A textual genre
contains conventions that make works of a genre fit into that particular genre.
These conventions grow out of situations that surround the genre and the way that
the genre responds to those situations. An example of textual genre is a
syllabus. A syllabus’ purpose is to give students an outline of how a course
will proceed. Written by a teacher to their students, the syllabus should have
the intention of helping the students pass the class. The less questions the
syllabus leaves open the more appropriate the syllabus is to the genre. This
situation of teachers wanting their students to succeed continues the recurrence
of conventions that will assist students through their courses. Features that are
useless or do the opposite of helping students pass their classes will be
dropped and will likely not appear in future syllabuses as conventions.
To give a
quick idea of the course, a syllabus will first provide the basics. These
include the course’s name, the teacher’s name, the teacher’s contact info, and
the time and location of the course. This information provides which course the
syllabus will be about. The course’s title, usually typed in a big font, is on
the top of the front page also acting as the title of the syllabus. It helps
students distinguish it from syllabuses they might have for other classes. Students
could use their syllabus as a resource for general information so it is best if
teachers keep their syllabus accessible. In case students have questions not
answered in their syllabus, they can ask their teacher with the contact info
they provided.
Information
regarding what to expect of the class comes after. These include course description,
required materials, assignments, and the schedule of the course. Despite the
different kinds of subjects syllabuses cover, they all have course descriptions
informing students of the knowledge they will get out of class. Then they are
given a list of materials necessary or recommended for passing the class.
Assignments are usually listed with the weight they have in the students’
grades, enabling students to prioritize the most important assignments. The course
schedule shows the plan for each day students have the class. It could also
include assignments that are expected to be finished before the day of each
class.
Besides information on what
students should expect from the class, teachers also present what they expect
of the students. The syllabus acts as a constitution, informing students on how
they should act in class. Rules are in the syllabus to confirm that if students
do break them, consequences will follow. Attendance is highly valued, as some
classes emphasize their importance by applying attendance to students’ grades.
Teachers want their syllabuses to
be easily understood by their students, so a straightforward syllabus is
beneficial. Some syllabuses are categorized by bullet points, making it faster
to find a specific piece of information. Students who are not new to school
should be aware of what a syllabus is. The consistency of how syllabuses are
organized help students stay familiar with the format for syllabuses from their
other classes.
Medina,
ReplyDeleteI passed this along to another student who chose the syllabus as their genre, so I'd like to pass these thoughts on to you too. I
You mentioned some of the common surface-level features of syllabi: attendance policies, grading, the schedule, and a formal tone are each common aspects. If/when you dig even deeper, you might begin to see that there’s some intertextuality amongst syllabi—they might reference other documents (the UCSB Writing Program’s policies), laws (FERPA), or services (CLAS) that play a part in the local (or even national) education. So what, you might ask? Well, this all comes back to demonstrating how genres are, at their heart, social.
In the future, I’d like you to consider bringing your blog to life a bit more by adding in some visuals. That could also benefit your ability to use direct textual evidence to support your claims. For instance, you could “quote” or just describe some of the specific features between our Writing 2 syllabus and syllabi from other courses.
Z
Chris,
ReplyDeleteDiscussing Syllabi (?) as your genre of choice was a really good idea! As we are all students, everyone in this class can make connections with what you tell us and our own experiences. It is pretty interesting when you think about it – that no matter what class you are taking, be it Phys Ed or Physics, each syllabus will look very similar and contain (hopefully) the same information. It was good of you to point out that there is a difference between a good and bad syllabus. I know that I definitely prefer a syllabus with all of the information I need in one place, i.e. course materials, contact information, grading methods, exam dates, and a basic outline of the course itself. Those are the most helpful. Good work on the first PB!
- Bronwyn
Chris,
ReplyDeleteI liked that you chose syllabi (not syllabuses), as your textual genre! It's easy to pick point the conventions because we as students receive multiple each quarter. I did find however that you missed some of the crucial conventions of a syllabus. For instance, how is a syllabus formatted? Is it in point form, or is it written out like an essay? Does it usually have a formal writing style? I enjoyed your analysis on the audience conventions, because the teacher wants to convey basic information to students. Well done :)