lecture (8) genre analysis - · pdf filethese purposes are recognized by the expert members of...

Pragmatics and Discourse Analysis

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Lecture (8)

Genre Analysis

Genre

• Genre means “ kind “ or “ form” and it refers to major

types of literature: poetry, drama & epic.

• In the field of Applied Linguistics, genre refers to

different communicative events which are associated

with particular setting and which have recognized

structures and communicative functions.

A genre comprises a class of communicative events, the

members of which share some set of communicative purposes.

（Swales，1990）

Examples of communicative events:

e.g. Wedding ceremony?

Concert?

Sales encounter?

Class lecture?

Academic conference?

Genre

These purposes are recognized by the expert members of

the parent discourse community, and thereby constitute the

rationale for the genre.

Question to consider:

1. What are the purposes of Wedding ceremony?

2. What is the rationale of wedding ceremony?

3. Are Western ceremony similar as that of

Arabic ones in terms of rationale?

Genre

This rationale shapes the schematic structure of the

discourse and influences and constrains the choice of content

and style.

LOVE IS A JOURNEY

In addition to purpose, exemplars of a genre exhibit

various patterns of similarity in terms of structure, style,

content and intended audience. If all high probability

expectations are realized, the exemplar will be viewed as

prototypical by the parent discourse community. (Swales,

1990: 58)

Genre

Register and Genre

Genres Register

Genres are specific communicative event. Communicative purposes is the distinctive feature of genres. / eg. lectures

Register is a type of language.

associated

with a particular field of

activity or profession.

This lg. may be used for

various purposes. /eg.

Instruction manuals

Register and Genre

Genre Analysis

An approach that attempts to explain regularities in texts

in terms of shared communicative purposes within

discourse communities.

Investigates the discourse which share some common

communicative purposes.

Aims not only to describe the discourse features but also

to explain the features in the light of communicative

purposes and the institutional culture.

Genre is SOCIAL ACTION

Getting into Graduate School

Statements of Purpose

Personal Statements

Finding Your Voice in the Academic Community

Communicating with Seniors

Communicating with Co-authors

Requests and Reminders

Writing Apologies

Establishing Yourself in Graduate School

Small Grant Applications

Other Applications

Letters of Recommendation

Supporting the Publication Process

Manuscript Submissions

Responding to Reviewers and Editors

Moving on to an Academic or Research Career

Curricula Vitae

External Job Applications

Statements of Teaching Philosophy

Example Academic Supporting Genres (Swales, 2011)

Characteristic Features Of Genre

1. Staging

2. Communities of practice

3. Conventionalised lexicogrammatical features

4. Recurrent nature of genres

5. Genre as a flexible concept

6. Genre relations

7. Intercultural nature of genres


Staging

Genre are staged.

By staged, we mean that a genre has a specific

sequential structure.


Communities of practice

Genres belong to particular communities of users.


Conventionalised lexicogrammatical

features

Some genres are quite formulaic (like marriage vows).

For example by the use of parallel grammatical structure

and the use of material process verbs.


Recurrent nature of genres

Genre knowledge develop through repeated exposure

and practice.

Knowledge acquired through repeated exposure is stored

in the form of shemata.


Genre as a flexible concept

A “flexible”, rather than a “static” view is required :

Swales (2004) metaphor

Palrtidge (2006) prototype


Genre relations

These notions can be classified under the umbrella of

genre relations

1. Genre set

2. Genre system

3. Genre chain

4. Disciplinary genre

Types of genre relations

Genre set

Genre system

Genre chain

Disciplinary

genre

A range of genres which a professional group

uses in the course of their daily routine.

(Devitt, 1991)

A full set of genres (spoken or written) which

are involved in a complete interaction.

(Bazerman, 1994)

A chronologically related sequences of genres

in a given interaction. (Raisanen, 2002)

All those genres associated with a profession

or discipline. (Bhatia, 2004)


Intertextuality

How there are references in one text to other texts.

Intertextuality has various forms:

A) From Fairclough viewpoint (1992)

B) From Devitt viewpoint (1991)

Various forms of

intertextuality

Fairclough (1992)

1) Manifest intertextuality

(quotation, citation, paraphrase)

2) Constitutive intertextuality

(generic features which do not

leave an obvious trace from the

source)

Various forms of intertextuality

Devitt (1991)

Referential Functional Generic

When one text

refers directly to

another one.

