Genres  in  geography  

Genre  family   Genre   Overall  purpose  

Sequential     To  present  a  sequence  of  events  (e.g.  the  formation  of  a  glaciated  feature)  

Factorial     To  explain  multiple  causes  for  one  phenomenon  (e.g.  the  factors  involved  in  climate  change)  

Explaining  

Consequential     To  explain  the  multiple  outcomes  from  one  phenomenon  (e.g.  the  effects  of  a  volcanic  eruption)  

Descriptive     To  describe  a  phenomenon  –  the  text  starts  with  a  classification  of  the  phenomenon  and  then  describes  it  (e.g.  the  structure  of  urban  areas)    

Classifying     To  classify  and  then  describe  phenomena  (e.g.  types  of  moraine)  

Reporting  

Compositional   To  describe  the  parts  of  a  whole  phenomenon  (e.g.  human  and  physical  factors  of  industrial  location)  

Procedural   Instructional   To  instruct  on  how  to  do  an  activity  (e.g.  where  instructions  are  given  on  conducting  fieldwork)  

Exposition   To  give  one  point  of  view  –  this  is  not  as  common  in  geography  where  balanced  approaches  are  normally  given  (e.g.  argument  in  support  of  a  wind  farm)  

Arguments  

 

Discussion   To  discuss  two  or  more  points  of  view  identifying  the  issue,  giving  arguments  from  both  sides  and  then  a  resolution  (e.g.  discussion  on  the  impact  of  tourism  in  Loch  Lomond  and  the  Trossachs  National  Park)  

Text  responses  

 

Interpretation   This  is  a  common  activity  in  the  geography  class  where  pupils  are  asked  to  interpret  the  meaning  of  a  text  (e.g.  in  a  text  describing  tourist  activities  the  question  might  be:  What  problems  do  you  think  are  caused  by  jet  skiers?)  

Adapted  from  www.strath.ac.uk/media/faculties/hass/.../Geography_genre_outline.docx.    

Genres  in  history  

Genre  family   Genre   Overall  purpose  

Autobiographical  recount  

 

To  retell  the  events  of  your  own  life  

Biographical  recount  

 

To  retell  the  events  of  another  person’s  life  

Historical  recount  

 

To  retell  events  in  the  past  

Recording  

Historical  account   To  account  for  why  events  happened  in  a  particular  sequence    

 

Factorial  explanation    

 

To  explain  the  reasons  or  factors  that  contribute  to  a  particular  outcome    

 

Explaining  

Consequential  explanation    

 

To  explain  the  effects  or  consequences  of  a  situation    

 

Exposition    

 

To  put  forward  a  point  of  view  or  argument    

 

Discussion    

 

To  argue  the  case  for  two  or  more  points  of  view  about  an  issue    

 

Arguing  

Challenge    

 

To  argue  against  a  view  

Source:  Adapted  from  Caroline  Coffin,  Learning  the  Language  of  School  History:  The  Role  of  Linguistics  in  Mapping  the  Writing  Demands  of  the  Secondary  School  Curriculum,  Journal  of  Curriculum  Studies  

38(4)  (2006),  413–429.    

 

Genres  in  science  

Genre  family   Genre   Overall  purpose  

Experiments   To  instruct  someone  in  how  to  make  or  do  something  

Practical  reports   To  provide  a  recount  of  the  method  undertaken  in  an  experiment,  as  well  as  the  results  and  the  conclusions  

Doing  science    

Investigations   To  investigate  a  scientific  phenomenon  by  combining  aspects  of  the  experiment  and  practical  report  genres  

Acknowledging  scientists     Biographical  recounts   To  recount  the  major  events  in  a  famous  scientist’s  life  

Descriptive  reports   To  describe  the  features  of  scientific  phenomena  

Comparative  reports   To  compare  the  features  of  two  or  more  examples  of  a  phenomenon    

Compositional  reports   To  organise  knowledge  according  to  the  component  parts  of  a  phenomenon  (whole/part)    

Describing  and  organising  scientifically    

Classifying  reports   To  organise  knowledge  according  to  a  system  of  classification  (class/subclass)    

Sequential  explanations     To  explain  a  scientific  phenomenon  by  presenting  the  events  producing  the  phenomenon  in  chronological  order  

Causal  explanations   To  explain  a  scientific  phenomenon  by  presenting  the  events  producing  the  phenomenon  in  chronological  order  with  reasons  included  

Factorial  explanations     To  explain  the  multiple  factors  that  contribute  to  a  particular  phenomenon  

Consequential  explanations  

To  explain  the  multiple  factors  that  contribute  to  a  particular  phenomenon,  whilst  focusing  on  the  consequences  

Explaining  events  scientifically    

 

Theoretical  explanations   To  define  and  then  illustrate  a  theoretical  principle  or  law  

Analytical  arguments  

 

To  present  arguments  on  an  issue  in  order  to  persuade  the  reader/listener  to  agree  with  a  particular  point  of  view  

Hortatory  arguments   To  persuade  the  reader/listener  to  take  some  action  

Discussion     To  present  the  case  for  more  than  one  point  of  view  about  an  issue    

Arguing  and  challenging  aspects  of  science    

 

Challenge     To  challenge  an  established  point(s)  of  view  

Adapted  from  John  Polias,  Assessing  Learning:  A  Language-­‐Based  Approach.  I  Symposium  (2006).  Available  at:  

http://www.su.se/polopoly_fs/1.84020.1333710072!/menu/standard/file/2006_3_Polias.pdf,  p.  46.