Help with Common Writing Genres and Assignments

Because "genre" refers to the social context in which you write and the expectations of your audiences in that context, it is impossible to list genres. An annotated bibliography for a literature class will be different from one for biology. A personal narrative is different from a grant narrative. Still, some core features can be spotted. Narratives tend to be chronological, for example. Annotated bibliographies are typically used to summarize sources and identify gaps in knowledge. 

 

Thought of this way, we can understand the famous 5-paragraph essay to be a genre. Its structure is clear (introduction, three body paragraphs, conclusion). The purpose is usually provided by the person assigning the prompt: to give writers an easy first-time template for writing essays. The social context is limited to the school environment.

Common  Academic and Professional Genres

Genres

Genre Family

Structure

Social Context

Reader Expectations
Scientific Writing

IMRAD=

  • (I) Introduction
  • (M) Methods
  • (R) Results
  • (A) Analysis
  • (D) Discussion
 Scientific research often develops through accumulation (repeating previous results) or distinction (refuting previous results).  Readers want to be able to narrow their search to specific areas--the history  (intro) or the ways the research was done (methods)--to gain more knowledge about the study. The modes here are often descriptive, process, analysis, and persuasion.
Legal Writing

 IRAC=

  • (I) Identify the issue
  • (R) Relevant rules of law
  • (A) Apply the rules to the situation in question
  • (C) Conclusion of that application (implication for legal practice)
 In legal writing, the intention is to apply a legal understanding to a new situation. That may mean identifying past cases with similar properties OR interrogating the legal definitions assumed in the law and applying those definitions in the new case.  The reader expects the writer to demonstrate familiarity with the legal context and the existing statutes, as well as how they have been applied in the past. The modes here are often analysis, description, definition, and persuasion. 
Narrative Writing

Plot Diagram=

  • Introduction/exposition
  • Inciting incident
  • Rising action
  • Climax
  • Falling action
  • Conclusion
 The social context often seeks to make sense of several events that have transpired. Like other forms of writing, narratives do not occur by themselves. Instead, they are the sense WE make as humans and as writers to understand why certain events occurred and how they affected our lives or someone else's.  Narratives come largely from literature. Think of the last novel you read, but also think of the Bible. Narratives try to explain why. In most cases, a narrative is successful when the main character of the narrative can demonstrate having been changed by the situation or events described. The narrative is often identified as a mode in and of itself. However, a good narrative often includes modes of description, process, and even cause-and-effect.
Reflection or Journal The structure is often summary + thinking about thinking (metacognition).
A reflection or a journal assignment can be difficult to tackle because the expectations are less formal than some of the genres above. 		 The goal of a reflection or journal in an academic environment is often to demonstrate learning. Typically, the reader for a reflection or journal is a teacher, sometimes another student. The expectation is that you first show that you have learned a new concept and then show that your learning has shaped or changed your thinking in some way (which might only be how you apply it).

 

In this section, we link to some videos and handouts to support assignments Macomb students commonly encounter, including graphic organizers to help students to use modes of analysis found in many types of writing.

Resources for common assignment genres at Macomb

 

 

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