Much of Bitzer's theory emphasizes composing a "fitting" response for rhetorical situations. Does genre help define what kind of response *fits*? Why or why not?
Lloyd Bitzer’s theory of “the rhetorical situation” was thought of to be the most important part of writing. The rhetorical situation requires discourse in order to persuade an audience to act while dealing with constraints based on audience differences and biases. In Navigating Genres by Dirk, she presents how genre “is the knowledge that helps us recognize and to determine the appropriate responses to different situations – that is, knowing what particular genre is called for in a particular situation” (Dirk, 12). Basically, Dirk makes the argument that in order to get a “fitting” response for rhetorical situation, the discourse has to be formatted in the proper genre to get the desired response. “Genre uses to refer primarily to form” (Dirk, 4). However, all different types of genres are thought of “as tools to help people get things done” (Dirk, 5). Genre foes help define the kind of response that fits for a rhetorical situation because it puts into perspective what action is trying to be accomplished, show off how much has been learned about the situation, presents responses to similar situations, and prompts others to ask questions (Dirk, 14-15). All these steps entice people to put a specific type in their mind and put together a lay out for how they process the information. Using the rhetorical situation, if the genre fits right then the persuasion should give the desired outcome form the audience regardless of constraints.
In “Navigating Genres” by Kerry Dirk, Dirk actually mentions what Bitzer has to say in her essay about the rhetorical situation response and the relation it has to genre. Dirk paraphrases what Bitzer has said by writing, “…when something new happens that requires a response…eventually everyone who encounters this situation is basing his/her response on the previous ones, resulting in the creation of a new genre.” So with this being said, I say that the response that is given in a specific situation, and the continuing responses that are built up, one after another, is what defines the genre but only if there is a new genre to be made. Dirk uses an example of George Washington’s first State of The Union. There was never a speech given like this before, the genre was not established yet. But once Washington gave out a response on the status of the country then he created a new genre in which all the other presidents have now followed. However, there may be instances where the genre does help to give a fitting response as well. Dirk was explaining later on in her essay that people know which genres will display certain responses. For example, “joke should generate a laugh, your email should elicit a response and your updated Facebook status should generate comments from your online friends.” By taking all of this into consideration, if there is a new genre to be made the domino effect of responses from that particular situation has created a genre. However, if a genre is already made up and you want to get a particular response from a situation you will pick the best fitting genre there is to accommodate the type of response you are looking for. It all depends on the situation and response you want.
Genre, as explained by Kerry Dick, does help define and explain what kind of response is fitting to a rhetorical situation. Thinking of genres of writing alone comes quite easily, especially since Dick explained it in such a casual tone. It is when I start thinking about genres being rhetorical situations’ counterpart that my brain hurts for a second. This essay has made me understand that there are many types writing, and you have to consider “not only form but also audience, purpose, and genre” (pg. 260), this basically meaning that genre is a lot more complex than just letter, or article. I think the main relation I see in Bitzer’s piece on rhetorical situation and Dick’s on genre, is that the rhetor and audience both need to be involved for either thing to exist. It made lots of sense to me that a rhetorical situation couldn’t exist without an audience to interpret it, and probably respond, but I never thought that way about genre. Now I see that for a genre to fit, the audience has to respond in a predicted fashion. My largest issue with the rhetorical situation essay was that I think someone can’t say a rhetorical situation is wrong, but with the argument of genre, it makes much more sense.
It seems like Bitzer’s concept of the rhetorical situations and Dirk’s emphasis on genre go hand in hand. The situation is indicative of what someone will write, but the genre will dictate how someone writes. As Dirk’s points out genres go beyond our stereotypical book types classifications like romance, mystery, science fiction, and etc. In actuality they are more applicable to our everyday writing, as in how we approach a research paper for school or the difference in how we stylize e-mails to our professors versus text-messages to our friends. Each is dependent on predisposed awareness of how each should be structured and how the audience will be expecting to read it. For me genre is all about the audience. A work in generated to please, inform, entertain, or persuade a certain set of individuals, but never everyone. Genre is a great way of allocating an audience that will be more susceptible to reading and believing a text. Dirks also mentions that we don’t just create new genres every time a new piece of work is required. Instead we build off of the older one. This is important because it gives an advantage to the writer who will now already have a reference point. Her example sums this up nicely. When you are asked to write a research paper for one of your classes, you already know what the structure, formatting, and style of what a typical research paper looks like, so then you just bridge off from that knowledge and shape it according to the topic (or in Bitzer’s case the situation). Knowing genres and how to use them effectively will be important beyond the wooden desks of a classroom. It’s probably realistic to assume that adulthood requires more variations in genres than what we encounter now; it’s just realizing how to effectively use its advantages.
From reading “ Navigating Genres” by Kerry Dirk I came to understand that Dirk’s explanation on genre fits into Bitzer’s theory about composing fitting responses for rhetorical situations. Genre can help find a fitting response of these rhetorical situations. Genre plays a large role in Dirk’s passage as she says there are more genres than the original ones and the ones that people think they know about. Genre can also define a response to a rhetorical situation from the writers point of view. The writer already knows what they are going to write about, so already a genre has been defined and when done correctly a great response can be produced. An example of genre could be the writing of a textbook intended for a student. “Although textbooks are directed at students, they are often more formal affairs meant to serve a different purpose than this essay” (251). So genres define many things and also how they function to an audience. Genre makes things fit the right way when responding to something and they all have certain forms that will have certain expectations. If writing a lab report you will have a specific way of formatting your report. If writing an essay you will have to format it in a specific way that is acceptable as an essay. The genre of writing that we do is always complementary to how are response will be and how we come to the conclusion of that response.
