Genre Analysis Assignment Sequence
Chris Doxtator
University of Colorado Denver
Class: Core Composition Time: Eight 75-minute sessions
Rationale Overview
Assigning a genre analysis allows students to explore a type of writing they are interested in. While I allow students to analyze any genre they want, I encourage them to choose one specific to their degree or career choice because it will give them a focus and direction for their writing practice after the class. This assignment introduces students to using research to create a report, and to analyze a writing genre as they might a piece of fiction or poetry. I include specific points of rationale for each day of the lesson plan, but before jumping into the instructional plan, here are a few things to be aware of/consider:
§ Each day’s activities should only be undertaken if students have demonstrated an understanding of the previous
§ Each reading assignment is taken from the third addition of The Norton Field Guide to Writing with Readings and Handbook and picked to compliment either the discussion of the next class or a short homework assignment
§ Students are not used to discussing genre in terms of workplace/professional writing, so spend time explaining the difference between that and literary/film genres
Something else to be mindful of with this assignment is that it is intended for the middle of the semester, after students have been introduced to the structure and concepts of essay writing, but before they are expected to take research and make their own unique academic argument. This assignment is meant to bridge the gap between analyzing and summarizing information and presenting an evolved stance on previously researched ideas.
Assignment Grid
WEEK ONEDAY 1 / · Review requirements of essay 2
· Characteristics of reports
· Genre and convention discussion / Report on an event on campus that took place from 5:40pm-6:10pm
Read pages 432-456
DAY 2 / · Finding sources
· Works cited page
· Sample genre convention analysis / Read pages 457-460
Find 2 sources that discuss conventions of your chosen genre
Create annotated bibliography with your 2 sources
WEEK TWO
DAY 1 / · Transitions
· Elements of style
· Rhetorical grammar / Find or create genre example for your draft – if creating example, no written analysis necessary. If finding example, outline the key points of analysis
Bring 1 copy to class
DAY 2 / · Discussion of genre artifacts
· Revision vs. Editing / Write the first page of your report – bring 1 copy to class
Read 269-274 & 282-286 & 342-347
WEEK THREE
DAY 1 / · Short presentations with Q & A / Generate list of 10 questions for peer review; bring 3 copies of questions
DAY 2 / · Paper #2: First Draft Due / Submit revision plan before the following class
WEEK FOUR
DAY 1 / · Introduce the elements of document design
· Design workshop / Finish draft
DAY 2 / · Paper #2: Final Draft Due / Yay!
Instructional Plan
The following instructional plan includes a rationale specific to each day of the assignment sequence, followed by the in-class/out-of-class assignments for eight 75-minute sessions. For in-class assignments, an estimated time for the task will be in parenthesis next to the task.
Day 1
This assignment has three parts that will require students to work on understanding their future writing requirements, reporting the textual characteristics of their future writing, and analyzing those characteristics with regard to specific rhetorical contexts they identify. Because these three parts can seem a bit complicated as understood together, it’s important to introduce them one at a time and offer ample time for clarification on the parts of the assignment. Overall, the assignment requires students to write a report, but they will also have the chance to write in a style of their choosing, understand a genre of their choosing, and gain introductory knowledge to what will be required of their writing after their core classes. Day 1 is intended to introduce students to the concept of professional genres and the genre of informational reports.
· Review requirements for Genre Report (10) (Appendix I.a)
o I recommend introducing the assignment at the end of the previous class to give students time to ask questions about the prompt/tasks before jumping into scaffolding toward the final product. If you have not already introduced the assignment, start with the assignment introduction.
· Introduce the characteristics of reports (20)
o Read and analyze “Does Texting Affect Writing” (pg. 87) What are the parts and characteristics that make this a report?
· Have students gather field notes to report on an event on campus for homework (25)
§ Prompt: This report needs to be at least one page double-spaced and should answer the 5 w's (who, what, when, where, why) of a situation, event, object, or any other manner of detail of campus. Organize your report logically; give it an introduction and a conclusion. Remember, reports still contain analysis but it relates more to answering what is in an objective, evidence based way.
