Prof. Garcia

ENG 1101, semester ???

Unit 3: Writing in a Genre Assignment

Due: ?/?/20

Assignment

Think about the research you conducted for your annotated bibliography and decide which audience you think would benefit from this information, why they would benefit, and what would be the best way to convey this information to them. You have already started to do some of this thinking in the conclusion of your annotated bibliography, but now you need to pick a specific group with whom to share your research, come up with a plan for how you will share the information you found, and write the proposed document for your intended audience.

Note: This is a two-part assignment.

Part One: Reflection and Genre Analysis

Write a 2-3-page reflection on how to best use the information you gathered and the knowledge you gained with your annotated bibliography.

In your reflection address the following:

• Who do you think would benefit from this information? Why?
• Tell me about your one specific audience—a brief description so I understand who they are, why you chose them, and how this research relates to them.
• Explain why you chose this audience. Give 2-3 well-developed reasons why you think this information is useful for this particular audience. Also, explain what you want to accomplish for this audience. In other words, are you trying to inform them, persuade them, and/or something else?
• How do you think it would be best to reach this audience in a way that accomplishes what you want to have happen by sharing the information with this group? In other words, what genre would you choose for reaching this audience?

(Examples of genres you might consider are: news report, pamphlet, article in a particular kind of magazine or newspaper, YouTube video, podcast, song lyrics, speech, Wikipedia entry, letter to a particular political figure—these are just examples but the point is to pick a genre that would reach and appeal to your audience).

• Why would this be your choice of genre for this group?
• Tell me about this genre. Find three examples of your genre, step back and look them over carefully. Then, answer the following questions based on what you see as common among all three pieces:
  • Where is your genre found? What kind of place/publication?
  • Who creates/authors this type of work? For what audience?
  • Why does this genre appeal to your chosen audience? Or why do you think it does?
  • What is the purpose of this genre? (to Persuade, to Entertain, or to Inform, something else?) Note that there might be more than one purpose to your genre. For example, some types of musicians or poets work to inform through their work but that does not make their music any less entertaining.
  • Finally, what do you see as the main elements or features of this genre, including the length, tone, format, organization, desired effect on the audience, and other key features? Make a list and describe each element in a few sentences.

Part II: Writing in a genre

Now take your research and draft a document for your chosen community in the genre you have chosen and analyzed.

Use the work you did in the reflective writing and the understanding you developed about the genre to write your piece.

Your goal is to share your research and share it with your chosen community to accomplish your desired goal, which you identified in your reflection.

Note: There is no particular word count for this portion of the assignment as the length will be determined by the genre in which you choose to work.

How will this be graded?

• Length: Your reflection and genre analysis should be at least 1000 words.
• Careful and thorough thinking:
  • Your reflection should have all the components listed above
  • Your genre analysis should be accurate and detailed.
  • Your genre should make sense for the audience you have chosen to address.
• Genre Execution:
  • The genre piece you produce should be similar to other pieces in the genre you chose to work with.
  • The genre piece accomplishes your goal (to inform, persuade, something else—whatever you said in your reflective piece.)
• Repurposing: The genre piece you produce should use the research from your annotated bibliography and be related to your research question.
• Timeliness: Your project should be on time.
• You should proofread.