Kerry Dirk defines genre in such a way that it is understandable and illustrative of rhetorical situations. Rather than Bitzer's definition of the rhetorical situation in regards to audience, exigence, and constraints, genre allows us to look at "fitting" responses in regards to their purpose and location. "Genres develop, then, because they respond appropriately to situations that writers encounter repeatedly." (Dirk 252) By definition, genres are the response to a rhetorical situation so they certainly help in the definition. Dirk provides a plethora of examples that all illustrate genre and the way they fulfill their purpose in the situation (even in seemingly mundane instances such as writing a letter for the removal of a late fee). While some people feel that Bitzer's ideas are the most important to writing, I feel that examining genre is more important. Rather than look at the situation in and of itself, genre encourages us to look at the situation by examining purpose and location, looking at past examples, and considering the effectiveness and limitations of that genre. We can see how genre defines what will and will not be appropriate such as in the case of the ransom note (Dirk 257) and this will help us to analyze what it is appropriate in other situations as well. In particular I think of when people first started utilizing hashtags outside of Twitter, and the response initially to refute them as the genre was not appropriate (this also leads to an interesting discussion on the fluidity of genre which I think is important when looking at "fitting" responses).
Much like Wysocki’s notion that format determines the content of text, Dirk’s take on genres show that they provide a preexisting platform for one to base his/her composition on. With this thought in mind, genre most definitely helps define what kind of response “fits” a rhetorical situation. Dirk approaches genre differently than Bitzer treats the rhetorical situation. Where Bitzer had exigencies, audience, and constraints to define the rhetorical situation and proposing nearly endless examples for those categories, Dirk notes that genre is difficult to define. Genre is a dynamic form that can be redefined every time it is accessed. While genre and the rhetorical situation are evaluated differently, they still go hand and hand. Dirk uses and excerpt from Bitzer’s writings to highlight the need for someone to create a response once something happens that requires a response. Once that first response is made, another person bases their response off of that first response. As this cycle continues, the definition of that genre (that type of response) becomes more concrete, however never opposed to innovation. Bitzer and Dirk’s mutual understanding of this origination further illustrates that genres aid in defining what kinds of responses are suitable. If genre is not in play when considering how to address a composition then simple mistakes can be made. Dirk uses the ransom note scenario to illustrate how three examples play to the formula of a rhetorical situation but only one fits because it is specific to the ransom note genre, which we can identify, based on its similarities with ransom notes written before. The other examples play to the audience and illicit similar responses but inevitably leave the reader thinking the writer of the first note is not intelligent and the writer of the second note is not experienced and is genuinely a confused, but nice person. Neither supposed affliction is helpful to the kidnapper. All in all, genre helps the writer compose an accurate response and further assists in the understanding of the rhetorical situation.
The idea of genre is a huge help in defining what kind of response “fits” a rhetorical situation because genres help us see rhetorical situations that occur on a daily basis in the lives of regular people. I have dealt with rhetoric many times during the course of my college career, and normally the discussions deal with speeches like Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have A Dream” and Lincoln’s “Gettysburg Address.” These two rhetorical megaliths are probably always mentioned because they are straightforward and easy to comprehend. The exigence of these speeches is common knowledge. They are great examples of how rhetoric can shape the world on a macro level, but inadvertently define rhetoric as something that exists in the bourgeois realm of presidents and powerful political players, which most normal people do not connect to.
Kerry Dirk popularizes the rhetorical situation by revealing its existence on a much more micro level through the idea of genre. I now see how everyday situations are genres because there is often a standard way that we approach them. Genres allow us to “accurately predict how [social actions] function rhetorically,” (Dirk 253). Actions like sending a professor an email or asking a friend to hang out function rhetorically because they are intended to bring about a response. There are typical ways in which this must be done, and these ways are evident in both the history of writing and of human interaction. I thought of cultural genres that differ from country to country. If you go to a pub in the United Kingdom or Ireland and sit down at a table, you will not be served. The bartenders will laugh at you because everything is ordered at the bar over there. Table service is par for the course in the United States though, so taking a seat will usually prompt a waiter/waitress to approach you. The same action of sitting down prompts different responses in different places because countries have different genres of pub interaction.
Genres help us understand responding to rhetorical situations because there is a vast back-history of similar rhetorical situations we can analyze and steal from. Often like-situations warrant a like-response which helps taking a lot of guess work out of analyzing a rhetorical situation. Instead of viewing the situation as an island, you look at it within the context of other situations.