· Introduce genre convention terms and definitions (15) (Appendix I.b)
· Review for next class (5-10)
Homework
§ Write one-page report based on field notes and submit online before next class
§ Read pages 432-456 in textbook (this can be supplemented or replaced with any reading you find useful for introducing students to finding quality sources.
Day 2
Here is a chance for students to get a brief introduction to finding sources and using them to inform their writing. It’s important to introduce them to the idea of evaluating sources and not assuming everything on the internet is credible. Also, this is a good chance to set expectations for the types of sources you expect students to use on the assignment. Lastly, relay to students that they can use this same research process whenever having to complete a new genre or style of writing.
· Ask students about difficulties or accomplishments with writing their reports (5-10)
· Finding Sources (15-20)
o Show students examples of web blogs/articles that discuss genre conventions related to some of their choices. Top ten lists, how to guides, etc. are good Google-search terms. After finding a few, evaluate them with the class: what makes them useful or useless for this assignment?
§ Examples:
· Technical reports - http://www.sussex.ac.uk/ei/internal/forstudents/engineeringdesign/studyguides/techreportwriting
· Lab reports - http://www.mhhe.com/biosci/genbio/maderinquiry/writing.html
· Business proposals – http://www.business.com/business-planning/write-your-way-to-a-win-business-proposal-101/
· MLA Citations (15-20)
o Show students examples of in-text and works cited pages. Explain positions of items in works-cited page. Feel free to share shortcuts with them if you know any useful ones.
§ Purdue owl MLA citations: https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/01/
§ (optional) Son of Citation Machine Citation Generator: http://www.citationmachine.net/
· Sample genre analysis (Appendix II) (25-30)
o Walk students through answering the questions required and be listening for their specific use of the terms.
o Review the necessary vocabulary
o Have students answer questions on Appendix II
Homework
· Read pages 457-460
§ Find 2 sources that discuss conventions of your selected genre
§ Create brief (2-3 sentences) annotated bibliography of what your sources taught you about your genre.
Day 3
Synthesizing multiple sources to produce a coherent piece of writing and transitioning between different sections of the report are skills students will take with them into any degree. In addition to creating strategies for coherent moves through the text, students will be introduced to the idea of style in writing. Introducing them to the concept of writing as having a rhythm, pace, and grammar intended to direct meaning will give them a fresh and challenging perspective for their writing. For many, the introduction will be the first time they’ve considered the musicality of writing or the fact that punctuation is rhetorical as apposed to something to have done perfectly.
· Discuss annotated bibs in small groups: what did you learn; what did you already know; what will you write about? (5-10)
· Transitions (20-25) (Appendix III.a)
o Discuss the reading
o Walk students through handout
o Have them combine the texts on the handout with a transition
· Elements of style and Rhetorical grammar (15-20) (Appendix III.b)
o Discuss voice, style, and tone with your students and ask a few to share those genre conventions with the class
o Punctuate sentences on sample handout
§ Prompt: Write a one-paragraph introduction to your genre and what you’ve learned about it so far. Exchange that paragraph with someone next to you. Rewrite your neighbor’s paragraph varying the sentence length and style for engaging rhythm and using grammar rhetorically to direct and inform the reader on the relationships between ideas and sentence parts.
Homework
· Find or create genre example for draft. Students that find an example need to outline the key points of analysis with regard to evidence of genre conventions. If students create an example, not analysis is necessary.
Day 4
At this point students should be comfortable using the vocabulary necessary for the assignment and discussing the intricacies of their genre. After finding or creating their assignment, they’ve thought critically about its conventions and will be ready for a more in-depth discussion of their artifacts. Feel free to offer leading questions for consideration if discussion reaches a stand still. Day 4 is also a good chance to get the students purposefully drafting in class, so they can ask questions about any complications or confusion they run into.
