Genre Analysis Research Articles

Using Genre Analysis to Detect AI-Generated Academic Texts

This study investigates the distinguishing characteristics between human-written and AI-generated abstracts through genre analysis techniques. The research examined mini-memoir abstracts authored by MA2 students at Faculty of Arts and Humanities, University of Kairouan, Tunisia and compared them to AI-generated abstracts created specifically for this study using ChatGPT. The analysis focused on text function recurrence, specifically the frequency and quality of elements such as purpose statements, methodology, results, and contextualization. Findings revealed that human-written abstracts exhibit a more comprehensive and detailed presentation, emphasizing contextualization and thorough results, while AI-generated abstracts tend to prioritize clear and explicit purpose statements with less depth in results and contextual information. The study highlights the need for targeted teacher training and rigorous assessment criteria to uphold academic integrity and address the challenges posed by AI in scholarly writing.

The story behind the cinematic true crime documentary: working towards a typology

ABSTRACT Historically, documentaries have employed cinematic techniques, but since the 1990s there has been a pronounced application of such devices for theatrical appeal. This trend, amplified by digital streaming platforms, raises concerns about representations of reality. To understand the scope of such concerns, a key question arises: what constitutes some of these ‘cinematic’ techniques used within documentaries? Despite claims that appealing documentaries often employ Hollywood storytelling strategies, there is limited understanding of how the genre adopts specific devices for cinematic entertainment. This article examines true crime documentary The Imposter, analysing its use of cinematic screenwriting and story devices, specifically dramatic structure. An analytical model is synthesised through genre theory (thriller) with Lucy V. Hay's understanding of the Three-Act-Structure, underpinned by relevant literature. This examination reveals how the documentary employs ‘cinematic’ aesthetics and thriller conventions to engage audiences. Drawing on Murray Smith’s ‘Structure of Sympathy’, the article explores the filmmaker's application of these storytelling techniques, shedding light on their potential capacity to shape audience appraisal of real-world events and subjects in true crime documentaries. The analysis aims to identify and unpack these specific storytelling devices, contributing to a deeper understanding of the impact of cinematic techniques in nonfiction filmmaking for representing reality.

Exploring the Genre of International Online Communication to Map the Stages and Phases in the Participants’ Analytical Exposition Texts

In the current digital age, an online messaging platform called the International Virtual Exchange (IVE) Program is widely utilized in the English language learning process. The participants of the IVE Program are learners from non-native English-speaking countries with different cultural contexts, so they may have different realizations of genre structures. Most studies employing genre analysis only covered the genre stages without analyzing their phases. Therefore, this study aims to explore the stages and phases of the participants’ Analytical Exposition texts in the IVE 2021 Program, as one of the micro-genre texts on the international online communication with the topic Lessons from the Pandemic. The results showed that the participants of the IVE 2021 Program, who come from six different countries, had different stages and phases of the genre because the schematic structure could change based on the type and number of arguments/issues described in the text. This research can be used as a reference for participants of international online communication, especially in the IVE Program, so that they can implement complete and holistic stages and phases of the genre in their communication texts to minimize misunderstandings from other participants.

