56 Writing in U.S. Academic Genres

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Xiaoming Li, now a college English teacher, says that before she came to the United States as a graduate student, she had been a “good writer” in China—in both English and Chinese. Once in the United States, however, she struggled to grasp what her teachers expected of her college writing. While she could easily use grammar books and dictionaries, her instructors’ unstated expectations seemed to call for her to write in a way that was new to her.

Of course, writing for college presents many challenges; such writing differs in many ways from high school writing as well as from personal writing like text messaging or postings to social networking sites. If you grew up speaking and writing in other languages, however, the transition to producing effective college writing can be even more complicated. Not only will you have to learn new information and new ways of thinking and arguing, but you also have to do it in a language that may not come naturally to you—especially in unfamiliar rhetorical situations.

Features of Genres

AT A GLANCE

Study the features of the kind of text you need to write.

  • What does the genre look like? How is the text laid out on the page? How are any visual features incorporated into the main text?
  • How long is the whole text, each section, and each paragraph?
  • How does the text introduce the topic? Is the main point stated explicitly or implicitly?
  • What are the major divisions of the text? Are they marked with transitions or headings?
  • How does each section contribute to the main point? How is the main point of each section supported?
  • How are the key terms defined? What kind of background information is provided?
  • What is the level of formality? Does the text use technical terms or contractions (such as I’m and isn’t instead of I am and is not)?
  • Does the text take a personal stance (I, we), address the audience directly (you), or talk about the subject without explicitly referring to the writer or the reader?
  • How many sources are used in the text? How are they introduced?