A New Definition of Genre

by Caitlin Harrison - Monday, 12 January 2015, 1:20 PM

In this essay, Kerry Dirk defines genre as repeated rhetorical
situations that build upon past experiences of similar situations. Dirk
begins the essay by providing examples from every day life when differing
genres are used. The author explains how whenever we tell jokes, write
emails, or update our Facebook status we are using different genres to do
so. First, Dirk explains that at some point a precedent has been created
for each of these and when that situation happens again, another person
uses the first response as a basis for the second, and eventually everyone
who en- counters this situation is basing his/her response on the previous
ones, resulting in the creation of a new genre (Dirk, 252). In addition, Dirk
describes how each genre differs depending on the writers anticipation of
who will be reading it. For example, a text you to your best friend will differ
greatly with an email you send your professor. Lastly, Dirk goes on to
explain that genres also differ depending on the purpose of the writing.
What reaction from the reader are you anticipating? Dirk states by
studying the genres that we find familiar, we can start to see how specific
choices that writers make result in specific actions on the part of readers
(Dirk, 254). The way Kerry Dirk explained the importance of genres and
similarities within genres helped me to further my understanding of this
somewhat confusing topic. Dirk wrote, Similarities within genres help us to
communicate successfully; imagine the chaos that would ensue if news
broadcasts were done in raps, if all legal briefs were written in couplets, or
if your teacher handed you a syllabus and told you that it must first be
decoded (Dirk, 259).
After reading this essay by Kerry Dirk, I have found that I previously
had very little understanding of what genre really is. To be completely
honest, I feel as though I now have a completely new definition of genre.
Dirks view of this topic contrasted with mine in that I have never really
thought of genres as anything more than a form of classification. I actually
found this essay very interesting to read with a lot of great examples and
points.