Kerry Dirk’s essay “Navigating Genres” broadens the meaning of genre. Many of her examples of genres I had not considered as a certain type of text. For instance, she describes how The Onion’s headlines are considered a genre of texts. The headlines of The Onion’s articles are considered a genre because they are written in accordance to a particular rhetorical situation. The headlines are trying to initiate action from the audience, specifically laughter. Because of Dick’s examples, I know understand and agree that genre helps define a “fitting” response, which is what Bitzer heavily emphasized. One reason genre is defines a response is because genre “functions as social actions” and “helps people accomplish goals” (Dirk 252 & 253). Before choosing a genre, writers examine their audience, purpose and identify the situation. After these steps, they then choose what genre would best communicate their message and accomplish their goal. In order to effectively communicate, writers must consider their rhetorical situation and then choose their genre that fits the situation. This is clarified when she explains that certain genres adhere to certain situations such as, newscasters don’t rap the news and legal briefs are not written in couplets.
It seems as if Dirk would agree with Bitzer that a fitting genre is critical to rhetorical situations. Referring to genres Dirk writes, “it is this knowledge that helps us to recognize and to determine appropriate responses to different situations.” In order for the writer to persuade the reader to action, one must choose a fitting genre.
Though every author would love for their audience to react the same way that they are expected, that is not always the case. Everyone responds differently to different stimuli; however genre does help define the kind of response that “fits”. Some is expected to cry during a tragedy, cringe during gore, fear during a thriller, and heart flutter during a romance, pulse race during action, and so many other responses to other genres. If an author is consistent within their genre then someone will feel at least one strong emotion throughout the writing. I do believe however, that great writing makes someone feel every emotion. So yes, genre does help define a response that “fits”, but humans are capable of feeling tremendous and fleeting emotions that run the gamut. I wouldn’t only want to experience fear when reading something. While it is nice to have a niche that has the desired response that is specific to the message and the authors’ expectations, the author should not restrict themselves in the ability to get more than one response. Genre may be able to put each response into a box to make it identifiable, but it is always the unidentified that is captivating.
Dirk defines genre beyond the basic definition that people use to describe a specific type of medium (ex: science fiction novels or action movies). This expanded definition of genre applies to the different contexts that a piece of writing can “fit” in to. It takes in to account several things that can change the effectiveness or appropriateness of a response. This includes writing style, tone and audience demographic. Dirk’s ransom letter scenario starting on page 256 is a perfect example of how important it is to create a “fitting” response in a rhetorical situation. Each genre comes with established conventions and rules that make for fitting responses. (258) Like in the ransom note example, writing in this genre follows the unspoken rules of being forceful and clear in demands. So genre, at least Dirk’s definition does define what responses are fitting for particular rhetorical situations. I believe genres are generally able to work with constraints presented in rhetorical situations. Particular genres are better for dealing with certain audience constraints, while others can also handle speaker constraints.
As Kerry Dick illustrates in ‘Navigating Genres’, genre helps define what is considered an appropriate response to any given situation. Dick states that knowledge of genres and how they function help us to “recognize and to determine appropriate response to different situations – that is, knowing what particular genre is called for in a particular situation” (259). This plays directly into Bitzer’s theory, specifically tying into Bitzer’s emphasis on composing a “fitting” response to rhetorical situations. As is exemplified through the section on the genre of the ransom note, certain situations call for certain genres – and with that genre comes a certain set of expectations that must, for the most part, be met. But genre is not simply determined by the situation, but by the audience as well. Looking back at the ransom note again, the example of the overly friendly ransom letter didn’t play appropriately into either the situation or the audience. If the father whose daughter had been kidnapped read a letter such as that, he may be less inclined to take it seriously and be quicker to call the police than to pay a lofty sum of money. It would not have been a “fitting” response to the situation, and certainly doesn’t fit in well with the existing genre. Dick suggests that when considering the rhetorical effectiveness of your writing, you must consider “not only form but also audience, purpose, and genre” ; genre is just one step in understanding how to compose the most effective response to a rhetorical situation (260).
“Navigating Genres” by Kerry Dirk explains to us how genre and the rhetorical situation are intertwined. If any of us were wondering how genre helps define what kind of response fits, the answer was most definitely found in her text. She specifically states on page 254 that “By studying the genres that we find familiar, we can start to see how specific choices that writers make result in specific actions on the part of the readers”. Does this sound familiar? Of course, as this is essentially what we learned by reading Bitzer’s piece about the rhetorical situation. Dirk also says that learning about genres “helps us to recognize and to determine appropriate responses to different situations” (259). There were a few other declarations Dirk makes regarding the importance of genre and its abilities. She says that being knowledgeable about genre can “help people to accomplish goals”(253) and “help us to communicate successfully” (259).
In “Navigating Genres”, Kerry Dirk states that genre does help define a fitting response. Dirk starts out by naming the characteristics of a country song. Because she is familiar with the country music genre, she would be prepared to write new country lyrics. Dirk goes on to quote Bitzer, saying that when a situation happens again, another person uses the first response as a basis. Eventually everyone who encounters this situation will base his or her response on the previous ones, creating a new genre. An example of this is the State of the Union Address. The presidents now have former addresses to help guide their response. Citizens then know what to expect from the address (Dirk 252). People can see how others have approached similar situations and form a fitting response.
