or socio-cultural phenomena To present (at least) two points of
Discussions
view about an issue
To critique an art work or event forReviews a public audience To explain the processes involved in the formation (evolution) of a
Commentary socio-cultural phenomenon, as
Schematic Structures of
Recounts Orientation
Event 1
Event 2
Event 3
Re-orientation
Linguistic Features of a
Recount Text Focus on specific participant Use of material processes
Circumstances of time and place
Use of past tense
Focus on temporal sequences
Schematic Structures of Reports
General Classification: tells what
the phenomenon under discussion is. Description: tells what the phenomenon under discussion is like in terms of parts (and their functions), qualities, habits or behaviors, if living; uses, if non-
Linguistic Features of a
Report Text Focus on Generic Participants
Use Relational Processes
Use of simple present tense
No temporal
Schematic Structures of Narratives
Orientation
- Evaluation
- Complication
- Resolution >Re-orientation
Linguistic Features of a
Narrative Text Focus on specific and usually individualized participants
Use of material processes
Use of relational processes
Use of temporal conjunction
Use of past tense
Schematic Structures of Procedures
1) Goal 2) Materials 3) Step 1 4) Step 2 5) Step 3 6) Step 4
Linguistic Features of an Procedure Text
Focus on generalized human agents
Use of simple present tense, often imperative
Use mainly of temporal conjunction (or numbering to indicate sequence
Use mainly of material processes
Schematic Structures of
Descriptions Identification: Identifies phenomenon to be described
Description: describes parts, qualities,
Linguistic Features of a
Description Text Focus on specific participants
Use of attributive and identifying processes
Frequent use of epithets and classifiers in nominal groups
Use of simple present tense
Schematic Structures of News Item
Newsworthy Event(s): recounts the event in summary form Background Events: elaborate what happened, to whom, in what circumstances Sources: comments by participants in, witnesses to and
Linguistic Features of a News Item
Short, telegraphic information about story captured in headline
Use of Material processes to retell the event
Use of projecting verbal processes in sources stage
Focus on circumstances
Schematic Structures of Anecdote
1) Abstract: signals the retelling of an usual incident
2) Orientation: sets the scene 3) Crisis: provides details of the unusual incident
4) Reaction: reaction to crisis 5) Coda: Optional—reflection on or evaluation of the incident
Linguistic Features of an Anecdote
Use of exclamations, rhetorical questions and intensifiers (really, very, quite, etc.) to point up the significance of the events
Use of materials processes to tell what happened
Use temporal conjunctions
Schematic Structures of
Analytical Exposition Thesis Position: introduces topic and indicates writer’s position Preview: outlines the main ArgumentsPoint: restates main argument outlined in preview Elaboration: develops and supports each point/argument Reiteration: restates
Linguistic Features of a Analytical Exposition
Focus on generic human and non- human participants
Use of simple present tense
Use of relational processes
Use of internal conjunction to stage argument
Reasoning through causal conjunction or nominalization
Schematic Structures of
Hortatory Exposition
Thesis: announcement of issue of concern
Arguments: reasons for concern, leading to recommendation
Recommendation: statement of what ought or ought not to happen
Linguistic Features of a Hortatory Exposition
Focus on generic human and non- human
participants Use of simple present tense
Use of mental processes: to state what writer
thinks or feels about issue e.g. realize, feel,
appreciate. Use of material processes: to state what happens e.g. drive, travel, spend, etc.
Use of relational processes: to state what is
Schematic Structures of
Explanation A general statement to position the reader
A sequenced explanation of why or how something occurs
Linguistic Features of a Explanation Text
Focus on generic, non-human participants
Use mainly of material and relational processes
Use mainly of temporal and causal circumstances and conjunctions
Use of simple present tense
Some use of passive voice to get theme right
Schematic Structures of
Discussion Issue: - Statement - Preview
Arguments for and against or statements of differing points of view: - Point - Elaboration
Conclusion or recommendations
Linguistic Features of a Discussion
Focus on generic human and generic non- human participants
Use of mental processes: to state what writer thinks or feels about issue e.g. realize, feel, appreciate, etc.
Use of material processes: to state what happens e.g. has produced, have developed, to feed, etc.
