An Introduction to Genre
- Check previous knowledge of genre and give definition
- Define the key terms discourse structure and register
- Identify examples of the key terms in authentic texts
Lesson Plan
In Activity 1, the teacher could start by introducing the concept of genre. A useful warmer would be asking learners to discuss what the term genre means and generate examples, and then sharing with the whole class. To finish, show the first slide and check how closely their definitions match.
Next, show the slide with sentences a) to e). Ask learners to read the sentences and discuss what genre each one belongs to. For example, sentence a) most likely comes from a recipe. The following slide shows some suggested answers, but these are not exhaustive. As an extension, ask learners to explain what words or phrases helped them decide.
Activity 2 introduces the key concepts of discourse structure and register. Ask learners to discuss their understandings of these terms. It may be helpful to use the Englicious glossary. Check against the definitions in the next slide.
Show the slide with the dictionary extract. Ask the learners to identify elements of discourse structure and register. Use the next two slides to feedback and check their answers.
In Activity 3, learners will look at a new example of an authentic text. Start by asking the learners to share their understanding of what a blurb is and what one normally includes. The next two slides are both examples of blurbs, one from a picture book and one from a novel. For each slide, ask learners to identify discourse structure and features of register. Use the final two slides to feedback and check answers. These suggested answers are not exhaustive!
Further Work
Suggestions for extension activities
- Compare the two blurbs. What features are the same and which are different? Why do you think that is?
- Look around the classroom for more examples of book blurbs. What features can you identify? How do they relate to the genre of the book?
Acknowledgment
This series of resources explores how genre relates to grammar. The content of the lessons was devised and kindly provided by Prof. Andrew Goatly. You can find some of his publications for purchase on the Amazon website here.
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An Introduction to Genre
Activity 1
Writing is an activity by which we achieve different goals. There are so many different types of text, we give the different types their own names. The names we give to different texts are called genres.
What kind of written or spoken text would you find the following sentences and phrases in? Give an answer for each one.
- 10 grams of frozen peas.
- Nadal serves Shapovalov backhand crosscourt.
- There are three reasons why the voting age should be lowered to 16.
- Biscuit throwing festival cancelled after becoming too popular.
- Once upon a time there were a brother and sister called Nicholas and Nicole.
In the starter activity you might have recognised the sentences or phrases as belonging to:
- Recipe
- Tennis commentary
- Essay or speech
- Newspaper headline
- Story
Activity 2
To better understand how genre is constructed, it helps to break it down into two aspects:
1. discourse structure and
2. register.
What do you think these two terms mean?
Genres have a structure of elements or parts in a certain order. We can call this discourse structure.
We use language differently in different genres: some kinds of words and grammar are more frequent in one genre than another. These are referred to as features of register.
Let’s take an example of a dictionary.
What elements of discourse structure and register can you see in this extract from a dictionary?
- cas-ta-nets /| kæstə |nets/ noun [plural] a Spanish musical instrument consisting of a pair of small round pieces of wood or plastic held in one hand and brought together quickly to make a CLICKING sound, used especially by dancers
- cast-a-way /| kɑstə |wɛɪ/ noun [C] someone whose ship has sunk and who is left on an island or beach where there are no other people
The discourse structure is:
- HEAD WORD (divided into syllables)
- PRONUNCIATION
- WORD CLASS
- MEANING[S]
And the larger discourse structure of a dictionary is a list of head words in alphabetical order.
We can also find different language or register features in these dictionary entries.
- The head words are in bold and have no determiners (a or the).
- The pronunciation doesn’t only use ordinary letters but also some phonetic symbols e.g. ə, ɛ, and | for stress.
- The word class may be presented in a different, narrow font.
- There is an abbreviation in brackets after the word class, [C] for countable, [U] for uncountable.
- The meaning for these nouns is not provided as a complete sentence, but just a noun phrase, with no full stops at the end.
Let’s take a look at another example.
Activity 3
What does the word 'blurb' mean?
What does a blurb normally include?
Can you find an example of a blurb in the classroom?
We'll look at some examples of blurbs together. For each one, identify the discourse structure and register.
Blurb A)
What genre of book is this blurb for? What discourse structure and features of register can you see?
- With peek-a-boo windows, bright
colors and simple guessing rhymes,
this playful board book is perfect
for curious babies and toddlers.
“... an instant hit.” – Child
Blurb B)
What genre of book is this blurb for? What discourse structure and features of register can you see?
