Journal 4 -- Haven Talley

When I think about genre, I think about the huge role it plays in determining whether a targeted audience is reached or not. Just as there are different types of genres, there are different types of audiences that they are susceptible to appeal to and persuade.  

In her blog, Devitt said that genres act as “categories.” In other words, genres are platforms that are uniquely formatted by their defining conventions, and are used to present information in a convincing, fitting and appropriate manner to a particular audience. Every genre abides by a format that defines it, and every author of a genre tweaks it by adding his/her particular message, personality, flair and character. Devitt explained this by saying that “Every genre includes both straight lines and curves.” That is, every genre has its conventions that define it, (straight lines) but is differentiated by the author’s personal message/creativity (curves).

Every genre is fit for a certain type of message/content. For example, a syllabus is a genre that is used to display course information for its audience: students,  a travel brochure is a genre that contains travel information/guides for its audience: tourists, and a restaurant menu is a genre that displays dish options and their descriptions for its audience: dining guests. Every genre is typically used for a particular message and audience.

With that being said, this is why it is so important to select the appropriate genre to display your content to your targeted audience. There may be multiple fitting genres for presenting a certain piece of information or message to a targeted audience, but there is always a genre that is best fit and most persuasive for that content.

This is exactly why I agree with the notion that genre selection can make or break you—you may miss your targeted audience or lose their interest by selecting an inappropriate genre. To be the devil’s advocate here, I do believe that sometimes selecting a unique/uncommon genre for presenting information can draw an audience’s attention because of the fact that it is unconventional—but it may not always be practical. For example, if a teacher trashed the syllabus and created an entertaining video of them introducing the class along with a simple document of homework assignments/due dates, it may draw their student’s attention. The students may even view the class as exciting and more appealing because of the teacher’s unique genre selection. But, although the genre selection of using a video to present class information may be unique and intriguing, it lacks practicality.