Genre analysis as a pre-instructional, instructional, and teacher development framework

Longman language activator: Summers, Della (ed. dir.) (1993/1994), Harlow: Longman, 1587 pp

ESP practitioners' knowledge base, especially the role of content knowledge, is a topic of continuing interest in the field. In this paper, I review the distinction between specialist knowledge and specialized knowledge proposed by Fergusson (1997). I examine the three elements of specialized knowledge- knowledge of disciplinary cultures, knowledge of the related epistemological assumptions of the target discipline, and knowledge of the target genre. I problematize the arguments about the pathways toward developing specialized knowledge either stated or alluded to by Fergusson and others. I then point out that genre analysis can not only serve as the path toward developing ESP practitioners' knowledge of the target genre, which is the third element of specialized knowledge, but can also help ESP practitioners develop the other two elements of specialized knowledge- knowledge of disciplinary cultures and knowledge of the epistemological assumptions. I also point out that using genre analysis as the path toward the other two elements of specialized knowledge can be enhanced by studying other related genres. Emphasizing the value of genre analysis can also help ESP practitioners develop a potentially more productive approach to interacting with subject-matter experts. I conclude the paper by encouraging ESP practitioners to engage in research to illuminate how genre analysis can help uncover knowledge of disciplinary culture and knowledge of the related epistemological assumptions.

Previous studies have recommended employing genre analysis as a supportive framework for English scientific content in the content and language integrated learning (CLIL) context. However, little is known about how CLIL teachers collaborate to co-create genre-based scaffolds and how they perceive the benefits and challenges of genre analysis for material development through interdisciplinary teacher collaborations. This study aims to fill these gaps by exploring how two physics teachers and two English teachers paired to co-create scaffolds to improve students’ comprehension of English scientific materials. This study also investigates the teachers’ perceptions of their genre-based scaffolding design experiences via interdisciplinary teacher collaborations. This study is a qualitative case study, collecting data from scaffolds in English scientific materials, reflective reports, and interviews. The findings show that the teachers developed explicit tutorials, color-marking, and comprehension questions to develop students’ genre knowledge, linguistic awareness, and content understanding. This study also reveals that the teachers gained insights into analysing English scientific texts through input processing techniques, thus developing their genre literacy and pedagogical knowledge through interdisciplinary teacher collaborations. This study contributes to the literature on genre-based pedagogy in the CLIL context by highlighting the use of input processing scaffolds to develop learners’ linguistic awareness about textual genres in English scientific materials.

Purpose/Thesis: The article presents the possibilities of using the interdisciplinary theory of genres, developed in the study of linguistics, literary studies, rhetoric, sociology, philosophy, psychology and other disciplines, in library and information science (LIS). The article argues the application of genre theory to LIS offers a new and interesting interdisciplinary perspective.Approach/Methods: A critical analysis of the literature on the subject introduces the basic premises of the interdisciplinary theory of text/information genres in its historical development in the world and in Poland. A similar method was used to present the most important directions genre theory opens to LIS.Results and conclusions: Before genre theory was first applied to LIS, it was developed in disciplines such as linguistics, literature, rhetoric, communication and media, discourse analysis, sociology, pedagogy and others and in many countries on all continents (mainly in the USA, Australia, Brazil and Scandinavian countries). The theory’s success is a result of its interdisciplinary development, beginning from linguistic and classical rhetorical genres approach and problems of categorizing texts to “de facto genres” and their function in everyday communication activities (social/rhetoric approach). Applied to LIS, it frames information objects as social constructs whose meaning is constructed in social discourse, driven by genre knowledge. The library and other information systems should be treated as a social communication activity in the recurrent situation of organizing and retrieving information. It means that the work of a librarian (or other information organizers) involves rhetorical activity of creating information objects, as does the work of other information creators, e.g. authors of scholarly publications. The functioning of information system, i.e. production and organization of textual information should be investigated using methods applied in other disciplines, especially humanities and social sciences, as it allows for a broader research perspective.Originality/Value: The article describes the possibilities of applying genre theory in LIS research, which still do not receive the attention they merit. A wider knowledge of the genre theory would make possible collaborative research involving scholars of other disciplines such as linguistics and sociology.

