Genre, purpose and audience

UNIT 2
ENGLISH FOR HUMANITIES AND SOCIAL SCIENCES
GE2412
Genre, Audience & Purpose (GAP)

 Every decision a writer makes is governed by three

concepts: genre, audience, purpose (GAP);
 Genre (G) - what type of text should you are writing;
 Audience (A) - who will be reading your text;
 Purpose (P) – the purpose your text is intended to achieve.
Genre and purpose

 Purpose is the goal or aim of a piece of writing.

 The purpose of any piece of writing can be determined by asking
the question: "What am I trying to accomplish with this piece of
writing?"
Genre and purpose

 Different genres are associated with different purposes.

 For example:
 A social worker writes an observation report to record the facts and
impressions from a meeting with a client so that she has a credible source for
what she says if she needs to testify in court.
 An engineer writes a functional specification so that the factory which will
produce prototypes knows what criteria they should meet.
Activity 1)

 Identify the communicative purposes of the following

genres:
 report:[To provide a record of situations, procedures and/or
problems]
 research article
 textbook

 dictionary
Genre & Purpose

Genre Purpose
Report To provide a record of situations, procedures and/or problems

Research to report new information or analysis about a specific problem,

article issue or question
Textbook to introduce widely accepted knowledge on a topic to people who
are starting to learn about that topic

Dictionary to provide a record of the meaning of words so that people can find
out what each one means

(Parodi, 2009)
 Genre and purpose

 We may have more than one purpose in mind when we are writing a particular genre.
 e.g. a dictionary may be written both to inform the reader of a meaning of an unknown word, and
to put on record an established meaning of a word.
 Mini task – Last week, we looked at a restaurant review.
 What purposes do magazine editors who commission restaurant reviews have in mind for
these texts?

 to help ppl decide if they want to
visit a restaurant
 to allow ppl to daydream about
visiting restaurants that they’re
never likely to visit
 to provide more variety in the
magazine
 to fill up space in the magazine
with easy content
 to make money from promoting the
restaurant...?
 to establish/cement the ‘image’
of the magazine (e.g. class &
sophistication)
 and ultimately: to sell more
magazines & therefore make
more money
Genre and purpose

 Two or more texts may exhibit different communicative purposes even if they are
of the same genre. For example, a report may be written to document a situation
or to advocate for change.
 Two superficially similar texts may have quite different purposes because they
belong to different genres or sub-genres.
Activity 2)

 Read the following two passages

 What is/are their genre(s)?

 What is/are the purposes of the writers?
 What are the similarities & differences?
Dear Señor Garcia,

I was hoping that you could kindly pass on my utmost gratitude for the outstanding hospitality
that was shown to my family by Juan Marco who works as a waiter in your hotel bar.

From the very first day, when Juan greeted us all with a friendly smile, the service he provided
was first class. Even during the evenings when the bar got extremely busy, Juan never got
flustered and showed total dedication and commitment to his duties and treated everyone to
the same high standard of service whether it was for a party of people who were ordering 10
cocktails or to our young daughter of 10 years old who simply wanted an ice cream – Juan was
excellent.

How Juan kept up his sense of humour, enthusiasm and energy levels is beyond my belief.
Although we saw other waiters throughout the day, Juan never seemed to be off duty and I’m
sure he must work very long hours. However, he truly is a credit to your hotel and he fully
epitomises what 5 star service is all about.

Please pass on our thanks to him once again and I hope you will be able to offer him some kind
of accolade for his tremendous efforts in making our holiday with you so enjoyable. We hope to
return again in the not too distant future.

Yours sincerely,
John Logan (Durham, 2010)
Dear Sir/Madam,

Up until recently we have enjoyed coming to Horton's over the years for the food and the service. Unfortunately, after our visit this
past Friday, this view has changed for us.

This past Friday our immediate family brought other family members to the restaurant who was visiting from another state.
Instead of the usual delightful service and fare we encountered problems almost at every turn. 

The issue started when our reservation for eight was pushed back because of overfilled capacity and we were forced to wait for
more than 30 minutes. We were finally given a round table which was crowded for a group of eight.