When a text is part of a

larger system of texts,

dealing with a particular

issue.

When a text draws

on similar texts

created in a similar

situation.


Intercultural nature of genres

Genres are likely to be subject to intercultural variation.

Various writers prefer to see the differences among

cultures in terms of “ the differences or preferences in

the pragmatic and strategic choices that writers make in

response to external demands and cultural histories.

A number of differences were noted both at the level of

assessment by members of the two communities of

practice & at the level of rhetorical structure.

Approaches to Genre Pedagogy

The ESP School

The Sydney School

The New Rhetoric School (Rhetorical Genre Studies)

Started by:

Swales (1990)

Bhatia (1993) Investigating academic genres (primarily research articles)

More interested in business and legal genre.

Communicative purposes are expressed in stages or

sequenced manner, a text being built up systematically

through a series of what are called moves and steps.

Swales’s CARS (Create a Research Space ) Model

Move Establishing a territory

Move Establishing a niche

Move Occupying the niche

Step 1 Step 1 Step 1

Step 2 or or

Step 3 or Step 2

Claiming centrality

Making topic generalization

Reviewing items of previous research

Counterclaiming

Indicating a gap

Question Raising

or

Counting a tradition

Outlining Purposes

Announcing present research

Announcing principal findings

Indicating research article structure

Step 3

Another example of schematic structure: Bhatia (1993) suggests the

following model of seven typical moves for the genre of sales

letters:

1- Establishing credentials. offering the product/ service

2- Introducing the offer. essential detailing of the offer

3- Offering incentives. Indicating value of the offer

4- referring to enclosed documents.

5- inviting further communication.

6- using pressure tactics.

7- ending politely.

Bhatia (2004) contrasts what he refers to as the relatively

simplicity as the “ideal world” with the greater

complexity of the “real world”.

The “real world” incorporates three main insights:

1- The genres occur in relation to other genres & shouldn’t

be considered in isolation,

2- The genres are dynamic & have propensity to develop.

3- There are disciplinary differences in genres .

The seven stages Bhatia (1993)

recommends for Genre Analysis

• 1- Placing the given genre-text in a situational context.

• 2- Surveying the existing literature.

• 3- Refining the situational / contextual analysis.

• 4- Selecting a corpus.

• 5- Selecting the institutional context.

• 6- Levels of linguistic analysis.

• 7- Consulting with specialist informants.

Application to Pedagogy

• Application of ESP genre theory has focused on tertiary-

level context, helping students to prepare for both

undergraduate and postgraduate study.

• One of the most applications of the results of ESP genre

has been Swales CARS model & adaptations to various

contexts. Swales already suggested “consciousness

raising” rather than “over teaching”.


• Through these six main resources and strategies, writers

move toward expert genre knowledge (Tardy, 2009)

1) Prior experience & repeated practice.

2) Textual interactions.

3) Oral interactions.

4) Mentoring & disciplinary participation.

5) Shifting roles within a genre network.

6) Resource availability.

This approach to genre was developed

among followers of the SFL by Halliday,

under the leadership of Martin.

Martin defines genre as a staged goal-

oriented, purposeful activity.

Sydney School, like ESP School, share the notion of staging. In

SFL, this notion was referred to as schematic structure OR

structural formula

Sydney school emphasizes communicative purpose & staging as the

distinctive features of the letter.

A traditional concept based on the form of text such as

poetry, novels, drama, fairy tales etc.

Text type

Genre names overlap with text types, but the

conceptualization is different.

Text types are classified on the basis of format and formal

structure.

Genre is recognized as a communicative event sharing

some communicative purposes.

This difference in conceptualization results in different

ways and methods in interpreting discourse.

Genre and text type

Distinction between genre & text type Paltridge (2002)

• Genre: Can be recognized according to external criteria

and are named by their users.

• E.g. Laboratory reports, research articles, lectures.

• Text types OR Elemental Genres: Rhetorical modes

that follow systematic internal discourse patterns.

• E.g. problem – solution, exposition – argument.