By knowing how genres function as social actions, people can predict how they function rhetorically. People recognize the rhetorical situation of their action and then choose to act in a way that would result in the outcome they desire (Dirk 253). People know what the appropriate response is based on the rhetorical situation. For example, someone would not send inappropriate jokes to his mother or share a gross status on Facebook (253). Genres help people make more efficient decisions when writing. When people write, they use genres to create their rhetorical action. If there is a new situation, people can use genres from the past to shape their new action. Genres ultimately shape how people view new situations (Dirk 259).
According to Kerry Dirk in “Navigating Genres,” genres do help define what kind of response fits in rhetorical situations. Although writing was previously used as a method of “filling in the blank”, genres now help writers make more efficient decisions because of being able to see how people have approached similar situations. Genres allow the writer to determine appropriate responses to different situations depending on which specific genre should be used. As people write, they use genres that they have previously incorporated in their works to construct rhetorical action. Thus, as each new genre is learned, writers find new ways to respond to rhetorical situations (Dirk 259).
This is not to say that a genre always helps define the kind of response that fits. Dirk claims that now genres have evolved from just repeating rhetorical situations as Bitzer claimed. They have the ability to hurt or help human interaction as well as ease communication or to deceive. Furthermore, a genre can also discourage new ideas or ease someone to speak. It all depends on if the writer know what a genre is used for in order to help people accomplish goals (Dirk 253).
Genres function to shape our everyday lives as the specific choices that writers make with these genres result in specific actions of the reader (Dirk 254). For example, the State of the Union Address functions to allow the president and citizens of the United States to communicate more effectively, as he already knows which genre is used best for his audience and how they would react to the address (Dirk 252). Therefore, through defining the purpose of a text, determining its subject matter, and what their intended audience is, a writer is able to find what genre works best for their writing and ultimately compose a fitting response to their rhetorical situation.
I do believe that genre helps define what kind of response “fits.” I thought much of Bitzer’s rhetorical situation was focused on the idea of a persuasive essay or a speech. I noted that Aristotle’s definition of rhetoric was “rhetoric as an art of persuasion.” Some genres do not need this persuasion because they aim for a different reaction or goal from its audience. I like the quote Dirk used which said “a rhetorically sound definition of genre must be centered...on the action it is used to accomplish” (252). This goes to prove that genres have a specific goal and features. A mystery novel usually involves some type of suspense while a comedy film aims at making its audience laugh. The distinct characteristics of a genre are what set them apart from one another and what narrow down subcategories of genres . When a “new genre” comes about, it is built out of an older genre. Using a genre effectively will aim towards and influences ones audience more effectively. Part of being a good and successful writer involves how your audience is moved by your words. Are you achieving the emotional or mental changes you, as a writer, hoped for? Genre helps in understanding and creating the rhetorical situation which one needs to achieve this goal.
Bitzer defines the rhetorical situation as the context in which something is produced, such as the setting in which a question is asked, the events surrounding a philosopher’s musings, and everything which leads a poet to produce their work. He emphasizes that a text is a response to this situation. In Kerry Dirk’s “Navigating Genres”, Dirk discusses the idea of genre as a set of certain characteristics, such as the example of a joke requiring prior knowledge of the genre of country music in order to communicate its meaning to an audience.
By combining the theories we may consider genre as a sort of predetermined rhetorical situation, which is in fitting with Bitzer’s idea that a text is a response to a rhetorical situation. To use an example, a person may experience something very emotional which drives them to create, and the genre they choose to express themselves with, such as a poem or a piece of art, is a factor in the form of the final product and therefore is a part of the overall rhetorical situation.
I think genre is the most important part of forming a "fitting" response to a rhetorical situation. If your tone is silly when trying to inform people of a serious issue then your message will be missed and the audience will not act as you would like. A big part of appealing to an audience is appealing to the genres they care about. Dirk claims people respond in genres whether they realize it or not, and responding adequately to rhetorical situations is a matter of paying attention to the genres at play and using them as tools in your writing. To Bitzer, genre is very specific and targeted but Dirk opens up the notion of genre a bit. As far as forming a fitting response goes, the genre you write in is everything because that is all about creating a fit with a response. Consciously attending to genre by applying tone or specific diction to your writing is like playing matchmaker. You want to be keenly aware of your goals and how genre is affecting the situation.
When I think of the word genre, my mind immediately jumps to stereotypical categories such as comedy, romance, and suspense. Therefore when I read Navigating Genres by Kerry Dirk, I was very surprised by his description of the word genre. Dirk described genres as knowing how to respond to a comment so to speak. He used that example of the joke about country music and the responses received from that joke. While the expected response to a joke is laughter, if there is an alternative response, that creates another genre Typically genre can define what response fits into the situation. If the situation is very serious, amorous situation in which a lover proclaims, “I love you” to another, the expected response is a similar statement as a reaction. That is what we expect out of the genre, however if the other begins hysterically laughing we have another genre entirely. While the original lover may have been using some forms of rhetoric to compel the lover to requite his feelings, that is not the rhetorical response expected. . Rhetoric plays into nearly all writing, whether we use it wittingly or unwittingly, therefore I think there is a correlation between genre and rhetoric. The creation of a response is the creation of both rhetoric and a new genre.
