Engl 316Technical Communication

Genre

It could be said that understanding is based upon common knowledge. This is especially true when applied to writing. For example, if readers know a text is a "fairy tale," they expect that there will be a hero who defeats forces of evil to save a heroine, after which they live happily ever after. The story must match this format in order for an audience to label it a "fairy tale." We expect certain types of writing to have specific forms.

In our society, these formalized expectations are called genres, a text that must play to a specific set of audience expectations. By definition, "genre" means simply "kind" or "type;" the kind or type of situation that a specific set of actions belongs to. You can tell which genre a text belongs to by looking at its features, conventions, and patterns. These help you see the difference between a set of instructions and a product description, a speech and a recipe, even a magazine article and a journal article. Knowing which genre a text belongs to, and the conventions of that genre, helps you to read and understand the text appropriately.

For example, suppose a group of researchers at John's Hopkins University have just finished a successful trial of a new drug therapy. How would the scientific report published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) be different from a newspaper article announcing the findings? Even though the content could be essentially the same, the JAMA article would be highly technical and addressed to other research professionals in the field. The format would be similar to other articles in the journal and the discussion would be difficult for the average American to understand. These characteristics typify peer-reviewed scientific articles. By contrast, the newspaper article would be short and concise. The writer would list the details of the researchers' findings and explain their ramifications. The language of the article would be simple, most likely an eighth grade reading level. As a reader, you would expect a scientific report and a newspaper article to follow these parameters.

As a technical communicator, you must understand the genre expectations of the documents you create. For example, if your supervisor asks you for a progress report memo, you must present the format, tone, organization, and content such a document requires. Consider the genre differences and similarities between an email and a business letter. What would be the ramifications of confusing the two? Many times, inefficiencies in technical documents can begin with a poor understanding of genre. Take the time to fully research the genre expectations of each document you create.