2311ENGL1419 Discourse Analysis – Ms Hoa Ninh

WEEKS 12 + 13

GENRE ANALYSIS
I. Definition and approaches
Definition:
‘Genre analysis is the study of situated linguistic behaviour in institutionalized academic or professional settings,
whether defined in terms of typification of rhetorical action, as in Miller (1984), Bazerman (1994) and Berkenkotter
and Huckin (1995), regularities of staged, goal-oriented social processes, as in Martin, Christie and Rothery (1987)
and Martin (1993), or consistency of communicative purposes, as in Swales (1990) and Bhatia (1993).’
(Bhatia 2004, p. 26)
Approaches:
‘One may identify three rather distinct frameworks developed and used for analysing genre. These are popularly
known as the American school of genre studies, as represented in the works of Miller (1984, 1994), Bazerman (1994)
and Berkenkotter and Huckin (1995); the Sydney school of systemic-functional approach to genre, as developed by
Martin, Christy and Rothery (1987) and Martin (1993); and the British ESP school, as represented in the works of
Swales (1981a, 1990) and Bhatia (1982, 1993).’
(Bhatia 2004, p. 11)

 Discussions: Think of a genre that you frequently employ in your academic/professional field. What are some
constraints that this genre imposes and what are some choices that it allows?

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II. Assigning a text to a genre category

What properties of a text can help us define it as an instance of a particular genre?

Cook (1989):

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Hasan (1989) and Martin (1992):

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Paltridge (2012)
2311ENGL1419 Discourse Analysis – Ms Hoa Ninh
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 “Assigning a text to a genre category, then, does not necessarily involve an exact match in terms of characteristics
or properties. Rather, it involves the notion of ‘sufficient similarity’ (Swales 1990) to have a relationship with other
examples of the genre in the particular genre category.”
(Paltridge 2012, p. 67-8)

III. Analysing the social and cultural context of genres

Social and cultural factors that might be considered when analysing a written text (Paltridge 2012, p. 78):

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 Discussion: What can we learn from these factors to improve our writing and reading skills?

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IV. Analysing the discourse structures of genres

 Discussions: Choose a text as an example of a genre that you frequently employ in your academic/professional
field. Identify the generic structure and the rhetorical structure of this text.

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2311ENGL1419 Discourse Analysis – Ms Hoa Ninh
V. A multi-perspective model (Bhatia 2004)

Reprinted from Bhatia (2004, p. 189)

2311ENGL1419 Discourse Analysis – Ms Hoa Ninh

Reprinted from Bhatia (2004, p. 194)

 Discussion: Read the sample analysis on pp. 195-209 in Bhatia (2004). What analytical perspectives are examined?

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