Lloyd Bitzer’s theory of “the rhetorical situation” was thought of to be the most important part of writing. The rhetorical situation requires discourse in order to persuade an audience to act while dealing with constraints based on audience differences and biases. In Navigating Genres by Dirk, she presents how genre “is the knowledge that helps us recognize and to determine the appropriate responses to different situations – that is, knowing what particular genre is called for in a particular situation” (Dirk, 12). Basically, Dirk makes the argument that in order to get a “fitting” response for rhetorical situation, the discourse has to be formatted in the proper genre to get the desired response. “Genre uses to refer primarily to form” (Dirk, 4). However, all different types of genres are thought of “as tools to help people get things done” (Dirk, 5). Genre foes help define the kind of response that fits for a rhetorical situation because it puts into perspective what action is trying to be accomplished, show off how much has been learned about the situation, presents responses to similar situations, and prompts others to ask questions (Dirk, 14-15). All these steps entice people to put a specific type in their mind and put together a lay out for how they process the information. Using the rhetorical situation, if the genre fits right then the persuasion should give the desired outcome form the audience regardless of constraints.
ReplyDeleteIn “Navigating Genres” by Kerry Dirk, Dirk actually mentions what Bitzer has to say in her essay about the rhetorical situation response and the relation it has to genre. Dirk paraphrases what Bitzer has said by writing, “…when something new happens that requires a response…eventually everyone who encounters this situation is basing his/her response on the previous ones, resulting in the creation of a new genre.” So with this being said, I say that the response that is given in a specific situation, and the continuing responses that are built up, one after another, is what defines the genre but only if there is a new genre to be made. Dirk uses an example of George Washington’s first State of The Union. There was never a speech given like this before, the genre was not established yet. But once Washington gave out a response on the status of the country then he created a new genre in which all the other presidents have now followed.
ReplyDeleteHowever, there may be instances where the genre does help to give a fitting response as well. Dirk was explaining later on in her essay that people know which genres will display certain responses. For example, “joke should generate a laugh, your email should elicit a response and your updated Facebook status should generate comments from your online friends.”
By taking all of this into consideration, if there is a new genre to be made the domino effect of responses from that particular situation has created a genre. However, if a genre is already made up and you want to get a particular response from a situation you will pick the best fitting genre there is to accommodate the type of response you are looking for. It all depends on the situation and response you want.
Genre, as explained by Kerry Dick, does help define and explain what kind of response is fitting to a rhetorical situation. Thinking of genres of writing alone comes quite easily, especially since Dick explained it in such a casual tone. It is when I start thinking about genres being rhetorical situations’ counterpart that my brain hurts for a second. This essay has made me understand that there are many types writing, and you have to consider “not only form but also audience, purpose, and genre” (pg. 260), this basically meaning that genre is a lot more complex than just letter, or article. I think the main relation I see in Bitzer’s piece on rhetorical situation and Dick’s on genre, is that the rhetor and audience both need to be involved for either thing to exist. It made lots of sense to me that a rhetorical situation couldn’t exist without an audience to interpret it, and probably respond, but I never thought that way about genre. Now I see that for a genre to fit, the audience has to respond in a predicted fashion. My largest issue with the rhetorical situation essay was that I think someone can’t say a rhetorical situation is wrong, but with the argument of genre, it makes much more sense.
ReplyDeleteIt seems like Bitzer’s concept of the rhetorical situations and Dirk’s emphasis on genre go hand in hand. The situation is indicative of what someone will write, but the genre will dictate how someone writes. As Dirk’s points out genres go beyond our stereotypical book types classifications like romance, mystery, science fiction, and etc. In actuality they are more applicable to our everyday writing, as in how we approach a research paper for school or the difference in how we stylize e-mails to our professors versus text-messages to our friends. Each is dependent on predisposed awareness of how each should be structured and how the audience will be expecting to read it. For me genre is all about the audience. A work in generated to please, inform, entertain, or persuade a certain set of individuals, but never everyone. Genre is a great way of allocating an audience that will be more susceptible to reading and believing a text.
ReplyDeleteDirks also mentions that we don’t just create new genres every time a new piece of work is required. Instead we build off of the older one. This is important because it gives an advantage to the writer who will now already have a reference point. Her example sums this up nicely. When you are asked to write a research paper for one of your classes, you already know what the structure, formatting, and style of what a typical research paper looks like, so then you just bridge off from that knowledge and shape it according to the topic (or in Bitzer’s case the situation). Knowing genres and how to use them effectively will be important beyond the wooden desks of a classroom. It’s probably realistic to assume that adulthood requires more variations in genres than what we encounter now; it’s just realizing how to effectively use its advantages.
From reading “ Navigating Genres” by Kerry Dirk I came to understand that Dirk’s explanation on genre fits into Bitzer’s theory about composing fitting responses for rhetorical situations. Genre can help find a fitting response of these rhetorical situations. Genre plays a large role in Dirk’s passage as she says there are more genres than the original ones and the ones that people think they know about. Genre can also define a response to a rhetorical situation from the writers point of view. The writer already knows what they are going to write about, so already a genre has been defined and when done correctly a great response can be produced. An example of genre could be the writing of a textbook intended for a student. “Although textbooks are directed at students, they are often more formal affairs meant to serve a different purpose than this essay” (251). So genres define many things and also how they function to an audience. Genre makes things fit the right way when responding to something and they all have certain forms that will have certain expectations. If writing a lab report you will have a specific way of formatting your report. If writing an essay you will have to format it in a specific way that is acceptable as an essay. The genre of writing that we do is always complementary to how are response will be and how we come to the conclusion of that response.