- The story of The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas is very difficult to describe. Usually we give some clues about the book on the cover, but in this case we think that would spoil the reading of the book. We think it is important that you start to read without knowing what it is about.
“Stays just ahead of its readers before delivering its killer punch in the final pages” – INDEPENDENT
Blurb discourse structure possible answers:
- Short paragraphs
- Summary of the plot, setting and characters
- Quotes from journalists or famous people
Blurb features of register possible answers:
- Declarative sentences
- Present tense
- Personal pronouns
- Inverted commas
Further activities:
- Compare the two blurbs. What features are the same and which are different? Why do you think that is?
- Look around the classroom for more examples of book blurbs. What features can you identify? How do they relate to the genre of the book?
Genre of Narratives and Recounts
Goals:
- Distinguish recounts from narratives
- Identify the discourse structure and features of register used in narratives
- Re-order a narrative by following the appropriate features
Lesson Plan
Before this lesson, you may want to complete the lesson An Introduction to Genre, so that learners are familiar with the key terms discourse structure and register
Please check if there are any hand outs at the bottom of this page and print in advance.
Explain that this lesson will focus on how we use genre to describe events. As a warmer, you could ask the learners to discuss what different ways there are to describe events and what makes each one different.
Start with the first slide for Activity 1. Ask learners what they know about narratives and recounts; then, give the explanation. Read the extract in slide 3 (also shown on the handout), and ask the learners whether it is a narrative or recount (recount is the correct answer). Ask learners how they could tell it was a recount (answer: it is purely factual and relate events in the past tense in order but without explaining motivations or consequences).
Move on to Activity 2 by asking learners to read the narrative titled Nature can be kind. The text is included in the printable document below. Ask learners what makes this different from the recount (the narrative is fictional and goes into more depth about cause and effect and the characters' feelings and motivations).
Remind learners of the definition of discourse structure. Ask them to discuss in pairs or small groups what they think the main structural elements of the narrative are, and why are they presented in this order.
Next, show the learners the discourse structure slide. They can find their own copy in the handout with more detailed definitions.
To check this knowledge, ask learners to complete the next activity. Without looking back at the original narrative, ask learners to put the six sentences in the correct order. They should use the narrative discourse structure handout to help. Learners can check their answers by looking back at the narrative. (Answer: E, C, B, F, A, D)
In Activity 3, ask learners to recall the definition of register. Tell them that particular features of language are used in narratives. In the next activity, learners must choose the correct grammatical terminology for the four phrases. Next, discuss where each one appears in the narrative and why they think they appear in this order. In the next activity, learners can confirm their ideas by revealing the answers 1-4.
The final aspect to analyse is evaluations in Activity 4. These appear throughout the text, rather than in one section. Ask the learners to look at the example, and find others in the narrative. Next, look at the four examples and identify what register features are used. Finally, Discuss why these features are used and show the answer on the last slide.
Activity 5 starts by using the hand out. Show the learners the out-of-order sentences that make up a new narrative (if you have time, you could cut these out as a hands-on re-ordering activity). Ask learners to put these sentences in the correct order, following the narrative discourse structure and features of register as guides.
- Learners can label each sentence with the appropriate discourse structure
- Learners can label the grammatical features to help them order the sentences
To check the learners' work, reveal the final slide. The learners may not have the exact same order, but it should follow the structure of a narrative and make sense! (Suggested order: E, C, F, D, B, K, J, A, L, G, H, I)
Further Work
As an extension, ask learners to plan and write their own narratives. Make sure they use the discourse structure and features of register as seen in the previous examples.
Acknowledgment
This series of resources explores how genre relates to grammar. The content of the lessons was devised and kindly provided by Prof. Andrew Goatly. You can find some of his publications for purchase on the Amazon website here.
Genre of Narratives and Recounts
Activity 1
Today, we're looking at the genre of storytelling. Narratives and recounts are two ways of describing events.
What do you think is the difference between narratives and recounts?
Narratives and recounts both relate events that took place in the past and which occur in a logical order.
The difference is that narratives try to make sense of what happened and link the events through cause and effect. Also, recounts tend to be factual, but narratives are usually fictional.
Read the following text. Is it a narrative or recount?
Narrative or Recount?
- Yesterday I got up at 7.30, showered, got dressed and had breakfast of fried egg and bacon. Then I went to school. At school we had English and then Maths and then PE in the afternoon – the boys played football and we did netball. After school I had my piano lesson. I hate scales. I did my homework and after spag bol for dinner I watched telly. I went to bed at 9.