Analysis of the Arab singer Shadia’s lyrics

AbstractIn this work, we analyze the lyrics of one of the most famous and influential Arab artists in the twentieth century, namely "Image missing" (Shadia). Lyrics analysis provides a deep insight into the artist’s career evolution and her interactions with the surrounding environment including the social, political, and economic conditions. In order to perform such analysis, we had to collect and compile the lyrics of Shadia accompanied with the necessary meta-data into an organized and structured form. The data are preprocessed by removing stop words and doing some normalization operations over the songs prose. We did not perform any lemmatization or stemming as the original form of the tokens conveys much more information than the source words. We performed a lexical analysis in order to study both the lexical diversity and density over the course of Shadia’s career life. We have as well studied the most significant words, idioms, and terms played in the songs using tools such as word clouds and more quantitative measures such as term frequency–inverse document frequency. We have divided the career life of Shadia into sub-decades of length 5 years, and all analyses are done both in a yearly fashion and more coarsely over such sub-decades. Our quantitative analyses show strong correlations between the artistic lyrical work of Shadia and the state of affairs in Egypt and the Arab World during her time. In particular, Shadia’s lyrics reflect the radical changes in all aspects of the social, political, and economic conditions. This is especially relevant knowing that Shadia is very much truly considered the daughter of the generation of the 1952 revolution in Egypt. The significance of Shadia and her lyrics stem essentially from being contemporaneous to radical changes in Egypt across all sectors including political (support of liberation movements across the world and the conflict with Israel) and socioeconomic (especially changing the social class structure in Egypt). We also investigated the potential effectiveness of PoS (Part-of-Speech) tagging in genre analysis and classification.

Consciousness and commodity: towards a critical theory of genre in American popular music

ABSTRACT This paper uses a critical theory approach to analyse the process of genre in American popular music. Synthesizing views from Herbert Marcuse and Theodor Adorno with more optimistic perspectives from Angela Davis and Tia DeNora, the paper proposes a cyclical theory of genre transformation from communal resistance to commodified product. Three case studies are used to show this process. In the 1920s, Appalachian music transformed from indigenous, multi-racial folk to commercialized ‘hillbilly music'. During the 1970s disco originated in queer communities to provide liberation on the dancefloor, became the dominant music of the decade, resulting in its homophobic extinction while inspiring new dance genres like house. Finally, the 1980s saw the rise of rap as a mode of defiance to racial and economic violence, but subsequent generations of artists worked to self-commodify to appeal to suburban white audiences, becoming the world's most popular genre. The paper examines how each genre originated as a form of resistance, gained widespread popularity, and ultimately became commodified. It concludes by exploring how AI-driven algorithms have disrupted traditional consumption patterns based on genre. In its place, machine learning and artificial intelligence is fabricating an ‘algorithmic self’ that individuates while disconnecting from specific communal expressions.

Satire Between the Lines: Negotiating Genre Hybridity in the Satirical Newsroom of De Ideale Wereld

ABSTRACT The proliferation of political entertainment has internationally produced a wide variety of news satire formats which blend journalistic conventions with comedic storytelling. This paper investigates the production of the Belgian news satire show De Ideale Wereld through a genre theory lens, viewing genre as enacted practice. It reports on 23 interviews with the show's hosts and editorial staff and a three-week observation period in its “satirical newsroom.” The findings reveal how the creators of De Ideale Wereld engage in an on­going negotiation of comedic and journalistic roles inspired by irreconcilable genre identities, embodying conflicting intentions located on different ends of the spectrum between comedic absurdity and journalistic inquiry. Furthermore, by adhering to journalistic practices such as fact-checking and news values, the show's creators navigate perceived limitations to the subjectivity inherent to their roles as comedic professionals. This article contributes to the limited understanding of the production of news satire and the implications of hybridity on the understanding of comedic and journalistic practice.

Genre Analysis of Law Research Article Abstracts and Application in Legal Writing Teaching

Investigating the rhetorical structure of law research article (LRA) abstracts is essential for researchers and instructors in legal writing. Despite their significance in academic discourse, the specific rhetorical strategies used in LRA abstracts remain underexplored. This study examines the rhetorical moves in English LRA abstracts using Hyland’s framework. Fifty LRA abstracts, randomly selected from the Journal of East Asia and International Law and Law in Context, both of which are indexed in Scopus and ISI Web of Science, were analyzed as the corpus. The research employed a qualitative content analysis approach to identify and categorize the rhetorical moves. The study reveals that the purpose and introduction moves are the most prevalent, underscoring the importance of clearly stating objectives and establishing context. The product and conclusion move, which summarize key findings and extend research implications, follow in prevalence. In contrast, the method move appears less frequently, reflecting the genre's focus on legislative analysis rather than detailed methodologies. These findings are valuable for law researchers aiming to publish in international law journals and contribute to a broader understanding of genre analysis in legal writing. The study offers practical implications for scholars and educators, enhancing the effectiveness of legal academic communication.

