The topics discussed in this chapter are writing genres . On completion of this chapter students will know how to: identify key features of academic and business texts; recognise the difference between formal and informal register; use language appropriate to business settings, taking into account issues of power.
Trang 1Chapter 6
Writing genres
‘How we are expected to write affects what we can write about.’
Trang 2Copyright 2009 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd
Learning objectives
On completion of this chapter students will know how to:
• identify key features of academic and business texts
• recognise the difference between formal and informal register
• use language appropriate to business settings, taking into account issues of power
Trang 3What does ‘genre’ mean?
• ‘Genre’ means style, kind or type
• Usually, ‘genre’ refers to a type of art or literature
• It can also refer to ways of speaking, types
of movies or plays, or any written document
• In this context, ‘genre’ refers to the various types of texts that students need to learn and master
Trang 4Copyright 2009 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd
Academic genres
• The most common genre (type of text for assessment) at Australian universities is the essay
• In business there are other genres which are just as important:
– reports – business letters – email communication.
Trang 5Context and genre
• Factors that impact on genre:
– context – situation – audience – purpose of the text.
• Consider each factor in relation to the essay genre
• Now think about the business context How
is it different to the academic context?
Trang 6Copyright 2009 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd
Business context
• Business reports written in workplace:
– audience = supervisor or ‘superior’
– usually someone with power – much at stake for the organisation
• All documents have ‘regular, predictable patterns of organisation’ (Swales & Feak
1994, p 10)
Trang 7Activity 1
• See Activity 1 on pp 133–140 of your textbook
• Work in pairs
• Divide your page into five columns with the headings ‘personal email’, ‘business email’,
‘business letter’, ‘essay’ and ‘report’
• Examine each text and identify the different features List the features of each text, using the suggestions in the annotations and at
Trang 8Copyright 2009 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd
Applying knowledge of
genres
• In your business studies you will need to write in different genres, depending on the course, assessment and preference of your lecturers
• Sometimes the genres will be ‘mixed’
• Always be very clear about which genre is expected before submitting work for
assessment
Trang 9‘The vocabulary shift’
• Need to move from informal to formal writing (academic and business contexts)
• Choice between verb + preposition or a single verb (single verb is more formal)
• Example:
– The manager looked at the way tension builds
up during performance review meetings.
(less formal style)
– The manager investigated the way tension
Trang 10Copyright 2009 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd
Activities 2 and 3
• Complete activities 2 and 3 on pp 141–142
of your textbook
Trang 11More advice on formality
• Avoid contractions (e.g won’t = will not)
• Use the more appropriate formal negative forms
Example
– Do not write: The analysis didn’t yield any new results.
– Write: The analysis yielded no new results.
• Avoid run-on expressions such as ‘and so forth’ and ‘etc’
• Avoid using the first person ‘I’ and do not address the reader as ‘you’ Focus on the
Trang 12Copyright 2009 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd
More advice on formality
(cont.)
• Avoid asking rhetorical questions such as
‘What can be done?’
– Use statements instead, such as ‘X needs to be considered’.
• Do not place adverbs at the beginning or end of the sentence
Examples
– Do not write: Then the solution can be
discarded.
– Write: The solution can then be discarded.
– Do not write: The profits have increased slowly – Write: The profits have slowly increased.
Trang 13• Different genres (texts) have distinct requirements in terms of structure, development, formality and acknowledgment
of sources
• By learning and using the particular features
of texts, writers can produce easy-to-read documents
• The context, particularly the power relations between the writer and receiver, affect the