This table was near the middle of the dining area and was surrounded by other large groups who were quite noisy. Not only were
we unable to hear each other, but the waitress had to ask each of us to repeat ourselves because she was unable to hear us. The
next problem occurred when half of the order was mixed up and had to be returned. Steak temperatures were wrong, and the
vegetables were cold.

As an overall rating, our experience at your establishment was not near what we had come to expect from Horton's. Hopefully you
will be able to return to your previous level of excellence.

Sincerely
Marty Leung
 Activity 2)

Genre Purpose Similarities Differences

Text 1 offering Letter structure, short More personal, positive vocab (including
compliment paragraphs, core purpose contractions)/tone, more ‘abstract’ and based
highlighted in first paragraph, on impressions, waiter’s name mentioned
mostly past simple tense,
personal pronouns used,
Letter/ finishing on the future.
Text 2 email making a More impersonal, negative vocab/tone, more
complaint detailed, based on concrete observations
(especially in time), no names mentioned,
starts on opposite tone
 Examples of “purposes”

 Entertainment  The conduct of business and government

 To amuse and to delight  To promulgate laws, regulations, guidelines
 …  …
 Instigation of public thought and action  Transmission of knowledge to a wider audience
 To raise questions  To satisfy curiosity
 …  …
 The support of a community of common beliefs  Scholarly inquiry
 To state one's beliefs; to take a stand  To present new findings, recent information, the results
of experiments
 …
 …
Activity 3)

You are going to write (short) emails describing your recent leg injury to two very
different recipients:
 your friend;
 the employer of your part-time job.

 Would you send the same message to each recipient?

 Would you describe the accident in the same way?
 Would you use the same language and style in each?
 Would the purpose of the email be the same or different?
An email to a friend

Hey Shannon,
OMG. You’re not going to believe it. When we Skyped yesterday, we were talking about my
training schedule for the 10k race next month. Then, as I was walking home, I stepped on a
slippery patch on the pavement and fell down a couple of stairs, twisting my leg.
I had to go to casualty, but fortunately it wasn’t broken, just sprained. Unfortunately, though,
the doctor says I can’t even think about training for a month!
At least it’s not too painful. Hope you had a better evening.
xoxo,
An email to an employer

Hi Florence,
Yesterday I had a small accident resulting in a sprained ankle. The doctor has told me that I
need to keep my foot elevated for two days, and then I should try to limit the time I spend
standing for another five days.
This means unfortunately that I will not be able to work my scheduled shift this evening. On
Saturday I would be able to work sitting behind the till, but would not be able to work in the
stockroom.
With apologies for the inconvenience,
Best regards,
Genre and audience

 Genre knowledge allows writers to understand something about

their intended readers.
 E.g. Academic essays tend to be read by professors/instructors.
 Like “purpose”, the audience of a piece of writing is sometimes
very specific.
 The change of target readers brings about a change in style,
language features and tone, even if the genre stays the same.
Activity 4) Audiences

 Look at the advertisements for Biotherm. Compare the first three

images (#1-3) with the next images (#4-6).

 With a partner, discuss the following questions.

 Who are the target audiences?
 How are different strategies used to market the products to different
audiences?
<#1>
<#2>
<#3>
<#4>
<#5>
<#6>
 Comparison
#1-3 #4-6

Genre Beauty advertisements

Target Men Women
audience
Image • Dominant overall in the ad • Dominant overall in the ad
• Activities: sports (sports equipment, sports • Activities: static posture
stars, attire) • Colour: full colour
• Colour: black and white • Smiling
• Serious/intense expressions • More sparkly graphics

Language use • ‘Homme’ in brand name (reassuring) • Emotion, sensation, passivity

• Power, agency, control, masculinity
• Live like a man
• Because you decide when to shine.
• Powerful or cool? Be both.
• Radical / powerful / active
• Let your skin blossom with spotless transparency.
• When your skin falls in love, it glows.
• Feel like the weekend
• Healthy / translucent / love
Inter-dependence of GAP

 Genre, purpose and audience are inter-dependent on each other.

