Exercise 2-1I: Genre Awareness

To practice discerning writing conventions, chose a genre. Possible genres include the lab report, conference poster, medical case report, field journal, patent proposal, lab website, or other natural science genres.

1. Look for at least three examples of the genre. Each group member can find their own example.
2. Evaluate the overall design and organization of the examples.
3. Consider how content is presented and sources are incorporated.
4. Evaluate the tone and style of the examples.
5. Consider how the examples fit into the larger discourse community and activity system.
6. As a group, make a rhetorical chart for the genre. Fill out the chart in your group’s Google doc so everyone can contribute and make changes based on their example. Consider how the components of the chart relate to each other and the author’s choices.

For an editable Google doc of this exercise that you can download, click here.