Navigating Genres Reading Response- Taylor Wilhelmy

"Navigating Genres" by Kerry Dirk makes you really think about what a genre is. Whenever I thought about genres, I always thought of it as the type of writing that is being created. All throughout school, we were taught that a genre was used to describe a novel such as nonfiction, fiction, fantasy, science fiction, etc. I never really thought of a piece of writing having a genre but now, after reading Dirk's piece, I now realize that writing does have a genre. Dirk also points out that genres are used to help people accomplish a goal. I never thought a genre could do that. I always thought it was used to just categorize novels or short stories but, now that I have read this piece, I now realize that genres are important because, if you write in the wrong genre, the message that you want to portray can come across completely differently then you had intended. The example that Dirk used of George Washington and his State of the Union Address. By using this genre, Washington was able to convince the listeners of his future plans. If he were to have used a different genre, his message may not have been as convincing and informative as it was. Also, as I read this piece, I never realized, until it was mentioned, that knowing the context the genre is also very important. As I right, I never thought of the genre relating to the audience. I have always written papers and have thought about who its going to but I never thought about changing the genre to accommodate the receiver. Now that I have read this piece, I now know that I need to make sure that my genre accommodates the person I am writing to. I never knew this was so crucial when writing. Also, I now know that it is important to make sure your writing reflects your message. Dirk's piece showed me that there is more to genres then I ever knew about.