Journal #4

Genre can be described as a categorizing element in the creation and defining of texts. According to Devitt, genres represent and reveal who we are, because we as human beings are the ones to make them. Genre separates larger things, such as written word or visual media, and further breaks them down into groups such as novels or a YouTube video. When we compose, we generally decide at the very beginning which exact genre we are going to be developing our composition for. We decide which group of people we are targeting. For example, a campaign ad could be targeting young, unregistered voters so it would use certain elements to attract younger people to watch it. Furthermore, if you were writing a book, you might immediately decide if you were going to write a science fiction novel and if so, you would then decide which elements from the science fiction genre you might have to include in order for it to fit into that particular category. Another example would be if you were planning on making a poster to draw in people for a circus event. You would immediately decide which elements your poster is going to need in order to convey the message that the circus is in town and it's going to be a good time. You might include images of an elephant, a tightrope walker, some clowns, and plenty of cotton candy and snacks, to attract children and their parents. The text would need to be eye-catching and fun and colorful in attempt to show children (who might be your main audience for the circus) that they're going to have a good time. These would all be some of the deciding factors to help your poster fit into the genre of a eye-catching advertisement. When considering the impact on circulation and the distribution process that genre choices have, I would look again to books and novels. Undoubtedly, their are certain genres in books that are more popular than others. For a while, young adult novels were all the rage and libraries and bookstores in my local area were rushing to get more of that genre on their shelves because they knew they would get plenty of sales and circulation.