This text is a recount. It just tells us a series of unrelated events not linked by cause and effect. The only structure is the time sequence indicated by “then” and “after”.
Activity 2
Read the narrative called Nature can be kind.
How is it different from the recount?
Nature can be kind
It was a sunny day that was unbearably hot and a heron was flying around searching for food.
The clever heron saw a fish in a big pool, and dropped down so fast that the fish did not notice anything. So dangerous!
The heron opened her beak and it took a second for the fish to realize that she was going to eat him. The fish said, very afraid:
“No, please don't eat me! I have a family and I really really love them. I don't think I'm a good enough feast for you. Aren’t other fish much bigger?”
The words moved the heron, who said:
“Okay, little friend, I won't eat you. We will become good friends from now on”.
How lucky the fish was! If he hadn’t pleaded with the heron she might have eaten him up.
From then on, the thankful fish recommended other things that the heron could eat from the pool. The heron visited him when she could, because she was very thankful for the good advice that his new friend gave her.
What is the discourse structure of the narrative? What are the main elements of the story? What order are they in and why?
Narratives often follow a discourse structure with the following elements:
- Abstract
- Orientation
- Complication
- Resolution
- Coda
Use the handout to find the meaning of each element.
These are all phrases taken from the narrative. Put them in the correct order from top to bottom (beginning to end). Remember to follow the order: Abstract, Orientation, Complication, Resolution, Coda.
Activity 3
The genre of narratives is not only defined by its discourse structure. Each element of the narrative also tend to contain particular features of register which are used to achieve the desired effects.
What language features do you notice in the text? Where do they appear in the story?
Match the example to the correct term. Then, check where each example appears in the narrative. Why do you think each one appears where it does? What is the intended effect on the reader?
Answers
Each statement below explains the use of a grammatical feature from the previous activity. Read each statement and decide which grammatical feature it matches with before revealing the correct answer with by clicking the buttons 1-4.
State verbs like 'be' or 'have', tend to appear in the orientation. This is because they set the scene by describing the place, time, weather or characters.
Verbs in the progressive aspect also tend to appear in the orientation. This is because they describe an ongoing action which is then interrupted by the main events of the story.
Verbs in the simple past tense tend to appear throughout the rest of the complication and resolution. This is because this construction is used to narrate completed events in order. These tend to use speech or action verbs, rather that state verbs.
Adverbials of time can appear throughout the narrative. They also help to show the order of the story. This example, From then on shows how the state of affairs has changed.
Activity 4
There is one other element of narratives to examine: evaluations. These are different since they can occurr in any section of the story. Evaluatoins don't advance the narrative, but show what characters' thoughts and opinions on what's happening.
For example:
- So dangerous!
What other evaluations can you find in the narrative? What discourse features are used?
Here are some other evaluations you may have found:
- lucky, clever, good
- Aren't other fish much bigger?
- I won't eat you
- She might have eaten him up
What discourse feature does each example belong to?
What discourse feature does each example belong to?
Adjectives
Question, comparative
Negated modal verb
Modal verb of possibility
What do these features have in common? Why are they used for evaluations?
What do these features have in common? Why are they used for evaluations?
These features are used for evaluations because they show the author's or a character's opinion or thoughts. Adjectives, modal verbs and negatives express value judgments and possibilities, rather than simply telling the events of the story.
Activity 5
Look at the Jumble Narrative in the handout. This is a new narrative, but the sentences are placed in the wrong order. Put the sentences into the correct order. There are more than one correct way to order the sentences. However, you should use the discourse structure and features of register to make a meaningful narrative.
Act in haste, repent at leisure
A young woman had a pet mongoose.
It was very faithful.
One day she went to the market, and left her baby in the care of the mongoose.
At that time a big cobra entered the house.
The mongoose fought it fiercely for a long time and eventually killed it.
When the woman came back she saw the mongoose lying at the entrance with its blood-covered mouth.
Assuming the mongoose had killed her baby, in a moment of sudden fury, the woman threw the water pot at the mongoose and killed it.
Then her baby laughed loudly from the next room.
She ran there and saw her baby playing cheerfully and a big cobra lying dead nearby.
The woman shed tears of grief stroking the dead body of the mongoose.
“I wish I had not been so hasty,” she cried.