GENRES

(Content: Informal emails, news stories, book/film reviews, short stories/narratives, formal
letter (job), reports, advertisements, transactional/information-giving texts, websites, human
interest stories, interviews, biographical notes, book covers, folk tales)

Genre = a piece of writing with a recognisable structure which may be used by

a particular section of society or within a particular profession. It is likely to
have a clearly-discernible structure and layout and may employ instantly
recognisable language. Ex: newspaper reports, recipes, horoscopes, travel
guides, memos, etc.

(Socio-cultural) context -> genre / text type -> function of the text -> style /
register -> language chosen -> text

FEATURES

C = content: What kind of information is included that is typical for a text of

this genre, e.g., options to choose from, advice, instructions, lots of personal
details?

L = layout: How does the text look on the page? Are there headings?
Addresses? Is there a title? Are points numbered? Are bullet points used? Are
there any images?

O = organisation: How are the ideas organised? Is there any particular order? If
there are paragraphs, how are they divided? Is the text organised in any other
way, e.g., in sections, under headings, etc.? What types of cohesive devices
are used to organise the text? Are there long complex paragraphs, or just one
idea per paragraph?

G&L = grammar and lexis: Are any particular tenses / structures used, e.g.,
passive in a type of scientific report? What kinds of words are used, e.g.,
adjectives in an advertisement? Are any words or fixed lexical expressions
common in this genre?

S = style: Is it informal, neutral or formal?

TYPES OF WRITING

Personal writing Public writing Creative writing

Diaries Letters of enquiry, Poems
Journals complaint, and Stories
Shopping lists request Rhymes
Reminders for Form filling Drama
oneself Applications Songs
Packing lists Autobiography
Addresses
Recipes
Social writing Study writing Institutional writing
Letters Notes while Agendas Posters
Invitations reading or listening Memoranda Instructions
Notes of to a lecture Reports Speeches
condolence, Summaries, Reviews Applications
thanks, or synopses, and Contracts CVs
congratulations reviews Business Specifications
Cablegrams Reports of letters Note-making
Telephone experiments, Public notices (doctors and
messages workshops, and Advertisements similar
Instructions to visits professions)
friends or family Essays
Bibliographies

FUNCTIONS OF WRITING:

 Referring (transmitting information)

 Expressing feelings
 Regulating (making requests, ordering, warning, etc.)
 Interacting (maintaining social relationships)
 Playing (word jokes and punning, etc.)

GENRES

1. Informal emails
Content:
- Ellipsis, especially in comment sentences
- Short sentences
- Words written in capitals for effect
- Lots of exclamation marks
- Lots of discourse markers

Layout:
- More freely used punctuation (repetitive use of exclamation marks to
convey surprise/excitement)
- Possibly spelling and punctuation errors

Organisation:
- Formulaic openings/closings
- Paragraphs: up to the author

Grammar/Lexis:
 - Complex structures like relative clauses may be replaced by brackets
which serve as asides
- Abbreviations (thx, tomoro)
- Contractions/numerals are all common
- Discourse markers typical of spoken discourse
- Informal lexis, including use of phrasal verbs, idiomatic expressions, etc.
- Simple sentence structure

2. News stories
Content:
- News
- Current affairs
- Celebrity gossip

Layout:
- Pictures
- Headlines

Organisation:
- Headline -> first sentence, which is an elaboration of the headline ->
background then sketched in; events not in chronological order
- Short sentences, maybe one sentence per paragraph
- End with a moral

Grammar/Lexis:
- Headline in present simple
- First sentence often in present perfect
- Background often in past simple and past perfect
- Long noun phrases containing a lot of information
- Long complex/compound sentences

3. Book/Film reviews
Content:
- Brief description of plot without giving away the ending.
- Comments/evaluation of the film/writer/plot/actors, etc.
- Background to the story
- Recommendation or condemnation
Layout:
- Paragraphs each with a clear function.
- Possible picture
Organisation:
- Attention-grabbing opening (witty comment/shocking statement/interesting
fact) -> 2-3 paragraphs giving information about the plot/director -> final
recommendation or condemnation
Grammar/Lexis:
 - Present tenses to describe the plot
- Precise, descriptive vocabulary (lots of adverbs and adjectives)
Style:
- Neutral and impersonal
- Although it is subjective, it should not be presented as such