ReplyDeleteKerry Dirk defines genre in such a way that it is understandable and illustrative of rhetorical situations. Rather than Bitzer's definition of the rhetorical situation in regards to audience, exigence, and constraints, genre allows us to look at "fitting" responses in regards to their purpose and location. "Genres develop, then, because they respond appropriately to situations that writers encounter repeatedly." (Dirk 252) By definition, genres are the response to a rhetorical situation so they certainly help in the definition. Dirk provides a plethora of examples that all illustrate genre and the way they fulfill their purpose in the situation (even in seemingly mundane instances such as writing a letter for the removal of a late fee). While some people feel that Bitzer's ideas are the most important to writing, I feel that examining genre is more important. Rather than look at the situation in and of itself, genre encourages us to look at the situation by examining purpose and location, looking at past examples, and considering the effectiveness and limitations of that genre. We can see how genre defines what will and will not be appropriate such as in the case of the ransom note (Dirk 257) and this will help us to analyze what it is appropriate in other situations as well. In particular I think of when people first started utilizing hashtags outside of Twitter, and the response initially to refute them as the genre was not appropriate (this also leads to an interesting discussion on the fluidity of genre which I think is important when looking at "fitting" responses).
ReplyDeleteMuch like Wysocki’s notion that format determines the content of text, Dirk’s take on genres show that they provide a preexisting platform for one to base his/her composition on. With this thought in mind, genre most definitely helps define what kind of response “fits” a rhetorical situation. Dirk approaches genre differently than Bitzer treats the rhetorical situation. Where Bitzer had exigencies, audience, and constraints to define the rhetorical situation and proposing nearly endless examples for those categories, Dirk notes that genre is difficult to define. Genre is a dynamic form that can be redefined every time it is accessed. While genre and the rhetorical situation are evaluated differently, they still go hand and hand. Dirk uses and excerpt from Bitzer’s writings to highlight the need for someone to create a response once something happens that requires a response. Once that first response is made, another person bases their response off of that first response. As this cycle continues, the definition of that genre (that type of response) becomes more concrete, however never opposed to innovation. Bitzer and Dirk’s mutual understanding of this origination further illustrates that genres aid in defining what kinds of responses are suitable. If genre is not in play when considering how to address a composition then simple mistakes can be made. Dirk uses the ransom note scenario to illustrate how three examples play to the formula of a rhetorical situation but only one fits because it is specific to the ransom note genre, which we can identify, based on its similarities with ransom notes written before. The other examples play to the audience and illicit similar responses but inevitably leave the reader thinking the writer of the first note is not intelligent and the writer of the second note is not experienced and is genuinely a confused, but nice person. Neither supposed affliction is helpful to the kidnapper. All in all, genre helps the writer compose an accurate response and further assists in the understanding of the rhetorical situation.
ReplyDeleteThe idea of genre is a huge help in defining what kind of response “fits” a rhetorical situation because genres help us see rhetorical situations that occur on a daily basis in the lives of regular people. I have dealt with rhetoric many times during the course of my college career, and normally the discussions deal with speeches like Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have A Dream” and Lincoln’s “Gettysburg Address.” These two rhetorical megaliths are probably always mentioned because they are straightforward and easy to comprehend. The exigence of these speeches is common knowledge. They are great examples of how rhetoric can shape the world on a macro level, but inadvertently define rhetoric as something that exists in the bourgeois realm of presidents and powerful political players, which most normal people do not connect to.
ReplyDeleteKerry Dirk popularizes the rhetorical situation by revealing its existence on a much more micro level through the idea of genre. I now see how everyday situations are genres because there is often a standard way that we approach them. Genres allow us to “accurately predict how [social actions] function rhetorically,” (Dirk 253). Actions like sending a professor an email or asking a friend to hang out function rhetorically because they are intended to bring about a response. There are typical ways in which this must be done, and these ways are evident in both the history of writing and of human interaction. I thought of cultural genres that differ from country to country. If you go to a pub in the United Kingdom or Ireland and sit down at a table, you will not be served. The bartenders will laugh at you because everything is ordered at the bar over there. Table service is par for the course in the United States though, so taking a seat will usually prompt a waiter/waitress to approach you. The same action of sitting down prompts different responses in different places because countries have different genres of pub interaction.
Genres help us understand responding to rhetorical situations because there is a vast back-history of similar rhetorical situations we can analyze and steal from. Often like-situations warrant a like-response which helps taking a lot of guess work out of analyzing a rhetorical situation. Instead of viewing the situation as an island, you look at it within the context of other situations.