Slanting the Holocaust in the Fairy Tale Form: Jean-Claude Grumberg’s The Most Precious of Cargoes

This article analyzes Jean-Claude Grumberg’s 2019 Holocaust fairy tale, The Most Precious of Cargoes, translated from French. This fairy tale adds to Grumberg’s oeuvre of Holocaust fiction, including plays and children’s stories. His fairy tale may be his most personal attempt to process his own Holocaust experience, as he includes an appendix with facts about his father and grandfather who died in Auschwitz. Specifically, the fairy tale is approached through an analysis of the fairy tale genre’s pairing with the subject of the Holocaust. The article also examines possible readings of such a pairing through a close reading of the tale that analyzes the role of good vs. evil. Published interviews with Grumberg, theory on the fairy tale, and other Holocaust fairy tales establish a view that The Most Precious of Cargoes is unique in Holocaust fiction.

Genre analysis of hybrid texts: Language used in online course introduction of international universities

This study thus aimed to examine a spoken discourse genre of new hybrid texts in the online course previews extracted from an online learning website. The corpora consisted of 12,735 words compiled through 30 pieces of the top five online course previews within the three sub-categories including Business, Academics, and How-to of Coursera websites. The results showed that there were marked features of the discourse as hybrid text which displayed the combination of promotional and academic properties. The unique rhetorical organization in terms of employing the obligatory move structures: detailing the course, establishing credentials, and indicating the benefit of learners was extensively found. Besides this, the grammatical feature of if- conditional forms and the lexical bundle “be going to”, were discovered to purposively support the rhetorical organization to create the persuasive effect on the target audience to enroll the full courses. Implications of the present study in relation to the genre analysis of the new hybrid text were also discussed.

A comparative of theosophical sufism in Syarah al-Hikam by Sholeh Darat and ‘Abdullah Gangohi

This study elaborated on the explanation of theosophical Sufism in the book of al-Hikam by two well-known Islamic academics, Kyai Sholeh Darat (Indonesia) and Shaykh ‘Abdullah Gangohi (India). The data in this study are the text of Syarah al-Hikam, written by Kyai Sholeh Darat and the text of Syarah Al-Hikam in the perspective of Shaykh ‘Abdullah Gangohi. This qualitative research study used a Systemic Functional Linguistic (SFL) approach from M.A.K. Halliday. Data analysis in this research applied the Spradley model, namely: (1) domain analysis, (2) taxonomy analysis, (3) componential analysis and (4) analysis of cultural themes. The domain analysis tried to map the information structure in the explanation of al-Hikam based on the theory of SFL. This information structure is the basis for the genre analysis as a semiotic representation of social society. Meanwhile, the taxonomic analysis tried to elaborate on the Sufism thoughts of both the thinkers based on the Syarah al-Hikam text. Componential analysis synergised the results of the information structure and the theosophical Sufism thought in al-Hikam. Finally, the analysis of cultural themes endeavoured to elaborate on the theosophical Sufism thoughts of the two Sufism thinkers and to draw the relationships and the contributions to the universal Sufism. The conditions of theosophical Sufism can be elaborated based on the information structure. The limitation of this study is the lack of researcher’s efforts to investigate the substance of theosophical Sufism, because this research is only limited to the outer layer of language.Contribution: This article shows that the thought of theosophical Sufism showed that Islam in Southeast Asia is Islam that carries the spirit of Islam Rahmatan lil-alamin. In addition, the thought of theosophical Sufism in Syarah al-Hikam has had an impact on the socio-cultural transformation, especially on the Sufism movement [thariqah] spread across Indonesia and India.

