For your first major paper, you will write a genre analysis that analyzes something that you recently wrote. The purpose of this paper is to learn how to analyze writing through the framework of genre and rhetorical situation.
To prepare for writing this essay, you will first pick a genre that you write in regularly that you wish to further explore for this project. Then, you will pick two samples of your own writing in this genre to analyze. You will analyze each sample for genre conventions, style, rhetorical situation, etc. And then, finally, you will write an essay exploring and analyzing that genre based on the work that you did through this project.
The following assignments will be turned in as a part of this project.
Genre Analysis Essay Rough Draft
Peer Review
Revised Genre Analysis Essay
Reflection and Self-Evaluation Form
The instructions for these parts of the project can be found below.
Think about the things you write on a daily basis, a weekly basis, and a monthly basis. This will need to be a written genre (e.g. you cannot look at YouTube videos, for example, for this assignment).
Also, make sure that this genre will be something you can reasonably analyze for this assignment. For example, if you write very short reminders on post-it notes, that might be too short to analyze for this assignment. Try to pick something that is medium length (at least a few lines or paragraphs long) but also not so long that it's too much to analyze.
Any genre that you regularly write will work for this assignment as long as it's not super short or long. The following are some possible ideas to get you started:
Class notes
A genre you write in at work (for example professional email, food tickets/orders at a restaurant, patient charts*, or something else that is specific to your job/field)
Discussion board responses for online classes
Reddit posts, Discord chats, or some other type of social media posts (written genres)
Feel free to check with me if you have an idea of a genre but aren't sure if it will work.
* For any genre that might contain confidential information, please change any confidential information in the genre before using it for your paper.
Next, you will pick two to three examples of something you wrote recently in that genre. What are some of the conventions of this genre? Why do you think that genre tends to be written the way it does? Who was the audience? How did that affect the genre/writing?
When looking for conventions of a genre, pay attention to the following:
How language is used (i.e. punctuation, abbreviations, other choices)
Formatting/design (i.e. what kinds of fonts/sizes/colors are used? Are there other design elements? How is the text organized? Are lists or tables typically used? Are images or videos or other multimedia typically included?)
Style and tone (i.e. Is the style of writing informative? emotional? casual? quick and to-the-point? Does the genre tend to write to the reader directly? Or is it more distanced?)
Formality (How formal is this writing?)
What type of information tends to be included?
The organization of the information in the writing (is it direct, does the most important information come first, is there background information before the main point is gotten to, is it meandering through different topics, etc).
Length: 900-1200 words (about 3-4 pages)
Note: The minimum word count must be reached; upper limit is a suggestion, but you will not be penalized for going over.
Genre: Analysis Essay, formatted in basic MLA style
Once you have finished your brainstorming and gathered the information needed, it's time to start writing your draft. The purpose of this paper is to inform your reader about the genre you are choosing to write about for this assignment.
Write an essay about your genre that explains why you chose this genre for this paper and then explore and analyze the genre using the concepts from class and the readings during this unit. Use your writing samples to support the points you are making about this genre.
For example, if you chose text messaging as your genre, you will write a paper about text messages, exploring some of the major conventions and rhetorical situations of the genre. One paragraph might be on how punctuation is used in text messaging, another paragraph might be about the length and how people shorten messages (or when/if they shorten messages), another paragraph might be how people text differently with different audiences, etc. You will use your writing samples, such as quoting your own text messages, to support these points.
The essay should...
Analyze ONE specific written genre. For genres that have significant variation, you may want to chose a sub-genre (for example, professional emails instead of all emails).
Include an analysis of several important conventions for that genre.
Include an analysis of a typical audience and purpose for that genre. (Or a couple of typical audiences/purposes; just don't try to cover every possible scenario).
Include specific examples of your own writing to support your points about the conventions and rhetorical situation of the genre.
Be written and organized in the genre of an analysis essay (see "Analysis Essay" section below).
No secondary research should be used for this project. The only outside texts that should be referenced in your essay are your own writing samples. You may use someone else's writing occasionally to illustrate a point, but you should not use internet articles or other research to explain how to write in your genre.
To use your writing samples as evidence, directly quote your own writing to support your points and/or describe your sample (use whichever method works best).
