GENRES IN CONVERSATION

Reflective Writing Informative Writing Analytical Writing Evaluative Writing Problem-Solving Writing Argumentative Writing

Faced with shrinking budgets, administrators in many school districts feel they must sacrifice the arts to ensure adequate funding for core educational programs. However, four high school juniors decided to push back after their school announced cuts to its music program. They hoped to persuade the school board that removing music from the curriculum would do more harm than good. With the assistance of their school librarian, the students found a wide range of argumentative documents to help build their case, including those shown here—a professional article, a case history, and a brochure. Notice how each genre makes a valuable contribution to this conversation.

Professional Article
This professional article from American School Board Journal aims to convince educators that the arts can—and should—be integrated into the core curriculum.
Case History
This case history from the American Music Conference cites numerical data and real-world examples to counter claims that cutting music education saves money.
Brochure
A brochure intended for parents uses large, appealing photographs, a colorful design, and a quotation from a student to highlight the academic benefits of music lessons.

Thinking About Genre

  1. Question

    Writing to convince or persuade requires extensive knowledge of one’s audience. What methods do these documents use to gauge the values and needs of their readers?

  2. Question

    Which documents are intended to convince, and which documents are intended to persuade? How does the visual presentation of evidence differ for each of these purposes?

  3. Question

    Advocates for a cause have two objectives in offering evidence: to support their arguments and to refute opposing arguments. Do all of these documents fulfill both objectives? How do they do so?
[Leave] [Close]