In college, you will be asked to write in a variety of modes, depending on your interests and on your major. This short. 3 min. video  published by the University of Hong Kong, “Understanding Genre Awareness,”  concisely reviews what “genre” is and why understanding genre is crucial to writing well. This video also discusses how “genre awareness” relates directly to a skilled writer’s awareness of audience.

Before you watch, consider what writing genres you already excel in. What writing tasks are you familiar with in terms of audience, tone, and criteria for success? These may be one or more of the following:

  • sending text messages to your close family members; to your distant family members; to your closest friend; or,  to friends you don’t know as well
  • sending an email to a place of employment where you wish to get hired; to your college professor; or, to a company where you hope to return something
  •  writing a school science project; writing a book report; or writing a short answer exam
  • writing an advertisement for a sports activity you will participate in; trying to get people to support a sports team or organization that needs financial contributions
  • posting good news about something on Facebook

All of these genres (text messages, emails, announcements, and traditional school assignments) have target audiences and require a different tone. In Unit 3, you are being asked to think about what genre fits your material and will be reach your audience.

As the video suggests: knowing your audience and the format are both required to understand the criteria of success for any writing assignment (not just this one!). The other dilemma  addressed here is: assessing genre and requirements of genre, does not mean that you will get a rule book for writing success. Good writing involves understanding requirements or criteria of an assignment and addressing with your own knowledge and creative approach to the task.

Here is the citation for the video: “Understanding Genre Awareness.” Center for Applied English Studies, the University of Hong Kong, 2016.