Clark Allen

November 5th, 2014

Professor Padgett
UWRT 1101-072

What a Genre Really Tells Us

Genre is a term used to categorized different pieces of literature, magazines, blogs, and
essentially everything else imaginable that has writing on it. Each genre can be categorized in many
different ways, whether it is fiction or non-fiction, funny or sad, or even whether it is informational or
not. Knowing what a certain writings genre is can be incredibly insightful as to what the piece may
contain, because every genre has its own expectations and guidelines that it will typically follow. For
instance, you wouldnt want a direction manual on how to set up your television to be funny and
fictional, because that would get you nowhere. Genres can also be vague, such as simply saying nonfiction, or they can be more descriptive like biography or historical. Regardless of the genre, every piece
of writing also has goals that it is trying to achieve and rhetoric to help the writer connect with readers.
The document that I have chosen to focus this paper on is a three step diagram explaining how
to us a hand dryer properly. I chose this for several different reasons. One reason is that it has a more
literal and realistic explanation than many other hand dryers typically show. Another reason is because
it incorporates humor into a genre that traditionally is very straight forward. The final reason I have for
choosing this is that it has no actual words on it, which helps to demonstrate the idea that essentially
any type of document has a genre. The genre that I would classify this as would be hand dryer

instructions. Although this may seem like a genre that would be simple and have no thought put into it,
it still has expectations from the readers like all other genres.
Genre expectations are exactly what they sound like, they are expectations that the reader has
of what it is that they are going to read before reading it. Some genres, such as science fiction or thriller
books, are expected to be interesting, suspenseful, and often unrealistic. With the hand dryer
instructions, the expectations are that it is true, honest, understandable, and reliable directions on how
to properly use the product, the hand dryer. This means that these instructions cannot be misleading,
must be quick and easy so that anyone can interpret and understand it, and it has to always work, as
opposed to only working some of the time. If any of these factors were not included in the instructions,
then they would not be helpful to many more people. It follows the expectation of being quick and easy
to interpret by only using three pictures that are neatly labeled 1, 2, and 3 and ordered left to right. The
instructions could have had a written format that explains in immense detail to the reader how to work
the hand dryer, but that would be much more time consuming and possibly misleading depending on
how it is written. The simple three pictures is perfect for this genre though because anybody, assuming
they have their vision, that looks at it can look at it and follow along with the pictures while using the
hand dryer. This genre also has to be quick to read because most people do not want to be extending
their time in the bathroom to try and figure out what it is that they need to do to complete a task as
simple as drying their hands. Again these instructions hit this expectation on the dot with the three
pictures because it does not take more than five seconds to look at the pictures and fully interpret what
it is meaning. These instructions break from the norm however by assimilating some humor into them
and making it more realistic than typical hand dryer instructions. This happens in the third picture, when
the instructions realize that even though the reader knows how to use the hand dryer properly, they all
too often do not spend the time to get their hands fully dry and end up wiping them on the clothes to
finish the drying process. Humor is not a typical expectation of this genre, because most every hand

dryer instructions do not have any, but I like that this has it because it is a realistic type of humor that
tells the reader its okay to just get their hands mostly dry while using the hand dryer. This third step,
although humorous, does actual help to strengthen the instructions by making them less misleading. It
does not claim to make the users hands completely dry, and so the third step assures that the
instructions will always work if you just use your clothes to finish the job. That reliability is an important
factor for the instructions genre, because without it, many users may think the product is defective or
broken. Genre expectations are always important for a piece of writing, because without following these
expectations, the reader may be disappointed or confused with what it is that they are reading.
All genres have a way of telling us about people. Genres can reflect a persons interests by using
those interests in the text. Even hand dryer instructions have the ability to tell us about people. This
genre tells us that people like efficiency, that they like to be able to complete a task as simple as drying
their hands without any unnecessary confusion or time consuming instructions. If this genre thought
that people wanted to spend more time trying to work a hand dryer while in the bathroom than
necessary, then it would have been long, complicated, drawn out writing instructions rather than the
three simple pictures that were used. Some genres are directed towards a certain group of people or
discourse community, but this genre is directed towards virtually anyone, because everybody has to use
the bathroom. The pictures allow for anybody to follow the instructions, regardless of age or language
they speak. Genres tell us about the text, but they also have the ability to tell us about the people who
will be reading the text.
Genres also all use rhetorical techniques to appeal to a readers ethos, pathos and logos. The
hand dryer instructions genre is not different. The ethos of this genre is found in its truthfulness and
reliability, the logos is found in the easy to follow three step depiction of how to use the hand dryer, and
pathos is found through the realistic humor in the third picture. This genre is much more rhetorically

effective by using these three techniques, and in that way has the ability to make the reader trust that
the instructions are legitimate and trustworthy.
This genre may seem like a simple document, but it is able to tell us a wide variety of different
things and does so much more than simply tell the reader how to use the hand dryer. Genres were
created for the readers, and they are an excellent way to categorize essentially any document, whether
it is a book, an article, a movie or even a simple three picture description of how to use a hand dryer.

Clark,
I like that youve chosen this piece for analysis. Youve done a terrific job discussing genre expectations
and how this piece has violated those expectations. As far as a genre analysis goes, this is really exciting
stuff. While you have a great idea, and you have the trappings of a great analysis, Im not sure youve
convinced me on your analysis. You discuss the humor, but I dont see the humor. You suggest that
ethos is not important, and ethos is always important. You suggest that the humor doesnt serve much
of a purpose, and, as rhetoricians or students of rhetoric, rarely is something in writing is purposeless. I
really want you to dive into this analysis and make some strong assertions. And, more importantly,
explain your assertions. You say there is humor, tell me where it is.

http://www.google.com/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0CAcQj
Rw&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgizmodo.com%2F5991480%2Ffinally-honest-hand-dryer-instructions&ei=mMtVPb9FMybgwSk9IKICA&bvm=bv.80642063,d.eXY&psig=AFQjCNH2hMnIE1pxQ1tuZGgH_yhXMmhrQ&ust=1417682194078458