• Text types combine together to create what are called

“macro-genres”

To show how schematic structure & form-function correlations

interact, Coffin (2006) did an interesting work: He shows how

the school genre of historical account typically develops

according to three stages:

Background

Account

sequence

Deduction

Here, the writer chronicles events as they unfolded in the past

time. Events play an agentive role in producing subsequent

events. In the grammar, this is realized as nominalizations in

initial clause (thematic) position.


• In contrast to ESP, with its pedagogic focus on tertiary-

level contexts, Sydney School genre theory has been

developed within the context of Australia, where it has

been used as a tool for developing a fully fledged

pedagogy. (Martin & Rose, 2012)

• Sydney School linguistics have applied their genre

model to the teaching of reading.

• The description of generic stages or phases, is used to

inform the preparation before reading; the teacher is able

to paraphrase the text which is about to read.

As RGS Scholars as A.M. Johns

(2002) say, this approach has a

much more social way of looking

at genre. RGS claims some negative

aspects towards linguistic approaches:

Linguistic approaches don’t pay attention to this fact

that genres are all the time evolving.

They fail to account the multiple purposes of genres.

They neglect the potential for creativity within genres.

They fail to take account of genres’ intertextual nature.

They fail to take account of genres’ hybrid nature.

ESP School

& Sydney

School are

both

linguistic

approaches

Hyon (1996) RGS focuses more on situational context, social

purposes & actions resulting from these purposes rather than

linguistic forms.

Miller (1984) He claims that a definition of genre should be

focused on the action it is used to accomplish rather than its

substance or form.

For RGS, genre focuses on action & it must be related to

cognition. According to RGS, genre is linked to procedural

knowledge & background knowledge.

RGS stresses

• The fluidity of genres

• Reflexivity of genres

• How genre is often complemented with other theories


• RGS has primarily focused on genres in academic &

professional contexts. RGS is combined with a

familiarisation on the part of learners with the target

context & related genres.

• Some overt pedagogical issues : META-GENRE

AWARENESS ( an awareness which stresses the

interaction between genre & context)

Similarities

between

these three

schools

They insist on the limitation of traditional

conceptions of genres which focused only on

recurring textual feature.

They stressed the need to recognize the

social dimensions of genres.

They emphasized the addressee, the context

& the occasion.

Critiques

• Paltridge (2001) discussed the limitations of the genre

approach in general:

• The difficulty in assgining texts into specific genre

categories.

• The difficulty for teachers who are working in

communities where the target language. is not

widespread use.

• The question of creativity.

• The difficulty of the teachers of finding suitable texts &

lack of familiarity with the particular features of the

target genre.


General Principles • 1) For Paltridge, genre-based teaching , develops the

acquisition of generic competence, that is the ability to

respond to new genres.

• 2) For Paltridge, genre-based pedagogy provides access

to genres which have high cultural capital, that is genres

which are highly valued by society.

• 3) For Paltridge, genre-based pedagogy allows for the

inclusion of the best aspects of other syllabus types.

Activity

Genre-based ESP teaching

To enable learners to use language functionally, so the

teaching combines language forms and functions.

To examine the structure of discourse, the

relationship between language forms and discourse

functions as well as linguistic features.


• Methodology:

Human activity, whether in employment or in the

classroom can be seen as a series of tasks – some having a communicative aspect, others not. (Swales, 1990 )

Task is central to

methodology.


Swale’s definition of task:

• One of a set of differentiated, sequenceable goal-directed

activities drawing upon a range of cognitive and

communicative procedures relatable to the acquisition of

pre-genre and genre skills appropriate to a foreseen or

emerging sociorhetorical situation.

The Case of Academic Writing

Current Needs: •Why do college students write in English in their

undergraduate study in the Arab world?

Genres

Course papers ?

Application documents ?

Research articles ?


Potential needs in future graduate study in Jordan: •Write research articles?

•Cover letter to editors?

•Reply to revision requests?

•….


