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Navigating Genres

Kirstyn Marsh ENC2135

     Kerry Dirk begins her essay, Navigating Genres, with a style that seemed familiar to our previous read, Anne Lamott's, Shitty First Drafts. She comments on recognizing that other essays directed toward students encompassed a tone that was conversational rather than authoritative and found that writers admitted to their own ignorance. This made me wonder if she too had been a reader of Lamott's piece or rather the familiarity be due to the fact that both essays correspond to the same genre. Dirk brought to my attention an idea that had never crossed my mind: finding genre in our everyday lives. I never previously thought of an email or even a ransom note as being a type of genre. However, Dirk emphasizes that we must recognize the "rhetorical action" and be aware of "shifts in location" with our daily use of genres whether it be watching a horror movie or writing a research paper. In my opinion, as Dirk continues through her essay, many of her examples can relate to the reader yet, I believe she fails to realize that the majority either naturally or with previous knowledge know how to differentiate a freshman composition research paper from a psychology research paper. Although many of the points in her essay seemed obvious to, in all likelihood most people, I understand what Dirk was trying to accomplish in this essay and will keep it in mind. 

Comments

  1. UnknownJanuary 16, 2018 at 6:07 PM

    I like how you related the previous reading of "Shitty First Drafts" to Dirk's "Navigating Genres" as I do agree that they were both written in the same genre with a conversational tone and acted as mentors.

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  2. Annie WhiddonJanuary 17, 2018 at 11:58 AM

    I also noticed the similarity in "Shitty First Drafts" and "Navigating Genres". It kind of further proved the point of using forms that are nearly identical in genre instead of creating new ones.

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  3. UnknownJanuary 17, 2018 at 12:06 PM

    I also thought that this article was similar to "Shitty First Drafts," because they both make students feel less insecure about their writing and give them knowledge on what to do when writing papers. I also agree that both of these articles were written with a controversial tone.

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  4. UnknownJanuary 17, 2018 at 3:22 PM

    I also found it very interesting how we encounter genres in our everyday lives; I never considered that.

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  5. UnknownJanuary 17, 2018 at 3:28 PM

    I enjoyed how you compared the two writings! I also liked what you said that finding genres in everyday. I had never really thought of all the genres we come across on a daily basis.

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  6. UnknownJanuary 17, 2018 at 8:43 PM

    I also saw a similar tone in Shitty First Drafts, and it made me think about how they fall into the same genre as well! I was also intrigued to think about genres that we use every day without even realizing.

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  7. Mia PermuyJanuary 18, 2018 at 11:27 AM

    I initially did not make a connection with the tone of Dirk and Lamott's essays but after reading your blog post, I agree very much! Additionally, I agree with you in saying that Dirk makes the assumption that most of the people reading her essay do not have the basic or previous knowledge in the difference between papers, however, I wonder if she knew exactly who her audience was going to be and whether she wrote it in this way on purpose.

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