A Genre Analysis of Algerian and Jordanian Obituary Announcements

The study investigates the generic structure of 240 Algerian and Jordanian obituary announcements published on Facebook with the purpose of identifying, describing and analyzing their structure, generic component, and communicative functions. The study adopts a mixed method approach, including both quantitative and qualitative methods -with more emphasis on the latter- couched within the Bhatia (1993) genre analysis framework. The qualitative analysis helps in understanding the underlying process and details of obituary writings. The quantitative analysis provides the frequencies and identifies the structural order of the rhetorical moves. The study reveals the similarities and differences between Facebook obituaries in both societies. The results show that: (i) Algerian and Jordanian obituaries consist of eleven generic moves (1-11); (ii) While Algerian and Jordanian obituaries share some similarities in Moves (1-6), they differ in Moves (7-9) with some additional differences noted in Moves (10) and (11); (iii) Religion and socio-economic statuses are two key factors in composing the Algerian and Jordanian obituaries. This study provides an original contribution and fills a gap in the literature of Facebook obituaries in both Algerian and Jordanian contexts, addressing an unexplored area. Future cross-cultural research is required to spot any cross-cultural similarities or contrasts among these announcements within different religious and ethnic groups, whether in Algeria (Amazigh), Jordan (Kurds or Armenians) and / or in other Arabic contexts.

Discursive struggles around constitutional reform: language and social change in Tunisia

ABSTRACT Using narrative (genre) analysis, part of the discourse historical approach (DHA) to critical discourse studies (CDS), this paper analyses discursive struggles in the Tunisian context of constitutional reform debates held in 2022. This methodological approach and political focus are then tied to the distinctly Tunisian concept of ‘asabiyya, a notion expressing forms of social solidarity/cohesion as devised by Tunisian philosopher of history Ibn Khaldūn (d.1406). The in-depth narrative genre analysis reveals the prevalence of the ironic-tragic modes of emplotment deployed by reform advocates aiming to subvert the totalizing discourses of the heroic romantic narratives, which are preferred by constitutional conservatives. The paper concludes by discussing the possible reasons for the prevalence of the nation-state as the master narrative in these disputes and the failure of ironic-tragic narratives to mobilize influential forms of ‘asabiyya during the constitutional struggles. The paper empirically contributes to understanding the processes of facilitated or blocked social change in post-Arab Spring societies.

Поэма Абу Бакра Каландара Руми «Каландар-наме» как источник сведений по суфийской ритуальной музыке

This paper is devoted to analyze the text of Abu Bakr Qalandar Rumi’s poem “Qalandar-name” from the point of view of describing the Sufi ritual of listening to sama`. As it is known, Sufi zikr can be two types – “loud”, with singing, dancing movements and playing musical instruments, and “quiet” without any musical part. Research materials: The statement of the author of the poem is of scholarly interest because the author welcomes both two types of zikr, as his Ushshaki group used singing, dancing and musical instruments. All these activities were used for the sole purpose of unity with the divine. The text of the poem is a source on Sufi rituals and their musical peculiarities in different tariqats. The poet also provides theoretical justifications for the permissibility of music in Sufi rituals, based on famous Sufi sheikhs of the earlier centuries. Also the author of the poem displays a deep knowledge of the general Sufi Islamic culture of his time, often referring to poetic images of famous Sufi poets of different countries. The musical instruments presented in the poem give a deep insight into the fact that each group of dervishes may have had their own set of instruments and their own dances. A common genre for all Sufi groups in the world is the genre of munajat, which appears four times in the poem as a separate prayer chapter. Results and novelty of the study: In this paper much attention is paid to the analysis of Sufi musical genres and instruments which were typical of that era. Also a number of the most favorite musical instruments are identified, which were widely used during the Sufi ritual of listening to sama`. The differences between the terms sama` (Sufi listening ritual) and the dance genre of Crimean Tatars “sema” and Tajik “samo” are explained separately. The musical instruments, such as arganun and organ, as well as musikar / musigar, which have different descriptions in historical and modern scientific literature, are also studied separately. The description of the organ in the context of the poem together with the image of the immortal bird Kuknus / Phoenix gives the readers the poem the image about two variants of the wind instrument – the Pan flute type and the keyboard type with mechas. Since we have not found a precise description of the organ and the arganun / musikar in the poem itself, this question remains open for future research. The poem “Kalandar-nameh” will no doubt be useful as a source on Sufi culture of different tariqats of the Middle Ages.