Quoting Example
In a recent text message I sent to my mom, I wrote, "I know! 😂." The emoji made it clear that I found the situation funny and wasn't upset. Without it, the exclamation point might have seemed intense or as if I was angry.
Description Example
In a set of notes that I took for my Introduction to Excel class, I used columns to organize different formulas that we needed to know how to use. I created one column that covered different ways to add or average numbers, then in the next column, I put the different sorting functions. This allowed me to organize the information in a way that I could easily reference it for homework or an open-note exam.
Along with explaining how your sample illustrates conventions of the genre, you can also look at how your sample may differ from other versions of this genre (for example: what audience this genre is typically written for, what possible purposes, variations in conventions, etc).
Analysis Essay Structure and Organization
The essay should be written as an analysis essay and include...
An introduction and conclusion.
Main ideas that are organized into separate paragraphs.
At least several significant conventions of the genre (think about the ones that are the most important for that genre).
A look at the typical/common rhetorical situation of the genre.
Examples from your genre samples to support your analysis. (These samples should be used throughout the body paragraphs to support your individual points).
As an example, your overall organization for this paper might look something like this:
I. Introduction
II. Overview of the purpose of this genre
III. First important convention
IV. Second important convention
V. Third important convention
VI. Audience
VII. Conclusion
For each of the main body paragraphs (II-VI), the paragraph-level organization should include a topic sentence, evidence from your own writing to support your point, and a discussion/analysis of the evidence and that convention or main point.
Do not just list all the conventions in one paragraph. Decide which conventions seem important enough to make into one of your main points. Also, consider grouping similar conventions together for your main points.
Consider which conventions and parts of the rhetorical situation are the most significant and use those as the main points of your paper.
Write the essay as would be expected for an academic essay (i.e. have an introduction and conclusion, use topic sentences and body paragraphs. Stick to one controlling/main idea per paragraph. Use evidence from your genre samples throughout to support your points.)
The following resources can help with paragraph development and organizing your writing. Some of these will be assigned throughout this unit; others are supplemental readings:
Important Reminder
There should be no secondary research used in this paper.
The only outside texts should be the genre samples used for this assignment (e.g. no dictionary definitions, no information from Wikipedia pages or articles written on how to write that genre).
You will be working in your teams to review each others’ papers and give one another feedback. If your team has two or fewer members present today, please let me know and I’ll combine you with another team.
To start, bring up your paper on the computer in Google Drive. Then, everyone will rotate computers or share their document on Google Drive to give someone else on your team a peer review. Once you are done with Round One, you can switch again for round two. You only need to review two papers today (so, in a team of four, everyone won’t read everyone’s papers).
Read the entire draft.
Keep your tone positive and make suggestions for the other student (see "In-Class Peer Review" reading for more on this).
Use complete sentences and specific examples from the rough draft to clarify what you are referring to. Do not address the spelling, punctuation, grammar, or mechanics.
At the end of the paper, answer the following questions. (You can use the numbers to organize your points).
What genre is this author writing about?
Does the draft cover the conventions well enough that you would know what is required of writing in this genre if you were unfamiliar with it?
Are specific examples of the author's own writing used from the sample genres to support the points being made throughout the essay?
What is one area that could use improvement? This should be a HOC or MOC (no commenting on grammar!). This response should be 3-4 sentences in length. Be specific and use an example.
What is a second area that could use improvement? Try to find another HOC or MOC, but if there is a grammar “trend” that could use work (like run-on sentences that are confusing) you may comment on this here. Be specific and use an example.
What is one thing that the author is doing well?
If you are planning on taking a Late Freebie on Project 1, you are required to make note of that in your Project 1 folder on Google Drive by renaming your Project 1 folder to “Project 1--Late Freebie.”
If you are absent on the day of peer review, you must work with a Reading and Writing Studios tutor to get feedback on your draft. Please let them know that you would like them to focus on high and middle order concerns for your feedback and show them the above questions. To receive credit for peer review if you work with a tutor, you must create a PDF of the session summary email you receive from your tutor after the session is complete.
NOTE: before revising your essay from your draft, make a copy of the file, so that you don't overwrite the draft.
All revisions must be done in Google Drive so that I can view a history of your revisions.
After peer review, you will revise your rough draft. Focus on high and middle-order concerns during this revision. While editing and proofreading are appreciated, you will be graded on having completed high/middle order concern revision.
