Genres and Writing Disciplines

What is a genre? When asked that question, many people will immediately bring up movie or book genres, describing the general theme of the film or novel. In the writing world, that’s not the exact definition. As said in Hart-Davidson’s article talking about genre, “the term describes a form of discourse recognizable as a common set of structural or thematic qualities.” This means that in the sense of writing, genre includes the norms and expectations that define different types of writing.

Genre in writing could also be described as “the visible effects of human action, routinized to the point of habit in specific cultural conditions” (Hart-Davidson). This viewpoint emphasizes the idea that genre is shaped by societal norms. For instance, when you write an essay, there are specific ways that you’ve been taught to format your assignment, which creates a distinguishable difference from creative writing, where there are less societal pressures being taught. When thinking about genre in the writing sense, a writing discipline would serve as a good example. Lerner uses citations in writing as a good example of a writing discipline, or genre. A writing discipline such as citations defines the structure of the work. Therefore, genre is an important part of writing, influencing how we create and interpret work.