 Our writing purpose can determine the genre we choose and our audience.
 The genre we choose also shapes our purpose and our target audience.
 Meanwhile, our consideration of the audience affects the genre we choose, and the purpose we
write.
 If one component is changed, the other two are affected.
 Therefore, it is important to consider all three components simultaneously during the
planning and writing process.
Inter-dependence of GAP

Genre

Purpose Audience
Text and genres
RHETORICAL ANALYSIS
Activity 5)

 Read the following passage Body Ritual among the Nacirema, and finish tasks a.
and b. below:

 a. Have you heard of this tribe (a group of people sharing a common culture and
history) before? Do you know any other names for them?

 b. Describe the Nacirema using one or two adjectives, nouns, or phrases.

 Body Ritual Among the Nacirema

1] The ritual of the Nacirema was first brought to the attention of anthropologists twenty
years ago, but the culture of this people is still very poorly understood. They are a North
American group living in the territory between the Canadian Cree, the Yaqui and Tarahumara
of Mexico, and the Carib and Arawak of the Antilles. Little is known of their origin, although
tradition states that they came from the east.
2] Nacirema culture is characterized by a highly developed market economy, which has
evolved in a rich natural habitat. While much of the people’s time is devoted to economic
pursuits, a considerable portion of their day is spent in ritual activity. The focus of this activity
is the human body, the appearance and health of which appear as a major concern in the
people’s belief. While such a concern is certainly not unusual, its ceremonial aspects and
associated philosophy are unique.
3] The main belief underlying this ritual activity appears to be that the human body is ugly
and that its natural tendency is to weakness and disease. Captive in such a body, man’s only
hope to avert these characteristics is through the use of ritual and ceremony. Every household
has one or more shrines devoted to this purpose. The more powerful individuals in the society
have several shrines in their houses and, in fact, the grandeur of a house is often referred to in
terms of the number of such ritual centers it possesses.
 4] The focal point of the shrine is a box or chest, which is built into the wall. In this chest are
kept the many charms and magical potions without which no native believes he or she could live.
These preparations are obtained from a variety of specialized practitioners. The most powerful
of these are the medicine men, whose help must be rewarded with large gifts. However, the
medicine men do not provide the potions for their clients, but decide what the ingredients
should be and then write them down in an ancient and secret language. This writing is
understood only by the medicine men and by the herbalists who, for another gift, provide the
required charm.
5] Beneath the charm-box is a small font. Each day every member of the family enters the
shrine room, bows his or her head before the charm-box, mingles different sorts of holy water in
the font, and proceeds with a brief rite of cleansing. The holy waters are secured from the Water
Temple of the community, where the priests conduct elaborate ceremonies to make the liquid
ritually pure.
6] The medicine men have an imposing temple, or latipso, in every community of any size.
The more elaborate ceremonies required to treat very sick patients can only be performed at this
temple. These ceremonies involve not only the miracle-worker, but also a group of assistants
who move quietly about the temple chambers in distinctive costume and headdress. The latipso
ceremonies are so harsh that a fair proportion of the really sick natives who enter the temple
never recover. Despite this fact, sick adults are not only willing, but eager to undergo the long
and drawn-out ritual purification, if they can afford to do so. No matter how ill or how grave the
emergency, the guardians of many temples will not admit a client if he or she cannot offer a rich
gift.
 7] The Nacirema have an unrealistic horror of and fascination with the mouth, the
condition of which is believed to have a supernatural influence on all social relationships.
Were it not for the rituals of the mouth, they believe that their teeth would fall out, their gums
bleed, their jaws shrink, and their friends desert them. They also believe that there is a strong
relationship between oral and moral characteristics. For example, there is a ritual cleansing of
the mouth for children, which is supposed to improve their moral character.
8] The daily body ritual includes a mouth-rite. This rite involves a practice which strikes
the unfamiliar stranger as revolting. It was reported to me that the ritual consists of inserting
a small bundle of hog hairs into the mouth, along with certain magical pastes, and then
moving the bundle in a highly formalized series of gestures.
9] In addition to the private mouth-rite, the people seek out a holy-mouth-man once or
twice a year. These practitioners have an impressive set of tools, consisting of a variety of
augers, awls, probes, and prods. The use of these items in removing the evils of the mouth
involves almost unbelievable ritual torture of the client. The holymouth-man opens the
client’s mouth and, using the abovementioned tools, enlarges any holes which decay may
have created in the teeth. Magical materials are put into these holes. If there are no naturally
occurring holes in the teeth, large sections of one or more teeth are gouged out so that the
supernatural substance can be applied. In the Nacirema’s view, the purpose of these religious
functions is to arrest decay and to draw friends.
10] Our review of the ritual life of the Nacirema has certainly shown them to be a magic-
ridden people. It is hard to understand how they have managed to exist so long under the
burdens which they have imposed upon themselves.
Revised from “Body Ritual Among the Nacirema” by Horace Miner, American Anthropologist Magazine 58(3), 1956, pp. 503–7.
Have you heard about the Nacirema before?
Activity 6a)

