Blog #2 Genre Awareness

I must say that I do agree with Professor Flewelling from last Friday's class when she said that this is probably the most hardest reading we will have this semester. At first, I was thinking to myself "this shouldn't be too hard" but then I started reading the article and saw how difficult the words were and I was like

Then I started to read the article more, and I couldn't really understand what she was saying. So I had to re-read a lot of parts and I was like

"Teaching Critical Genre Awareness" by Amy Devitt was a challenging article to read for me. It had a lot of complex words that I have never hear before like "pedagogy". I'm not going to lie, a lot of these words I looked up. Never did I ever expect to explore the world of genres with so much detail! I do agree with a lot of Amy Devitt's points like, how it is important to know how different genres can have an effect on a variety of relationships

and how you can relate to the reader on different aspects. Genre awareness is important because you can include attention to contrasting genres and how they influence people. For instance, if you didn't know much about genre awareness, you wouldn't be able to contrast other genres with another or relate to certain kinds of people because you don't have a grasp of different ideologies that they all have. In her article she also points out that she wants to, "help students understand genres both intellectually and experientially to prepare them to accept that genres represent particular sides that shape their existence of their world"(348). I agree with this statement because, its completely different when you're writing about a genre that you have never experienced before. Like for example, if you don't listen to rap music, but you end up writing about it, the statements won't be as accurate as a person who listens to rap music on a regular basis. To further elaborate on this, she also shares projects that she thinks will better students about exploring different genres. I admire that she wants students to analyze a genre from different cultures and to, "work in groups to gather sample, analyze the genre, and learn about the historical or cultural context" (349). This way the student will have way more to write about because they have experienced it first hand and it offers the audience the delight being familiar with the subject.

I am a Public Health major, so I am used to taking a lot of science and math classes. So you would imagine that essays were not really my forte. The only thing close an essay in my science classes are lap reports. In my lab reports, we have to write down every little detail we did in a experiment. We would write what we would change, what materials and methods we use, and we would add some diagrams here and there. (Even though it was still a 10 page lab report, I would rather write those brutal 3-4 page essays). I always dreaded my English class because when we had to write essays, we would have to follow the teachers structure, and if we didn't write them precisely her way, it was wrong. This all changed for me once I got to college. I remember when I first took a communications class my freshman year at SDSU, and we had to write outlines of our speeches, which I thought was way more fun than writing essays. Going into this RWS305 class, I was kind of nervous because I thought we would write essays the whole time, but once I saw all the different genres of literature we were going to do this semester, it made me more interested in the class. With the blogs we do in this class, I don't have to follow a certain structure, I can just write freely and add my own pizzazz to it. It kind of makes me want to start my own personal blot about my interests and passions. I feel if I explore different genres of writing, I will feel more comfortable with writing in general.


When I think about genres in my life, I automatically think about dance. I have been dancing competitively for most of my life and there are many styles/genres to it. There is lyrical, jazz, tap, pom, modern, contemporary, hip-hop, and many more. With all those different types of genres, you can see the different ideologies and stereotypes that come with them. For example, people who dance to the style of lyrical usually have long legs and have to express a lot of emotion that will make the audience feel a fuzzy warmth in their hearts after they watch it. Where as people who dance to jazz are more spunky, tiny, and energetic. I also think of how each dance gives off a different reaction to the audience. For instance, at competitions, usually lyrical will win because it attracts the most emotion and it is very beautiful to watch. Jazz on the other hand, makes the audience feel more excited and gets them on their feet the whole time. Unfortunately, jazz doesn't always win first place. Maybe this is because of all the ideologies that come with lyrical dancing. Some of these ideologies may be that its more deserving to win because of the story it tells, or just how it makes the audience feel good when they watch it.

We might not even think about how many different genres that we come into contact with in our everyday life. For example, I write a lot of emails to my professors. Even though I write a lot of emails, I am not aware they are a category in literature genres. I always want to come off as professional to my teachers. So even though I am unaware I am participating in a different genre of literature, I gained language that was important to my professional development.

Overall, Devitt's article explained a lot of good concepts about genre awareness. One of my favorite points in her article was about when students write the same old five paragraph essay that we've been writing ever since middle school. From those essays, we "carry ideologies, norms and values that come to seem unquestioned"(339). I agree from a personal level that when we usually come into contact with the repetitive genres we tend to be inattentive to the subject and students do not really engage in their emotional interests. We are so used to writing them in a certain structure, like making sure they have a thesis and three good examples.

Thanks for reading,

Vanessa