Use of relational processes: to state what is or should be e.g. is, could have, cause,
Schematic Structures of
Reviews 1) Orientation 2) Interpretative recount3) Evaluation 4) Evaluative summation
Linguistic Features of an Review Text
Focus on particular participants (on movies, TV shows, plays, operas, recordings, exhibitions, concerts and ballets
Direct expression of opinions through use of attitudinal lexis
Use of elaborating and extending clause and group complexes to package information
Use metaphorical language
Academic Genres
Academic genres or university genres
are types of academic writing products introduced to university students to learn and to practice for their academic purposes, such as different types of texts: textbooks, reference books, scholarly and popular articles and essays, as well as conference papers,Some academic genres
Textbook. The aim of a textbook is to communicate established knowledge.
Scholarly article. The purpose of a
scholarly article is to present new knowledge or to provide new perspectives on an academic or
- continued
Thesis . A thesis is a major piece of scholarly work.
Popular (non-scholarly) work . Popular texts, in the form of either books or articles, aim to communicate established knowledge to the “general reader”.
Encyclopedia article . The purpose of an
encyclopedia article is to present established knowledge neutrally, conciselyWhat genres do:
texts in different genres do: communicate, explain, present, argue, inform, describe, narrate etc.
four “modes of discourse”: Exposition, Description, Narration, Argumentation
( EDNA); explain, describe, narrate,
argue (debate, discuss)Other terms of text types
In some cases, the term genre coincides with the term text type.
However, the former could be seen as a kind of umbrella term for a
communicative event, for which one or
several more specific text types can be employed as the preferred vehicle of communication.- continued
Research Articles (RAs)
Textbooks
Abstracts
Reviews (review articles and book reviews)
Undergraduate text types
PhD Theses
Popular science writing
Posters
Grant proposals
The essay format
Research Articles (RAs)
Swales (1990) introduces the
genre called research article orresearch paper. The research
article is a written text reportingon an investigation made by a
researcher.Textbooks
"Textbooks [...] disseminate
discipline-based knowledge and, at
the same time, display a somewhat
unequal writer-reader relationship,with the writer as the specialist and
the reader as the non-initiated apprentice in the discipline, or the writer as the transmitter and the reader as the recipient of established knowledge." (Bhatia, 2004: 33)Abstracts
Many research publications require
an abstract, which is a brief synopsisof the text outlining its major points.
As Samuel Johnson (1755) defined the term, an abstract is "a smaller quantity containing the virtue or power of a greater" (quoted in Oxford English Dictionary).
Reviews (book reviews)
A book review is a research genre where scholars evaluate other scholars' published work. As such, it is an editorially commissioned, public evaluation, which is
commonly published in journals in
most disciplines (Hyland 2009).Reviews (review articles)
The review article can be seen as a
special case of the research article.
Its purpose can vary and its format is
generally less rigid than the proper
research article. Furthermore, it is not uncommon to find alternativegenre names used, such as review,
review essay, report article, survey
article and state-of-the-art survey.Undergraduate text types
specific text types for different
kinds of assignments commonly employed in a university setting, such as 1. Research Articles (RA) 2. The essay format 3. ReviewsPhD Thesis/PhD dissertation
It has a special function in the academic
community. This written piece of text, typically amounting to 150-300 pages (Swales 2004, p. 102), functions as a kind of scholarly qualifying piece of work, through which the author is admitted into the society of academics seen as sharing some sort of common ground in terms of expert knowledge, skills, critical thinking, rigor, and scientific values.Popular science writing
As an academic, there will be times when
you need to explain your subject matter to a non-specialist audience. If you are working in industry, you may have to keep the company board and the investors informed about your research results.
Working in the public sector means that
you are likely to communicate to the general public. And, as a scientist, you aresometimes expected to write about your
research in the lay press.Posters
One kind of academic writing
that involves far more visual
consideration than traditionalarticles is the poster display.
Along with the orally deliveredconference paper, the poster
display is a common way of presenting research results atGrant proposals Grant proposals, i.e. texts written by researchers requesting funding for research projects, can be seen as a genre of its own.
The prototypical parts of a grant proposal (Swales, 1990: 186):
1. Front Matterb) Abstract c) Table of contents 2. Introduction 3. Background (typically a literature survey) 4. Description of proposed research (including methods, approaches, and evaluation instruments)
a) Description of relevant institutional resources b) References
c) Personnel
The essay format
The term 'essay' is used in a wide sense and can
refer to anything from a brief paper to a long degree essay.The structure of an essay usually consists of three elements: Introduction – Body – Conclusion.
In the Introduction , the reader is introduced to the
topic that will be discussed and to the argument that will be presented.
After the Introduction comes the main part of the
text, the Body , where the discussion is carried out
and the results are presented. In the last part of the essay, the Conclusion , the argument will be summed up and conclusions will be drawn fromWassalamu'alaikum Thank you