Writing and genre scholarship has become increasingly attuned to how various nontextual features of written genres contribute to the kinds of social actions that the genres perform and to the activities that they mediate. Even though scholars have proposed different ways to account for nontextual features of genres, such attempts often remain undertheorized. By bringing together Writing, Activity, and Genre Research, and Multimodal Interaction Analysis, the authors propose a conceptual framework for multimodal activity-based analysis of genres, or Multimodal Writing, Activity, and Genre (MWAG) analysis. Furthermore, by drawing on previous studies of the laboratory notebook (lab book) genre, the article discusses the rhetorical action the genre performs and its role in mediating knowledge construction activities in science. The authors provide an illustrative example of the MWAG analysis of an emergent scientist’s lab book and discuss its contributions to his increasing participation in medical physics. The study contributes to the development of a theoretically informed analytical framework for integrative multimodal and rhetorical genre analysis, while illustrating how the proposed framework can lead to the insights into the sociorhetorical roles multimodal genres play in mediating such activities as knowledge construction and disciplinary enculturation.

A number of studies have shown that genre analysis through move analysis is a practical approach to identifying complexity in writing research papers (RAs). However, the development of general knowledge embodied in abstract discourse patterns is rarely known. This study aims to clarify whether educational level influences the development of general knowledge, especially in the field of abstract research. Using Hyland's (2000) five-step analysis model, this study analyzes the comparison and identity of thesis abstracts in English and Indonesian. The results of the analysis showed several differences and similarities in the realization of abstract discourse patterns in the final project abstracts in English and Indonesian. As for genre knowledge, its development is expressed in the level of learning, from undergraduate to postgraduate. As can be seen from the thesis abstracts in both languages, Move1 (Introduction) presents a richer variety of step-by-step implementations. The analysis also shows that there are no significant differences in the development of genre knowledge across languages and study areas. It is suggested to have more subject data for further comparative research on this particular topic.
 Keywords: Abstract, Abstract discourse pattern, thesis, English genre knowledge, Indonesian.

Teacher intervention in students' writing processes and peer and instructor feedback, often combined with student self-evaluation and reflection, have been central to the teaching and learning of writing for many years. Beginning with the Writing Process Movement in the 1970s, teachers have intervened while assisting students to develop more expert writing processes (Silva, 1990). Studies of expert processing indicated that “writing is not a straightforward plan-outline-write process” (Taylor, 1981). Instead, it is a “complex, recursive, and creative process or set of behaviors.…” (Silva, 1990, pp. 15–16). Encouraged by textbooks and this research, instructors scaffolded student work, providing intervention and feedback activities as students attempted to acquire the necessarily “complex, recursive … sets of behaviors.” And as students prepared their texts, instructors offered opportunities to develop meta-awareness and autonomy by reflecting on their writing processes. More recently, genre theorists and practitioners have shown how text structure and content, context, audience, writer purposes, and writer and discourse community ideologies influence the processing of written texts among expert writers. In this paradigm, writers need a sophisticated meta-knowledge of a variety of contextual and personal factors as they plan and execute their drafts and revisions, working toward a successful written product (Bawarshi, 2003; Hyland, 2002; Johns, 1997). Thus, teacher intervention, teacher and peer feedback, and student reflection should become even more important to novice writers as they develop increasing awareness of the need to balance their purposes, processes, target genre, audience, and context.

This chapter discusses the applications of genre analysis in translation research and training. Following initial interest in text types in the 1970s, genre analysis gained in importance since the 1990s as a consequence of, first, the application of discourse analytical methods and, next, of corpus linguistics to translation research. Genre analysis identifies distinctive features of genres, known as generic conventions, generic structure, and social, communicative, cultural, cognitive and ideological factors behind the use of genres. The main methods used in genre analysis in the past were qualitative but more recently quantitative, corpus-based methods have been used, especially to study lexico-grammatical patterns. The chapter discusses three major models of genre analysis, those of Biber and Conrad (2009), Borja et al. (2009) and Bhatia (1993, 2004), which offer a holistic approach. Translation-oriented genre analysis has focused on identifying differences in generic structures, conventions and expectations across languages and cultures (contrastive rhetoric, textology), as well as strategies for dealing with generic differences between the source language and the target language (genre fidelity, genre violation). Another important area of research invesitgates how genres affect the translators' decision-making process. Genre analysis is also of relevance for translator training, both in the process of ST interpretation and TT production. The internalisation of genre knowledge is an important component of professional translators'ability to perform effectively.