Kerry Dirk’s essay “Navigating Genres” broadens the meaning of genre. Many of her examples of genres I had not considered as a certain type of text. For instance, she describes how The Onion’s headlines are considered a genre of texts. The headlines of The Onion’s articles are considered a genre because they are written in accordance to a particular rhetorical situation. The headlines are trying to initiate action from the audience, specifically laughter. Because of Dick’s examples, I know understand and agree that genre helps define a “fitting” response, which is what Bitzer heavily emphasized. One reason genre is defines a response is because genre “functions as social actions” and “helps people accomplish goals” (Dirk 252 & 253). Before choosing a genre, writers examine their audience, purpose and identify the situation. After these steps, they then choose what genre would best communicate their message and accomplish their goal. In order to effectively communicate, writers must consider their rhetorical situation and then choose their genre that fits the situation. This is clarified when she explains that certain genres adhere to certain situations such as, newscasters don’t rap the news and legal briefs are not written in couplets.
ReplyDeleteIt seems as if Dirk would agree with Bitzer that a fitting genre is critical to rhetorical situations. Referring to genres Dirk writes, “it is this knowledge that helps us to recognize and to determine appropriate responses to different situations.” In order for the writer to persuade the reader to action, one must choose a fitting genre.
Though every author would love for their audience to react the same way that they are expected, that is not always the case. Everyone responds differently to different stimuli; however genre does help define the kind of response that “fits”. Some is expected to cry during a tragedy, cringe during gore, fear during a thriller, and heart flutter during a romance, pulse race during action, and so many other responses to other genres. If an author is consistent within their genre then someone will feel at least one strong emotion throughout the writing. I do believe however, that great writing makes someone feel every emotion. So yes, genre does help define a response that “fits”, but humans are capable of feeling tremendous and fleeting emotions that run the gamut. I wouldn’t only want to experience fear when reading something. While it is nice to have a niche that has the desired response that is specific to the message and the authors’ expectations, the author should not restrict themselves in the ability to get more than one response. Genre may be able to put each response into a box to make it identifiable, but it is always the unidentified that is captivating.
ReplyDeleteDirk defines genre beyond the basic definition that people use to describe a specific type of medium (ex: science fiction novels or action movies). This expanded definition of genre applies to the different contexts that a piece of writing can “fit” in to. It takes in to account several things that can change the effectiveness or appropriateness of a response. This includes writing style, tone and audience demographic. Dirk’s ransom letter scenario starting on page 256 is a perfect example of how important it is to create a “fitting” response in a rhetorical situation. Each genre comes with established conventions and rules that make for fitting responses. (258) Like in the ransom note example, writing in this genre follows the unspoken rules of being forceful and clear in demands. So genre, at least Dirk’s definition does define what responses are fitting for particular rhetorical situations. I believe genres are generally able to work with constraints presented in rhetorical situations. Particular genres are better for dealing with certain audience constraints, while others can also handle speaker constraints.
ReplyDeleteAs Kerry Dick illustrates in ‘Navigating Genres’, genre helps define what is considered an appropriate response to any given situation. Dick states that knowledge of genres and how they function help us to “recognize and to determine appropriate response to different situations – that is, knowing what particular genre is called for in a particular situation” (259). This plays directly into Bitzer’s theory, specifically tying into Bitzer’s emphasis on composing a “fitting” response to rhetorical situations. As is exemplified through the section on the genre of the ransom note, certain situations call for certain genres – and with that genre comes a certain set of expectations that must, for the most part, be met. But genre is not simply determined by the situation, but by the audience as well. Looking back at the ransom note again, the example of the overly friendly ransom letter didn’t play appropriately into either the situation or the audience. If the father whose daughter had been kidnapped read a letter such as that, he may be less inclined to take it seriously and be quicker to call the police than to pay a lofty sum of money. It would not have been a “fitting” response to the situation, and certainly doesn’t fit in well with the existing genre. Dick suggests that when considering the rhetorical effectiveness of your writing, you must consider “not only form but also audience, purpose, and genre” ; genre is just one step in understanding how to compose the most effective response to a rhetorical situation (260).
ReplyDelete“Navigating Genres” by Kerry Dirk explains to us how genre and the rhetorical situation are intertwined. If any of us were wondering how genre helps define what kind of response fits, the answer was most definitely found in her text. She specifically states on page 254 that “By studying the genres that we find familiar, we can start to see how specific choices that writers make result in specific actions on the part of the readers”. Does this sound familiar? Of course, as this is essentially what we learned by reading Bitzer’s piece about the rhetorical situation. Dirk also says that learning about genres “helps us to recognize and to determine appropriate responses to different situations” (259). There were a few other declarations Dirk makes regarding the importance of genre and its abilities. She says that being knowledgeable about genre can “help people to accomplish goals”(253) and “help us to communicate successfully” (259).
ReplyDeleteIn “Navigating Genres”, Kerry Dirk states that genre does help define a fitting response. Dirk starts out by naming the characteristics of a country song. Because she is familiar with the country music genre, she would be prepared to write new country lyrics. Dirk goes on to quote Bitzer, saying that when a situation happens again, another person uses the first response as a basis. Eventually everyone who encounters this situation will base his or her response on the previous ones, creating a new genre. An example of this is the State of the Union Address. The presidents now have former addresses to help guide their response. Citizens then know what to expect from the address (Dirk 252). People can see how others have approached similar situations and form a fitting response.
