GENRE

A BRIEF INTRODUCTION TO GENRE

NO	GENRE OF THE TEXT	SOCIAL FUNCTION	GENERIC STRUCTURE	LANGUAGE FEATURES
1	SPOOF	To retell an event with a humorous twist	·  Orientation : sets the scene ·  Events : tell what happened ·  Twist : provide the ‘punchline’	·      Focus on individual participants ·     Use of Material Process ·     Circumstances of time and place ·     Use of past tense
2	RECOUNTS	To retell events for the purpose of informing or entertaining	·   Orientation : provides the setting and introduces participants ·   Events : tell what happened, in what sequence ·   Re-orientation : optional – closure of events	·      Focus on specific participants ·      Use of past tense ·      Circumstance of time and place ·      Use of material process
3	REPORTS	To describe the way things are, with reference to a range of natural, man-made and social phenomena in our environment	·   General Classification : tells what the phenomenon under discussion is ·   Description : tells what the phenomenon under discussion is like in terms of parts (and their function), qualities, habits/behaviors or uses if non-natural	·      Focus on Generic Participants (groups of things) ·      Use of simple present tense (unless extinct) ·      No temporal sequence ·      Use Relational Process to state what is and that which it is)
4	ANALYTICAL EXPOSITION	To persuade the reader or listener that something is the case	·   Thesis : introduces topic and indicates writer’s position, outlines the main arguments to be presented ·   Arguments : restates main argument outlined in preview, develops and supports each point/argument ·   Reiteration : restate writer’s position	·      Focus on generic human and non-human participants ·      Use of simple present tense ·      Use of Relational Process ·      Use of internal conjunction to stage argument ·      Reasoning through Causal Conjunction or Nominalization
5	NEWS ITEM	To inform readers, listeners or viewers about events of the day which are considered newsworthy or important	·   Newsworthy events : recounts the event in summary form ·   Background  events : elaborate what happened, to whom, in what circumstances ·   Sources : comments by participants in, witnesses to and authorities experts on the event	·      Short, telegraphic information about story captured in headline ·      Use Material Process ·      Use of projecting Verbal Process in sources stage ·      Focus on circumstances
6	ANECDOTE	To share with others an account of unusual or amusing incident	·   Abstract : signals the retelling of an unusual incident ·   Orientation : sets the scene ·   Crisis : provides details of the unusual incident ·   Coda : optional – reflection on or evaluation of the incident	·    Use of exclamations, rhetorical questions and intensifiers to point up the significance of the events ·    Use of material process to tell what happened ·    Use of temporal conjunctions
7	NARRATIVE	To amuse, entertain and to deal with actual or vicarious experience in different ways	·   Orientation : sets the scene and introduces the participants ·   Evaluation : a stepping back to evaluate the plight ·   Complication : a crisis arises ·   Resolution : the crisis is resolved, for better or for worse ·   Re-orientation : optional	·    Focus on specific and usually individualized participants ·    Use of material process, behavioral and verbal process ·    Use of relational process and mental process ·    Use of temporal conjunctions and temporal circumstances ·    Use of past tense
8	PROCEDURE	To describe how something is accomplished through a sequence of actions of steps	·   Goal ·   Materials (not required for all procedural texts) ·   Steps 1- n i.e. goal followed by a series of steps oriented to achieving the goal	·    Focus on generalized human agents ·    Use of simple present tense (plus sometimes imperative) ·    Use mainly of temporal conjunction (or numbering to indicate sequence) ·    Use of mainly material process
9	DESCRIPTION	To describe a particular person, place or thing	·   Identification : identifies phenomenon to be described ·   Description : describes parts, qualities, characteristics	·    Focus on specific participants ·    Use of attributive and identifying process ·    Frequent use of epithets and classifiers in nominal groups ·    Use of simple present
10	HORTATORY EXPOSITION	To persuade the reader or listener that something should or should not be the case	·   Thesis : announcement of issue of concern ·   Argument : reasons for concern, leading to recommendation ·   Recommendation : statement of what ought or ought not to happen	·    Focus on generic human and non-human participants, except for speaker or writer referring to self ·    Use of mental process (to state what writer thinks or feel about issue), material process (to state what happens), relational process (to state what is or should be)
11	EXPLANATION	To explain the process involved in the formation or workings of natural or socio-cultural phenomena	·   General Statement : to position the reader ·   Explanations : why or how something occurs	·   Focus on generic, non-human participants ·   Use mainly of material and relational processes ·   Use mainly of temporal and causal circumstances and conjunctions ·   Use of simple present tense ·   Some use of passive voice to get theme right
12	DISCUSSION	To present at least two points of view about an issue	·   Issue : statement, preview ·   Arguments for and against or statements of differing points of view : point - elaboration ·   Conclusion or recommendations	·   Focus on generic human and non-human participants ·   Use of material, mental and relational processes ·   Use of comparative; contrastive and consequential conjunction ·   Reasoning expressed as verbs and noun (abstraction)
13	REVIEWS	To critique an art work or event for a public audience	·    Orientation : places the work in its general and particular context, often by comparing it with others of its kind or through analogue with a non-art object or event ·    Interpretative recount : summarises the plot and/or provides an account of how the reviewed rendition of the work came into being is optional, but if present, often recursive ·    Evaluation : provides an evaluation of the work and/or its performance or production, is usually recursive ·    Evaluation summation : provides a kind of punchline which sums up the reviewer’s opinion of the art event as a whole, is optional	·   Focus on particular participants ·   Direct expression of opinions through use of attitudinal texts including Attitudinal Epithets in nominal groups, qualitative attributes and affective mental processes ·   Use of elaborating and extending clause and group complexes to package the information