4. Short stories/Narratives
Content:
- Beginning/middle/end
- Plot and character development
Layout:
- Paragraphs
- Direct speech
Organisation:
- Background/setting/location/participants/feelings -> events/problems and
solutions -> outcome/evaluation
Grammar/Lexis:
- Direct speech and narrative tenses
Style:
- Informal/neutral style

5. Formal letter (job application letter)

Content:
- Reason for writing (reference to advert)
- Reasons for interest
- Background information about the writer (list of skills)
- Request for further information
Layout:
- Address in the top right
- Address of receiver in the top left
- Date
- Indent at the beginning of the letter if handwritten
Grammar/Lexis:
- Formal lexis
- No contractions
- Formulaic phrases (I am writing with reference to…)
- Appropriate opening/closing (Dear Sir/Madam, Yours faithfully/Yours
sincerely)
- Use of present and past tenses
Style:
- Formal, keen, interested and grateful

6. Discursive essays
Content and organisation:
- Introduction to the issue and background information
 - Ideas for
- Ideas against
- Conclusion: your opinion and justification
- Clear organisation within paragraphs, topic sentence comes first, then
further sentences expand on the point
- Connections between ideas
Layout:
- Paragraphs each with a very clear function
Grammar/Lexis:
- Use of connecting words (addition, contrast)
Style:
- Formal: presented as factual, opinion only comes at end

7. Reports
Content:
- Introduction stating report topic and report organisation
- Facts divided into topic areas
- Summary and conclusion/recommendations at end
Layout:
- Headings (and subheadings) dividing up content and making organisation
clear
Grammar/Lexis:
- Strong use of linkers
- Probably a lot of present tenses
Style:
- Neutral/formal

8. Advertisements
Content:
- Website address/telephone number/contact details/small print
- Offer of a prize
Layout:
- Different font sizes, i.e., big font for heading, small font for terms and
conditions
- Use of bold to highlight main points, e.g., for a quote
- Picture of customer/logo
Organisation:
- Engage interest -> sales pitch -> factual information -> phone number and
email address -> terms and conditions
- Begins with advantages and ends with consumer persuaded to ‘logical’
choice
- Begins by highlighting problems and then provides solutions
Grammar/Lexis:
- 2nd person you/3rd person we/imperative
 - To give sense of inclusion/make it directly relevant to reader/ to
personalize/ to make the company more human/more appealing to the
reader
- Present Simple – to express certainty/reality/fact
- Conditionals – to make promises/to persuade
- Colloquialisms/informal lexis/multiword verbs – in main body to give
friendly tone
- (Positive) adjectives – to persuade and sell
- (Semi) formulaic catchphrase – to catch the reader’s attention
- Relevant lexis
Style:
- Humorous/friendly tone
- Formal (lexis) in terms and conditions

9. Transactional/Information-giving texts
Content:
- Maybe question-answer format
- Maybe problem-solution format
- Subdivided into sections relating to sub-topics
- Dense information broken into chunks
- Contact info
Layout:
- Pictures/logos/maps
- Signposting in bold print
- Possibly in columns for easy folding and display
Grammar/Lexis:
- A lot of present simple for things that are always true.
- Agentless passive for impersonal style
- 2nd person singular to make text feel relevant to the reader
- Modals for obligation/possibility/permission/advice
- Imperatives for instructions/informing/advice
- ‘If’ and ‘when’ clauses for particular situations
- Technical lexis
Style:
- (Semi) formal/impersonal
- Emphasis on clarity