 a) What made it hard to identify the group? What strategies did the author use to be
sneaky?
“ This “tribe” is a “North American group living in
the territory between the Canadian Cree, the Yaqui
and Tarahumare of Mexico, and the Carib and

”
Arawak of the Antilles.
(MINER, 1956, P. 503)

o Word choice leads to detachment between the readers and the “tribe.”
o “Cree” and “Tarahumare” create a distraction and the readers do not realize that the “tribe”
refers to Americans. Seeing such an “anthropologic” description of a location, the readers do
not instantly realize that the “territory” between Canada and Mexico is the United States.
“ The people “insert a small bundle of hog hairs
into the mouth, along with certain magical
powders, and then moving the bundle in a highly

”
formalized series of gestures.
(MINER, 1956, P. 503)

o The word "magical" in this context has a negative connotation because it sounds like they
believe things with no scientific proof.
o Using the term "hog's hair" makes the Nacirema seem uncivilized because it implies they do
not have modern technology.

(The University Writing Center, Texas A&M University, 2018)

 Activity 6b)

Terms in the article Paragraph What they actually mean

The Nacirema tribe Throughout American(s) (spelled backwards)

Every household has one or more

3
shrines devoted to this purpose
a box or chest, which is built into the
4
wall
charms and magical potions 4
medicine men 4

an ancient and secret language 4

 Activity 6b)

Terms in the article Paragraph What they actually mean

The Nacirema tribe Throughout American(s) (spelled backwards)

Every household has one or more

3 bathrooms
shrines devoted to this purpose
a box or chest, which is built into the
4 medicine cabinet
wall
charms and magical potions 4 cosmetics and medicines
medicine men 4 doctors

an ancient and secret language 4 prescriptions

 Activity 6b)

Terms in the article Paragraph What they actually mean

large gifts 4
mingles different sorts of holy water in the font 5
latipso 6
a group of assistants ... in distinctive costume
6
and headdress

a ritual cleansing of the mouth/ a mouth-rite 7/8

a small bundle of hog hairs 8
almost unbelievable ritual torture of the client 9
 Activity 6b)

Terms in the article Paragraph What they actually mean

large gifts 4 money
mingles different sorts of holy water in the font 5 turns on the tap in the bathroom sink
latipso 6 hospital (spelled backwards)
a group of assistants ... in distinctive costume
6 nurses
and headdress

a ritual cleansing of the mouth/ a mouth-rite 7/8 brushing teeth

a small bundle of hog hairs 8 a toothbrush
a dental appointment (seeing the
almost unbelievable ritual torture of the client 9
dentist)
Academic vs.
Non-academic Genres
UNIT 3
ENGLISH FOR HUMANITIES AND SOCIAL SCIENCES
GE2412
Characteristics of Academic Genres

 Written by and for members of the academic community.

 Specific purpose varies from genre to genre, but usually broadly informative.
 Objective.

 Evidence-based.
Activity 7)

 Discuss the following texts. Note down some of the features that
signal whether they are academic or not.
i) Product review
ii) Print
Advertisement
iii) Journal article
Language features of academic writing

When academic writing is compared with everyday language, some language

features can be seen to occur more frequently in academic texts.
Language features

Academic writing generally avoids contractions.