Introduction The question of whether EAP teaching should be ‘common-core’ or subject specific has always been controversial. In the early days most EAP materials (e.g. Herbert's The Structure of Technical English, The Focus Series) assumed a homogeneous group of students from one discipline, and concentrated on linguistic features of communication in that discipline. Subsequent materials (e.g. Reading and Thinking in English) took account of the fact that many EAP groups are, in fact, heterogeneous with students from a range of disciplines and focused on study skills that were considered to be important whatever discipline one was studying. This position was justified theoretically by the argument that the most important aspects of communication in academic contexts are common to all disciplines and that ESP teaching should not be concerned with teaching ‘specialised varieties’ of English but with the common features (Hutchinson and Waters, 1987). In recent years the increasing evidence from discourse and genre analysis that there is, in fact, significant variation between disciplines in the way that they structure their discourse, both in writing (Myers, 1989; Dillon, 1991) and in academic lectures (Olsen and Huckin, 1990; Dudley-Evans, 1994c), has strengthened the case for the inclusion of some specific work in an EAP programme. The case can also be made on pedagogic grounds. Brinton, Snow and Wesche (1989: 1) argue that simply ‘contextualising’ EAP lessons is not enough and that the basis of EAP teaching should be the authentic texts that students have to handle.

Recent research findings suggest that reading research articles (RAs) enhances undergraduate engineering students’ technical knowledge and fosters their lifelong learning skills. Nevertheless, the RA genre inherently displays challenging features for novice readers, especially EFL readers. Previous works on developing materials for teaching the reading of RAs to undergraduate students are limited and mostly report on the effectiveness of interventions rather than on course design and materials development. This paper presents the design and development of online materials for a Moodle-based, English for Specific Academic Purposes course that aimed to help Greek undergraduate Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) students to learn how to read RAs within their field. The materials design was based on the theories of genre analysis, metacognition and cognitive apprenticeship. Initially, a small RA corpus consisting of thirty RAs from high-ranking ECE journals and conferences from IEEE, ACM, Elsevier and Springer was created in cooperation with the ECE faculty. Subsequently, a move analysis was performed based on a simplified coding scheme of rhetorical moves in the target genre adjusted to the needs of novice Greek EFL readers. The results from our corpus analysis were used as the foundation of the genre-based materials that aimed at fostering learners’ declarative, procedural and conditional genre knowledge and included various examples of move structures and patterns, terminology, grammar as well as weekly genre analysis reflective tasks. We then created materials that intended to provide further support so that students could convert their newly acquired genre knowledge into procedural knowledge and explicitly taught top-down RA expeditious reading strategies and conditional knowledge by including metacognitive strategy training that intended to raise their awareness of when and why they should use the taught strategies. In an attempt to further tailor the materials to the needs of our students we included audiovisual enhancements in both L1 and L2 for presentation and feedback purposes, metacognitive prompts, online dictionaries and concordancers.

This article draws on genre theory in a biliteracy context to analyze how one US–Mexico border-crossing graduate student used her genre knowledge and meta-knowledge in her first language, Spanish, as a resource for navigating disciplinary-based genres in her second language, English. The student's strategic use of her L1 genre meta-knowledge from non-university contexts to realize academic literacy tasks in her L2 represented a form of recontextualization, where meanings move and get re-shaped across contexts. This strategic negotiation, in turn, served to disrupt the notions of ‘novice’ and ‘expert’ that are prominent in the composition studies literature on second language writers, where students are seen to be moving on a linear trajectory from novice to expert status in academic writing. The article discusses implications for genre-based research and pedagogy for multilingual learners crossing linguistic, cultural, and disciplinary boundaries in their academic studies.

