WR 121 Fierman: Choose 2 genres
Choose 2 genres
This assignment asks you to research one question, but present your findings in 2 genres. This page provides information about genres and examples of some of the genres you might choose.
What is Genre?
"What is a Genre?": A Literary Guide for English Students and Teachers - OSU
"What does genre mean? What are some examples of genres in literature and film? Professor Ehren Pflugfelder answers these questions using examples from popular movies, literature, and everyday life. The short video is designed to help high school and college English students to not only identify genres of various artforms but also to analyze their structure and purpose. The video is sponsored by the School of Writing, Literature, and Film at Oregon State University."
Academic research paper
This guide from SUNY provides a definition for research papers and lists the steps involved in writing one.
Brochures
How To Design a Brochure? Quick Guide.
Some tips for writing and designing effective brochures.
How To Design a Brochure: The Ultimate Guide.
A more in depth guide for brochure design.
Press Release
This is an example press release from the CDC (Centers for Disease Control)
This is a press release from the Secretary of State of Oregon, November 18, 2022
Open Letter
An open letter is one written to a specific individual or group, but that is published and intended to be read by a wider audience. Two of the most famous open letters are Martin Luther King, Jr.'s 1963 letter from a Birmingham jail and Emile Zola's 1898 letter to the president of the French Republic accusing the government of antisemitism.
Here's another example of an open letter, from the Western States Center to the White House, urging action on hate-fueled violence.
The Art of the Open Letter explains how an open letter works, gives tips for what it should contain, and includes a couple of unusual examples.
This website also talks about the art of the open letter. It starts with interesting examples and gives a few tips at the end.
Open Letters to People or Entities Who Are Unlikely to Respond. This is from McSweeny's which is a humorous publication, and while these letters do mostly incorporate a kind of tongue in cheek kind of humor, they're also good examples of open letters on a wide variety of topics.
Podcasts
How to Write a Podcast Script [With Examples & Template]. Gives a detailed outline for writing a script.
Podcast Basics: How To Write A Podcast Script. Includes a few additional ideas, including how to mark up your script so that you read it the way you want it to sound.
Creating a Narrative Podcast: A Step-By-Step Guide Producer Michael Falero walks through the nitty gritty of the process of creating Backyard Cambridge, a local news podcast.
Business Letter
This page explains the basic components of writing a business letter.
This page offers an example business letter
This page gives tips on how to write your business letter and what to focus on.
Writing Genres
We use the word genre in different ways in different contexts. If you ask a librarian for a good book to read, they might ask you what genre you prefer -- that is, do you like history, crime, horror, fantasy, science fiction, etc. When we talk about genres in writing, we're referring to the format your writing will take. Here are some examples of different writing genres. Scroll down the page to see examples of many of these.
- podcast
- news report or news article
- song
- open letter
- recipe
- letter
- blog post
- Power Point (or Google slides)
- comic
- pamphlet or brochure
- book review
- editorial
- memo
- magazine article
- PSA
For each of these, you would do some research so that your writing is factually supported. You would also likely use a somewhat different style of writing based on the audience you have in mind.
Blog Posts
This blog is a good example of a blog with a very specific audience: woodworkers and people who are interested in learning to work with wood. Everything about this blog speaks to that audience through the woodworking vocabulary it uses, the images it displays, the title is a play on a wood-related word...
Slide Presentations
(Use Google Slides)
Editorials/Opinion
This YouTube video offers 7 tips for writing an editorial from a NY Times editor.
This is an example editorial about a current issue from Indian Country Today.
This is the New York Times editorial page where you can read multiple editorials to get an idea of how to write one.
Short talks
A short speech on your topic is most effective when you know your audience and are concise, but engaging.
- TED talksWatch how "TED talkers" present their information or use their talks to inform your topic.