Examples:
do not (not don't)
it is (not isn't)

(Lund University, 2014)

Language features

In academic writing, nouns may be negated or limited.

Example:
The subject did not create interest among participants.
versus
The subject created no interest among participants.
Language features

Academic writing tends to limit the use of expressions which make ideas
more vague and less specific
etc.
and so on
that sort of thing
Language features

The use of the second person (you) is very rare in academic writing.
Language features

The use of the first person is limited.

 When used, the plural (we) is more common.
 The first person singular (I) is conventional in a relatively small
number of fields.
 Even in those fields, it is not used frequently.
Language features

In academic writing adverbs are often placed in mid-position (i.e., between the
subject and verb).
Example:
Then they measured the density of the fluid. [less academic]
They then measured the density of the fluid. [more academic]
Language features

Academic writing often uses nominalizations; that is, processes are

described with nouns instead of verbs.
Example:
Participants reacted to the experiment in one of three ways.
versus
Participants' reaction to the experiment fell into three categories.
Different disciplines produce different kinds
of texts

Coffin et al. (2003:46)

 Features of academic writing across
disciplines

 Each discipline has different ideas about “what is worth

communicating, how it can be communicated, what
readers are likely to know, how they might be
persuaded, and so on” (Hyland, 2008:549)
 Social Sciences is half way between what is required of
“hard” Sciences, and the”softer” Humanities
 The distinction should be seen as a continuum rather
than opposites

(Hyland, 2006, from Hyland, 2008:550)

Reporting verbs

 Humanities and Social Sciences used verbs which

refer to writing activities, like discuss, hypothesise,
suggest, argue, etc.
 Science disciplines preferred verbs which point to the
research itself like observe, discover, show, analyse,
calculate, which represent real-world actions.

Hyland, 2008:553
Hedges and boosters

 2.5 times more common in Humanities and Social Sciences than in Science
 Compared to Science disciplines, in Humanities and Social Sciences there is relatively more
diversity of research outcomes
 Writers tend to express the research outcomes and arguments in a more cautious way by
using hedges
 In Humanities and Social Sciences, methods and results are more open to, interpretation,
and therefore writers need to work harder to establish the significance of their work
 They need to be clear to the readers what their positions and arguments are by using
boosters
 In Science, facts are meant to “speak for themselves”

Hyland, 2008
Hedging (and boosting)
Hedging and boosting

 Because academic writing aims for an objective tone, writers need to be precise
about how confident they are, how significant something is, etc.
 Words and phrases which help the writer appear cautious are called hedges: may,
might, possibly, could, almost, to some extent.
 Words and phrases which intensify or express greater confidence are called
boosters: certainly, absolutely, clearly, without a doubt.
 Activity 8) Examples of Hedges and Boosters

Types Hedges / Boosters Hedges / Boosters

Introductory verbs
Certain modal verbs
Adverbs of frequency
Modal adverbs
seem, tend, look like, appear to be, think, be sure, show, prove
believe, doubt, indicate, suggest, claim
could, may, might, can will, must
often, sometimes, usually always, never
probably, possibly, perhaps, conceivably certainly, definitely, clearly

Modal adjectives probable, possible certain, definite, clear

Modal nouns assumption, possibility, probability certainty

Adverbial clauses (conditionals) If the situation remains unchanged...  

(Gillett, 2018)
 Activity 8) Examples of Hedges and Boosters

Types Hedges Boosters

Introductory verbs
Certain modal verbs
Adverbs of frequency
Modal adverbs
seem, tend, look like, appear to be, think, be sure, show, prove
believe, doubt, indicate, suggest, claim
could, may, might, can will, must
often, sometimes, usually always, never
probably, possibly, perhaps, conceivably certainly, definitely, clearly

Modal adjectives probable, possible certain, definite, clear

Modal nouns assumption, possibility, probability certainty

Adverbial clauses (conditionals) If the situation remains unchanged...  

(Gillett, 2018)
Significance

 Hedges and boosters help you express a very precise message in

your writing.
 