Potential

needs for

graduate

study

overseas

Getting into

graduate

school

Studying at

English-

medium

universities

• Statements of

Purpose

• Curricula Vitae

• Application for

financial aid

• Communicating

with Seniors

• Experimental

report

• Course paper

• Research

proposal

• Thesis and

Dissertation

• Research article

Current and potential writing needs for Year Two

Undergraduates

• Communicating with Seniors: Requests and apologies • Statements of Purpose

• Curricula Vitae

• Recommendation letter

• Application for financial aid

• Course paper

Course Objectives

To develop Arab students ability to produce generically

acceptable texts in terms of organization and style;

To develop their study skills in handling academic

study such as note-taking from reading, evaluating facts

and opinion; giving definition, making summary,

describing and interpreting tables and graphs;

To improve accuracy in writing.

Course Syllabus

Genre Purpose Discourse

structure Style Writing

& Editing Skills

Request letter and reminders Foregrounding important information

Recommendation letter 1 Thinking about the audience and impact

Recommendation letter 2 Supporting statements with evidence

Application for financial aid 1 Supporting statements with evidence

Curriculum Vita 1 Organizing information

Curriculum Vita 2 Getting the style right

Statement of purpose 1 Supporting statements with evidence

Statement of purpose 2 Making notes for writing

Course paper

Taking notes when reading Evaluating information Making summary and definition Describing and interpreting data Making comments

Understanding the purpose of request letter

Task One. Think about the following questions.

1. What would you do if you found a reference that is essential to

your research not available in your country?

2. Have you ever asked the author to send you the reference?

3. If you do, how would organize your message?

Understanding the purpose of

request letter

Task Two: Here are two email messages to ask for help. Which

do you prefer and why?

Text A Dear Professor Swales, I have been interested in your work for some time, and I am currently

writing a thesis on the history of English for Specific Purposes in the Arab World. In this context, I have seen a reference to a 1983 volume on this topic, which you co-edited with Hassan Mustafa. I have looked for it here in Jordan, but in vain; I found it is not available. Would you be able to send me a copy? I am looking forward to hearing from you soon,

With respect Ms Fatima Abdulla

Understanding the purpose of

request letter

Text B Dear Professor Swales, Would you be able to send me a copy of the 1983 volume on English for

Specific Purposes in the Arab World, which you co-edited with Hassan Mustafa? I have looked for it here in Jordan, but in vain; I found it is not available. I am currently writing a thesis on the history of English for Specific Purposes in the Arab World. I have been interested in your work for some time. I am looking forward to hearing from you soon.

With respect, Ms Fatima Abdulla

Academic correspondence styles

Task Three

Which of the following closings would you choose?

a) Thanks for reading my application & looking forward to hearing back soon.

b) In closing, this applicant iterates his deep interest in the position and

expresses his profound appreciation of your careful review of his case.

c) Thank you for your consideration and looking forward to hearing from you

in due course.

Personal Statement

Task One: Discuss the following questions

1. What is the purpose of PS? What is it used for?

2. What information do you expect to find in it?

3. What characteristics do you think PS should have?

4. What is the writing style of PS?

Personal Statement

• Task Two: Compare the beginnings (Hook) of two PS and

decide which one is more effective.

Personal Statement

Text A

I remember hearing the loud snap resonating across the field and having no

doubt it was broken. Looking down at my forearm during the high school

football game, the distal end dangling as both the left radius and ulna had

been broken at midshaft. I felt certain I had experienced my last football

event. …

Personal Statement

Text B

My initial interest in economics was kindled by curiosity about the workings

of the economy. In the past twenty years, Jordan went through a series of

economic reforms, including privatization of state-owned enterprises,

reform of non-tradable shares, and reform of agricultural taxes and charges.

Growing up in the midst of these social reforms has led me to experience

the progress and chaos, and the opportunities and pitfalls caused by policy

changes. My interest in economic issues grew as I entered university, and I

began to wonder about the forces driving the economy and question the

validity of government economic policies.

Personal Statement

Move 1: Hook (a narrative to grab the reader’s attention)

Move 2: Program (why this particular specialization / location)

Move 3: Background (evaluation of skills, landmarks of achievement)

Move 4: Self-promotion (distinctive individual qualities)

Move 5: Projection (personal professional goals/career trajectory)

Implication for College English Instruction

Genre-based approach to the relevant content for students.

Focus on discourse patterns and linguistic features of a genre.

Make use of the resources from genre-based studies and

develop or adapt materials.

End of class 08

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