· Small group discussion of genre artifacts (15-20)
· Draft introduction to report (25)
· Revision vs Editing (25)
o Explain difference between HOCs and LOCs and priority for revising each
§ Prompt: Analyze your topic sentence, introductory context, and specific claims made. Are they focused, and do they create a solid understanding of the genre for your reader? These higher order concerns should be considered and revised before focusing on the grammar and word choice. After revising your introductions HOCs, look at the sentence style, length, variance, and punctuation. Could you create a more engaging text by revising on the sentence level? Have you given readers a reason to continue reading your draft?
Homework
· Write first page of report—bring 1 copy to class
· Read 269-274; 282-286; 342-347
Day 5
These presentations are critical because some students may be lost at this point and afraid to ask questions for clarification. The short presentations give them a chance to teach their topic, helping them internalize the information their presenting. Also, other students will benefit from learning the various ways to understand this assignment.
· Short presentations with Q & A (75)
o Have students take 2-3 minutes to introduce their topic, conventions, and why they chose their genre
Homework
· Generate list of 10 questions for peer review; bring two copies of questions and three copies of first draft to the next class
Day 6
Similar to the presentations, today is a good chance to have students present their work and see it through the group’s eyes. Be sure to pair students who showed some kind of misunderstanding of the assignment during presentations with students who are on the right track. That way, the student’s needing stronger feedback will get it, and the students with a solid understanding of the assignment will have another chance to teach the concepts, further internalizing the information they’ve learned.
· Collect Drafts and peer review questions
· Peer Review groups of 3
Homework
§ Submit revision plan before next class session
Day 7
Principles of document design are important in any writing genre. Rarely will students be in a core composition class and have a theoretical understanding of importance of balance on the page. Because this is an abstract concept to learn, hands on activities are best. This class functions as a workshop opportunity to experiment with design. Several students will be stressed about the added design requirement, so I make it a point to stress that the design does not need to be perfect, but they do need to provide conceptual explanations for the design choices they make on their final drafts. This is simply intended to help students learn another facet of rhetorical elements in composition.
· Introduce elements of design (20) (Appendix IV)
· Design workshop—you will need several pieces of colored construction paper, and several different rectangular shapes of white (text spaces and image spaces) paper for students to create their own designs on the construction paper and write a report (40-45)
§ Prompt: Organize the white sections of paper on your page to adhere to principles of document design. Fill in the white paper with a title, headings, text, visuals, and pullout quotes to report on your first day on mars.
· Leave time for Q & A before dismissing class
Day 8
Students are burnt out by this point, so it’s important to start the class off in a relaxed way. Have them reflect on the work they’ve done and congratulate them for tackling such a complex assignment. I like to introduce the next assignment briefly, but also let them know we won’t get started on it until the next week. For the rest of the class, watching videos that introduce the underlying concepts of your final project. Collect drafts
· Have students write for ten minutes, reflecting on their writing and revising process for this draft
· I like to watch a TED Talk or some other video to introduce the next topic. Give your students a break before tackling the next assignment.
(Appendix I.a)
ENGL 1020 Essay #2: Reporting Information: What’s to Your Writing?
Framing Question: All of you have written about how writing fits into your future academic or professional goals. These goals, while unique to you in this class, are likely shared with other writers. What writing genre is associated with your goal, and what are four genre characteristics (voice, tone, design, style, medium, structure, etc.) with that type of writing?
For this paper you will communicate important information about a particular writing genre that you’ll need to be familiar with to pursue your academic/professional goals. This time, imagine your audience is a group of students, who, like you, are pursuing your chosen academic/career goals. You can’t assume that your audience knows anything about the genre conventions, so it is up to you to create for them a comprehensive guide, example with an explanation, or report on your specified genre. To write this, you will need to find two popular blog posts or online articles that discuss the genre conventions of your writing genre. For this assignment, you will incorporate at least one visual (which does not count toward your page length requirement).