Genre Theories and Second Language Writing: Development, Trends and Tensions

This article reviews literature on genre theory and second language (L2) writing. Specifically, the application of genre theory in L2 writing classrooms and how genre theory together with other themes in the field of second language acquisition contribute to L2 writing development are discussed. Genre has emerged as an important concept in L2 writing studies because it helps teachers and learners to identify socially recognized ways of using language. Through different schools and theories, genre has become a formidable strategy that helps writers learn academic writing conventions. Despite the affordances, a major criticism of genre theory is its tendency to hinder creativity and agency in the classroom and strengthen dominant and privileged discourses. This article concludes with a discussion on genre innovation and studies that underscore the need for flexibility and innovation when developing genre-based pedagogies for classrooms. Despite the challenges, genre remains a crucial theory in L2 writing studies.

Understanding literacy as human practice: exploring stories about (people like) us

ABSTRACT This paper examines literacy as a sociocultural, personal and human practice dependent on and derived through relationships between people, settings and culture. Drawing on a recent empirical research study that combines learner, teacher and author perspectives [Curtin (2023) Reading and Writing Pathways Through Children’s and Young Adult Literature: Exploring Literacy, Identity and Story with Authors and Readers. Routledge], I explore how children’s literature may be used to develop meaningful and authentic literacy pedagogies in the primary classroom. The research methodology for this study employed interviews with sixteen international and award-winning children’s literature authors. This paper presents one author's interview from the study in detail in an effort to illustrate the importance of identity and personal resonance in literacy learning. To this end, funds of knowledge [Moll, Amanti, Neff, and Gonzalez. (1992). “Funds of Knowledge for Teaching: Using a Qualitative Approach to Connect Homes and Classrooms.” Theory Into Practice 31 (2): 132–141. https://doi.org/10.1080/00405849209543534] and light and dark [Zipin (2009). “Dark Funds of Knowledge, Deep Funds of Pedagogy: Exploring Boundaries Between Lifeworlds and Schools.” Discourse: Studies in the Cultural Politics of Education 30 (3): 317–331. https://doi.org/10.1080/01596300903037044] pedagogical approaches are applied in a discussion of genre study using (auto) biographical text in the primary classroom. Identity affirming and culturally resonant pedagogies developed seek to engage learners in literacy as a human practice. The paper concludes by considering key insights and ways forward.

Figurative Language and Sensory Perception: Corpus-Based Computer-Assisted Study of the Nature and Motivation of Synesthetic Metaphors in Olive Oil Tasting Notes

ABSTRACT Meaning in sensory language is often built through figurative mechanisms, such as synesthetic metaphors, where a sensorial domain is used to talk about perceptions from a different sense, as in sweet [ taste ] texture [ touch ]. The motivation of synesthetic transfers of meaning has been studied in general and literary language, resulting in attempts to reveal universal patterns regarding the directionality of meaning transfer and sensorial conceptual preference. However, those universals have not been proven in any sensory Language for Specific Purposes (LSP). We a sensory LSP corpus of olive oil tasing notes in English to explore the nature of these metaphors, test existent models and explanatory accounts and identify tendencies present in synesthetic meaning transfers. The computer-assisted semi-automatic scalable methodology followed consists of the innovative quasi-simultaneous identification of semantic incongruences and the classification of synesthetic expressions in the discourse according to the source and target sensorial domains. Results show the inadequacy of existent models to explain synesthetic behavior in olive oil tasting language. The patterns found are discussed in the light of cognitive constraints and LSP genre analysis to conclude that a multi-causal approach is needed to explain the motivation of synesthetic transfers of meaning.