 Paying attention to how they are used in other texts can help you
understand the precise message in that text.
 Note that hedging is FAR more common in most academic writing
than boosting
Activity 9)

 Highlight the hedges and boosters used in the journal article on

page 11 (Culler, J. 1998, The call of the phoneme: Introduction).
Hedging

Boosting

(Michaels, 2017)
Hedging

Boosting

(Michaels, 2017)
Hedging

Boosting

(Michaels, 2017)
Intertextuality
Intertextuality

 Any given text is related in some way to another one. This idea is
called intertextuality.
 Some intertextual relationships are indirect, for example,
appropriation, allusion, and parody
Appropriation

Photo credit: Wikipedia

Cinderella. M.A. Donohue & Co., 1912.
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/272608583666284057/
Allusion

Photo credit: Amazon UK

Parody

Photo credit: https://visualcll2013.wordpress.com/2013/02/13/appropriation-in-popular-culture/

Intertextuality

 Other intertextual relationships are direct (e.g. citation), simply

referring to a particular test explicitly. This is of vital importance in
academic writing.

 Note though that academic disciplines also heavily rely on indirect

intertextuality: readers’ knowledge of what an IMRD report (for
example) is supposed to look like, because all other IMRD reports they
have seen previously also looked like that
Intertextuality

 In the academic genres, direct intertextuality is expected to be

signaled.
 Signalling it involves using references (citations), quotation marks,
etc., effectively and appropriately.

 Activity 10) Highlight the features of intertextuality used in the journal

article on page 11 (Culler, J. 1998, The call of the phoneme:
Introduction).
Intertextuality

(Michaels, 2017)
Intertextuality

(Michaels, 2017)
 References

References

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Belcher, D., & Hirvela, A. (2005). Writing the qualitative dissertation: what motivates and sustains commitment to a fuzzy genre? Journal of English for Academic Purposes, 4(3), 187–205.

Caudery, T. (1998). Increasing students’ awareness of genre through text transformation exercises: An old classroom activity revisited. Electronic Journal for English as a Second Language, 3(3).

Complaint letter Concerning Restaurant Service (n.d.), Scribd, (Retrieved 28 Jan 2019): https://www.scribd.com/doc/54248280/Complaint-Letter-Concerning-Restaurant-Service

Conley, T. M. (1991). Rhetoric in the European Tradition. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.

Culler, J. (1988). On puns: The foundation of letters. Oxford: Blackwell.

Durham, J. (2010, September 15). Letter of Thanks Complimenting on a Service. Retrieved from http://www.letterexpert.co.uk/letterofthankscomplimentingonservice.html

Evans, D. T. (1994). Academic text: The importance of the use and comprehension of hedges. Retrieved from https://journals.openedition.org/asp/4054

Fairclough, N. (1992). Discourse and social change. UK: Polity.

Gillett, A. (2018). Features of academic writing. Retrieved from http://www.uefap.com/writing/feature/hedge.htm.

Kristeva, J. (1967). Bakhtine, le mot, le dialogue et le roman. Critique 33,438-465.

Lund University. (2014). What characterizes academic writing? Retrieved from http://awelu.srv.lu.se/genres-and-text-types/the-nature-of-academic-writing/what-characterises-academic-writing

Miner, H. (1956). Body Ritual among the Nacirema. American Anthropologist, 58(3), 503-507.

Nordquist, R. (2017). Boosting (language). Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/what-is-boosting-language-1689175

Parodi, G. (2009). University genres in disciplinary domains: social sciences and humanities and basic sciences and engineering. DELTA: Documentação de Estudos em Lingüística Teórica e Aplicada, 25(2), 401-426.

Swales, J. M. (1990). Genre analysis: English in academic and research settings. New York: Cambridge University Press.

The University Writing Center, Texas A&M University.(2018). Rhetorical analysis. Retrieved from https://writingcenter.tamu.edu/Students/Writing-Speaking-Guides/Alphabetical-List-of-Guides/Academic-Writing/Analysis/Rhetorical-Analysis

Words & Chaos. (2015). The Difference between academic and non-academic writing. Retrieved from https://wordsandchaosblog.wordpress.com/2015/10/15/analysis-of-writing-craft-academic-non-academic-writing