10. Websites
Content:
- Links to access other parts of this website/other websites
- Positive quotes from members/testimonials
- Gives legitimacy by quoting external body
- Explains how the club works for new users
- Persuasive
- Salutation – most websites greet the reader
 Layout:
- Columns
- Use of visuals, logos, icons, headings, bold, capitals
- Banner advert across the top of the page
- Header and footer
Organisation:
- Information is in sections, each related to a specific topic
- Information in short easily accessible chunks/paragraphs
Grammatical/Lexical:
- Simple/non-complex sentences (almost no subordinate clauses)/simple
conjunctions
- Website-related lexis
- Use of imperatives to give instructions/address the reader directly
- Creative use of lexis to engage reader
- Repetition and derivatives
Style:
- Enthusiastic tone
- Informal/colloquial written style/lexis

11. Human Interest Stories

Content:
- Incidental information about people involved, e.g., age, hometown, etc.
- Facts interspersed with opinions and comments
- Surprise/cryptic element in headline/personalization in headline
- Shared cultural referencing
Layout:
- Headline -> body of text/columns/accompanying photograph/caption/use of
different fonts/size
- Short/sentence length paragraphs
Organisation:
- First two sentences clarify headline and summarise text/successive
sentences add more detail/problem presented at the beginning with happy
end at the end
- Starts off with a home truth
- Ends with an evaluation/a quote from a participant
- Describes events in chronological order/this parallels anecdotal approach
to a story
- One idea per paragraph
Grammar/Lexis:
- Direct speech/quotes to provide immediacy and comment
- Reporting structures
- Headline language (ellipsis)
- Cliches
- Use of appropriate range of tenses for presenting a human-interest story.
 - Information dense sentences
Style:
- Humour
- Informal/colloquial/spoken because of anecdotal nature

12. Interviews
Content:
- Preferences/experiences
- Humorous anecdotes
- Lack of controversial content / positive content
- Tidied up (spoken) language (i.e., no hesitation devices, no repetition or
rephrasing)
Layout:
- Picture
- Title / heading
- Different fonts (bold for questions/non-bold for answers)
Organisation:
- Brief introduction followed by the rest of the article, with a promotion at
the end
- Question-answer format
Grammar/Lexis:
- Direct speech
- Pun in the title
- Expressions/adverbs/adjectives to express attitude/feelings/opinions
- Person reference in questions (i.e., you in questions and I in answers)
- Short answers and question tags

13. Biographical note

Content:
- Names / dates of publication
- Factual details of life / names of places/organisations
Layout:
- Different fonts/italics for book/movies/painting titles
- Capitalisation/upper case of author’s name initially
- Brackets for year of publication/release
Organisation:
- Chronological account: birth -> work -> death
- General comment/tribute/testimonial/quote (usually at the end)
Grammar/Lexis:
- Complex sentences / relative clauses
- Passive
- Long noun phrases
- Narrative tenses / past simple / past perfect
- Life story lexis
- Lexis of profession
 - Time / place adverbials/prepositions/linkers
- Strong/positive/evaluative adjectives

Style:
- Formal/semi-formal/neutral lexis / style

14. Book covers

Content:
- Price
- Titles in italics
- Photo of the author and information about the author
- Photo/picture credits
- Key content of the book summarised
Layout:
- Front cover: title, picture, probably short slogan
- Back cover: summary, possibly some short reviews from newspapers
Organisation:
- Description of the book moves from overview to detail
- Paragraphs with clear topics
Grammar/Lexis:
- Lexis about writing
- Compound and complex sentences
- Use of present simple to describe the book
- (Strong / positive) adjectives

15. Folk tales

Content:
- Folk motives (witchcraft, talking animals, etc.)
Organisation:
- Exposition (setting, background)
- Development (situation develops, more characters introduced)
- Complication (bad event)
- Climax (overcoming bad event)
- Resolution
Grammar/Lexis:
- Direct / indirect speech
- Sequencers / time-related linkers (e.g., then, after that, before long)
- Relative clauses / participle clauses (e.g., passing through the forest, he
saw...)
- Lexis relevant to folk tales (e.g., magic, witch, broom)
- Repetitiveness