ReplyDeleteBy knowing how genres function as social actions, people can predict how they function rhetorically. People recognize the rhetorical situation of their action and then choose to act in a way that would result in the outcome they desire (Dirk 253). People know what the appropriate response is based on the rhetorical situation. For example, someone would not send inappropriate jokes to his mother or share a gross status on Facebook (253). Genres help people make more efficient decisions when writing. When people write, they use genres to create their rhetorical action. If there is a new situation, people can use genres from the past to shape their new action. Genres ultimately shape how people view new situations (Dirk 259).
According to Kerry Dirk in “Navigating Genres,” genres do help define what kind of response fits in rhetorical situations. Although writing was previously used as a method of “filling in the blank”, genres now help writers make more efficient decisions because of being able to see how people have approached similar situations. Genres allow the writer to determine appropriate responses to different situations depending on which specific genre should be used. As people write, they use genres that they have previously incorporated in their works to construct rhetorical action. Thus, as each new genre is learned, writers find new ways to respond to rhetorical situations (Dirk 259).
ReplyDeleteThis is not to say that a genre always helps define the kind of response that fits. Dirk claims that now genres have evolved from just repeating rhetorical situations as Bitzer claimed. They have the ability to hurt or help human interaction as well as ease communication or to deceive. Furthermore, a genre can also discourage new ideas or ease someone to speak. It all depends on if the writer know what a genre is used for in order to help people accomplish goals (Dirk 253).
Genres function to shape our everyday lives as the specific choices that writers make with these genres result in specific actions of the reader (Dirk 254). For example, the State of the Union Address functions to allow the president and citizens of the United States to communicate more effectively, as he already knows which genre is used best for his audience and how they would react to the address (Dirk 252). Therefore, through defining the purpose of a text, determining its subject matter, and what their intended audience is, a writer is able to find what genre works best for their writing and ultimately compose a fitting response to their rhetorical situation.
I do believe that genre helps define what kind of response “fits.” I thought much of Bitzer’s rhetorical situation was focused on the idea of a persuasive essay or a speech. I noted that Aristotle’s definition of rhetoric was “rhetoric as an art of persuasion.” Some genres do not need this persuasion because they aim for a different reaction or goal from its audience.
ReplyDeleteI like the quote Dirk used which said “a rhetorically sound definition of genre must be centered...on the action it is used to accomplish” (252). This goes to prove that genres have a specific goal and features. A mystery novel usually involves some type of suspense while a comedy film aims at making its audience laugh. The distinct characteristics of a genre are what set them apart from one another and what narrow down subcategories of genres .
When a “new genre” comes about, it is built out of an older genre. Using a genre effectively will aim towards and influences ones audience more effectively. Part of being a good and successful writer involves how your audience is moved by your words. Are you achieving the emotional or mental changes you, as a writer, hoped for? Genre helps in understanding and creating the rhetorical situation which one needs to achieve this goal.
Bitzer defines the rhetorical situation as the context in which something is produced, such as the setting in which a question is asked, the events surrounding a philosopher’s musings, and everything which leads a poet to produce their work. He emphasizes that a text is a response to this situation. In Kerry Dirk’s “Navigating Genres”, Dirk discusses the idea of genre as a set of certain characteristics, such as the example of a joke requiring prior knowledge of the genre of country music in order to communicate its meaning to an audience.
ReplyDeleteBy combining the theories we may consider genre as a sort of predetermined rhetorical situation, which is in fitting with Bitzer’s idea that a text is a response to a rhetorical situation. To use an example, a person may experience something very emotional which drives them to create, and the genre they choose to express themselves with, such as a poem or a piece of art, is a factor in the form of the final product and therefore is a part of the overall rhetorical situation.
I think genre is the most important part of forming a "fitting" response to a rhetorical situation. If your tone is silly when trying to inform people of a serious issue then your message will be missed and the audience will not act as you would like. A big part of appealing to an audience is appealing to the genres they care about. Dirk claims people respond in genres whether they realize it or not, and responding adequately to rhetorical situations is a matter of paying attention to the genres at play and using them as tools in your writing. To Bitzer, genre is very specific and targeted but Dirk opens up the notion of genre a bit.
ReplyDeleteAs far as forming a fitting response goes, the genre you write in is everything because that is all about creating a fit with a response. Consciously attending to genre by applying tone or specific diction to your writing is like playing matchmaker. You want to be keenly aware of your goals and how genre is affecting the situation.
When I think of the word genre, my mind immediately jumps to stereotypical categories such as comedy, romance, and suspense. Therefore when I read Navigating Genres by Kerry Dirk, I was very surprised by his description of the word genre. Dirk described genres as knowing how to respond to a comment so to speak. He used that example of the joke about country music and the responses received from that joke. While the expected response to a joke is laughter, if there is an alternative response, that creates another genre Typically genre can define what response fits into the situation. If the situation is very serious, amorous situation in which a lover proclaims, “I love you” to another, the expected response is a similar statement as a reaction. That is what we expect out of the genre, however if the other begins hysterically laughing we have another genre entirely. While the original lover may have been using some forms of rhetoric to compel the lover to requite his feelings, that is not the rhetorical response expected. . Rhetoric plays into nearly all writing, whether we use it wittingly or unwittingly, therefore I think there is a correlation between genre and rhetoric. The creation of a response is the creation of both rhetoric and a new genre.
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