Implementation of Technical Communication Pedagogy in Higher Education Institutions: A Systematic Literature Review

One of the most significant needs in technical communication is to teach students how to communicate complex technical information. This paper systematically reviews the literature to map technical communication (TC) pedagogical strategies and theoretically underpinned approaches. The overall purpose is to illuminate patterns and trends in research that describe TC pedagogy, specifically learning objectives, method of delivery, content, assessment strategies, and theoretical frameworks. Following PRISMA guidelines, the study conducted detailed content analysis on 39 publications from 2017 to 2023 based on specific inclusion criteria.. Results show increasing trends in interdisciplinary, inclusive, and technology-driven approaches and recurrent themes of student-centered objectives, technology-based delivery, and diverse assessments, with Rhetorical Theory being the dominant theoretical framework in TC pedagogy research. Based on the findings, it is recommended that future research and practice in TC pedagogy prioritize the integration of comprehensive theoretical frameworks, such as social constructivism, genre theory, and rhetorical theory, to enhance the effectiveness of teaching strategies and better prepare students for the evolving demands of the modern workforce.

O desenvolvimento das capacidades de linguagem no processo de escrita dos estudantes universitários: o Projeto de Pesquisa para Iniciação Científica em foco

This article aims to demonstrate the role that the Academic Literacy Laboratory at the University of São Paulo (LLAC) plays in improving students' textual production in the genre of Research Project for Scientific Initiation. This article is part of a master's research project that aims to go beyond a merely descriptive analysis, seeking to illustrate the interaction between theories of texts and genres and teaching practices. Based on the analysis of LLAC's impact on the textual production of genres in the university context, the article tracks the development of language capacities: action capacity, discursive capacity, and linguistic-discursive capacity (Dolz, Pasquier, Bronckart, 1993) of university students. In this sense, the article provides analyses of the development of written production in Portuguese, as a mother tongue, aiming to identify how students develop their language capacities based on the teachable characteristics of the Research Project genre. Through the analysis of various excerpts, it was observed that the interventions during the sessions played the role of a mediating tool in students' language actions, highlighting the importance of the monitor-tutor's role in the reformulation of texts.

Does academic writing coaching with genre pedagogy work with teachers? A case study of public school teachers in West Kalimantan, Indonesia

Recent studies in academic writing have used coaching to develop specific skills and affective variables. There are limited studies on coaching academic writing using genre pedagogy (GP) with adult learners, specifically Indonesian EFL teachers. This study investigated how academic writing coaching activities (AWCA) that implement GP could help develop the writing skills of public school teachers in Ketapang Regency, West Kalimantan, Indonesia. This qualitative case study involved fifty-seven participants who attended the coaching. Data obtained from participant observations and open-ended questionnaires were analyzed using inductive thematic analysis, and the participants’ texts were analyzed using genre analysis. The analysis results were triangulated to obtain valid findings. The results show that scaffolding, explicit teaching, and customized teaching stages could help develop the participants' writing skills. Then, the participants’ texts followed the schematic structure of the academic genre and implemented relevant linguistic features. These findings provide insight into how genre-based academic writing activities could enhance public school teachers' writing skills who are adult learners, an area with scant research. Furthermore, it is proposed that this methodology be applied across different regions and abroad to better assess its effects on the professional growth of teachers.

What counts as ‘evidence’ in literacy education?

A recent issue of the Australian Journal of Language and Literacy included an article reporting on a systematic narrative review of the research literature that indicated that there was insufficient evidence to conclude whether genre theory and systemic functional linguistics either ‘worked’ or ‘did not work’. The criteria used to evaluate these studies excluded any study that did not conform to the ‘gold standard’ associated with experimental research such as randomised controlled trials. In response to this provocative finding, a group of SFL researchers decided to examine just what counts as evidence of quality literacy research these days. In this paper, we question the overreliance on experimental research at the expense of other methods. We illustrate this with a sample of notable studies that do not meet experimental criteria, but which nevertheless have made a significant contribution to school literacy outcomes in Australia and elsewhere.