Requirements
Your revised draft must be revised since peer review, and the revisions must focus on high/middle order concerns.
Your revised draft must meet the requirements of the paper, such as covering the required prompts, using specific evidence from your own writing, and meeting the minimum word count requirements.
The revised draft should be formatted in MLA format (no Works Cited needed, just use the general layout of MLA style)
See the "Genre Analysis Essay Requirements and Prompts" section above for more information on the requirements.
I recommend the following steps for revision:
Make a copy of your rough draft in Google Docs and rename the file to Revised Genre Analysis.
Read through your peer review feedback.
If you went to the Reading and Writing Studios, also look through that feedback.
Make a list of major revisions that you plan on doing, starting with the highest-order concerns.
Double-check that you are working in the "Revised" draft file (and not your rough draft). All revisions will need to be made in this document in Google Docs.
Work your way down from the big picture (high order concern) revisions, such as rearranging information, adding or deleting sentences, etc., to the smaller issues.
And finally, double-check that the revised draft meets the requirements outlined in the Genre Analysis Essay (Rough Draft) section above.
If you still aren't sure where to start with revisions after going through your peer review comments...
Make an appointment with the Reading and Writing Studios
Create a Reverse Outline and/or Paper Skeleton to better see the organization of your current draft.
To make a copy of a document in Google Docs:
Go into the document.
Click on File > Make a Copy
Rename the file: Revised Genre Analysis
Check that the folder shows "Project 1" (if it does not, click on the folder and use the arrows to navigate to the correct folder).
Check the button for "Copy comments and suggestions" (this will allow you to easily see any peer review comments while you revise your paper).
Then click "Make a copy"
Note: Before you turn in your project, delete or clean up all peer review comments from your REVISED draft (leave these in your rough draft). You may want to leave them up there while you work on the revisions, but the final copy should be a clean copy.
Double-check that you are working on the correct file when you work on your revisions. You may want to close out the rough draft tab in your browser to make sure you aren't accidentally flipping to the wrong one.
For each paper, you will fill out a reflection and self-evaluation form to reflect on your writing process and evaluate your work. The form will need to be copied to your Project 1 folder in Google Drive and the completed form will be due with your Project 1 submission packet.
How to Make a Copy of the Form
Go to the Reflection and Self-Assessment Forms folder in our class public Google Drive folder.
Locate the form for Project 1 and double-click on the form to open it.
Once the form is open, click on File and then Make a Copy.
If Make a Copy is greyed out, check that you are logged into Google on your computer/browser.
Change the folder to your Project 1 folder in your ENGL 1180 folder.
To change the folder location, click on the folder name in the pop-up window.
Then click on All Locations at the top of the pop-up window.
Navigate to your Project 1 folder by double-clicking on: My Drive > your ENGL 1180 folder > Project 1
Once you have navigated to your Project 1 folder, click Select.
A copy of the form should now be in your Project 1.
Filling Out the Form
Carefully read the different areas of the form and fill out the form thoughtfully and thoroughly. Further instructions are located on the form.
Your Project 1 Submission Packet is a sort of ongoing portfolio, which will need to include the following:
☐ Genre Analysis Essay rough draft
☐ Peer review(s) from classmates
This will be on your rough draft (no need for a separate document).
If you are using your late freebie on this assignment or are absent on peer review day, you have two options for peer review:
Find someone else in class (or several people) who is also taking a late freebie and exchange papers and peer review each other’s papers outside of class. Make sure you read “In-Class Peer Review” beforehand and use the Peer Review questions above.
Go to the Reading and Writing Studios to look over high- and middle-order concerns. You can show them this handout as a general guideline for the type of feedback you are looking for. They will have a form that you can show me as proof of attendance.
Note: you cannot use this visit to count as your required Reading and Writing Studios visit for this project.
☐ Revised Genre Analysis Essay
The revised essay must be 3-4 pages (900-1200 words), analyze a written genre, and use specific examples from your writing samples to meet the requirement. See Genre Analysis Essay section above for a full list of the requirements and the prompt.
All revisions must be done in Google Docs so that I can view a history of your revisions. See the "Revised Genre Analysis" section above for further instructions.
☐ Reflection and Self Evaluation Form
Remember: All of the requirements for the individual items need to be met and all of the items in the submission packet need to be included in your Project 1 folder to get full credit (check plus).