Commentary: When “Thucydides and the Plague in Athens: The Roots of Scientific Writing” was written in 1988, genre analysis was an emerging area for scholarship. Thucydides' Historiae, which includes numerous political speeches in context, provides a rich resource for exploring the ancient roots of rhetorical genres. Thucydides' text also sheds light on the origin of a specific scientific genre - the medical case history. In describing a devastating plague in Athens, Thucydides uses the Hippocratic approach, following an ancient genre or form that is remarkably similar to the modern medical case history. Thucydides' case history of the Athenian plague enabled 20th-century epidemiologists to establish a diagnosis of the illness (influenza plus toxic shock syndrome), predict its return, and validate their diagnosis during a 1987 flu epidemic. Although “Thucydides and the Plague in Athens” only hints at Thucydides' genre knowledge, his case history of the plague and his presentation of speeches display considerable insight into the social construction and function of these recurring forms. In explaining the speeches in his text, for example, Thucydides says, “[M]y habit has been to make the speakers say what was in my opinion demanded of them by the various occasions” (1.22). He prefaces his account of the plague with a statement of purpose: to help future scholars recognize future outbreaks of the same illness. These remarks, viewed in the context of genre theory today, suggest that Thucydides not only knew how to use genres but also understood their social origin and purposes.

A plethora of research has shown that genre analysis through move analysis is a practical approach to identify the complexity of writing research articles (RAs). However, little is known about the genre knowledge development that is manifested in abstract discourse patterns. This study aims to determine whether or not there is an influence from the level of education with the development of genre knowledge, especially in the field of writing research abstracts. Using Hyland’s (2000) five-move analysis model, this study analyzed the comparison and identity of abstracts of theses and dissertations in English and Indonesian. From the analysis, it can be seen that there are some differences and similarities in the manifestation of abstract discourse patterns in English and Indonesian final paper abstracts. In terms of genre knowledge, its development could be reflected through the level of study, in this case, from master’s to doctoral degrees. As evident in the dissertation abstracts in both languages, Move 1 (Introduction) evinces richer varieties in step realizations than in master’s theses. The analysis also indicates no crucial differences in genre knowledge development across languages and fields of study. Further comparative research on this particular topic with more subject of data is suggested.

An understanding of genres in communication (written and spoken) is essential to professional success. This volume studies situationally appropriate responses in professional communication in face-to-face interaction and distance communication, from a socio-cognitive point of view. A traditional rhetorical approach does not give much insight in the ways in which genres are embedded in communicative activity or how actors draw upon genre knowledge to perform effectively. However, if genres are considered as embedded in social interaction “as typified forms of typified circumstances”, the rich dynamic aspects of genre knowledge can be disclosed. The chapters deal with genre knowledge in various settings, illustrating the impact of time, place, medium, skills and purpose, and some chapters deal with genre analysis in a broader sense giving ideas for applied genre analysis. The book is of interest to professionals and scholars in communication studies, discourse analysis, and social and cognitive science.

This study investigated the effects of writing with peer response using genre knowledge of 6th grade students. Meta-studies (Hillocks 1984; Graham & Perin, 2007) indicated that peer response is effective for writing. However, these studies did not focus on what makes peer response working. In addition, several studies discuss the quality of peer comments during writing conferences (too general comments, pre-occupation with spelling and interpunction, no concrete suggestions for revision of contents). A literature review was undertaken indicating that instruction in genre knowledge may be used to improve the quality of peer comments by providing a concrete focus. However, studies into peer response with instruction in genre knowledge with strong experimental designs have not been conducted yet. In addition it is not clear what type of genre knowledge supports students' writing, discussing and revising. In an experiment (141 students, randomly assigned to three conditions), the effects of two approaches of peer response with genre knowledge have been investigated. In one condition students were taught Specific Genre Knowledge (functions of linguistic indicators of time and place in narratives and instructions). In another condition students were taught General Aspects of Communicative Writing (general purpose of narratives and instructions, and goal- and audience-oriented writing). Both groups were compared with a base-line control group (no peer response and no genre knowledge) receiving writing lessons from the normal teacher. Results showed strong effects of the condition SGK, outperforming the two other conditions on text quality of four post-test writing tasks. No differences were found between the condition GACW and the baseline control group. Positive effects were found on several measurements: global writing quality, the functional use of indicators of time and place, students' attention to these indicators during writing conferences, and the functional use of indicators of time and place during text revision.