Genre Knowledge and Writing Development: Results From the Writing Transfer Project

Abstract

Using a mixed-methods, multi-institutional design of general education writing courses at four institutions, this study examined genre as a key factor for understanding and promoting writing development. It thus aims to provide empirical validation of decades of theoretical work on and qualitative studies of genre and the nature of genre knowledge. While showing that both simplistic and nuanced genre knowledge promote writing development, our findings suggest that nuanced genre knowledge correlates with writing development over the course of a semester. Based on these findings, we propose an expanded view of Tardy’s four genre knowledge components and argue for their explanatory power. We recognize these genre components can be cultivated by using three particular strategies: writing for nonclassroom audiences, using source texts explicitly to join existing disciplinary conversations, and cultivating two types of metacognitive awareness (awareness of the writing strategies used to complete specific tasks and awareness of one’s levels of proficiency in particular types of writing knowledge). Findings can be used to enrich first-year or upper-division writing curricula in the areas of genre knowledge, audience awareness, and source use.

“Helping Me Learn New Things Every Day”: The Power of Community College Students’ Writing Across Genres

“…In doing so, students like Khadija demonstrated that their use of the Letter genre was simultaneously shaped by both their personal goals and the norms within higher education. This finding echoes previous research regarding the impact of sociocultural goals, values, beliefs, and practices on people’s genre knowledge across a variety of academic institutions and positions (Devitt, 2008; Driscoll et al, 2020; Paré, 2002; Tardy, 2003, 2016; Tardy et al, 2018).…”

“…Due to these dense social connections, such diverse students may feel the need to act as guides to higher education for their partners. Thus, in accordance with recent work by Driscoll et al (2020), diverse students and their partners may especially benefit from the social affordances of an epistolary Letter genre that allows students to address partners outside of college. These relational functions did not take place within the Best and Worst Experience genres, demonstrating the importance of allowing community college students to communicate with and offer their support to close partners via their hard-won experience in higher education.…”

“…Eventually, students can integrate their past and developing genre knowledge and rhetorical skills to communicate with various partners, engage in recontexualization and metacognition of genre-related activities, and achieve context-sensitive goals in higher education (Tardy et al, 2020). Both undergraduate and graduate students must master a variety of genres to meet their institution’s standards and achieve academic success (Beer, 2000; Driscoll et al, 2020; Hyon, 2002).…”

“…1 However, few scholars have focused on how diverse community college students engage with different genres commonly associated with instruction in higher education. Students enrolled in 4-year colleges often call upon classroom genres (e.g., essays, scientific reports, and presentations) to integrate their past and developing knowledge and skills, to communicate with a range of potential audiences, and to achieve important goals such as passing college courses (Bawarshi & Reiff, 2010;Bazerman, 1997;Devitt, 2008;Driscoll et al, 2020;Paré, 2002). Yet community college students are disproportionately likely to come from underserved populations and must therefore navigate numerous cultural barriers as they participate in higher education (Deil-Amen, 2011).…”

Teaching and Researching Genre Knowledge: Toward an Enhanced Theoretical Framework

“…Previous research suggests that metacognitive processing allows writers to use genre knowledge across contexts and languages and thus effectively apply their knowledge to new writing tasks or goals (e.g., Driscoll et al, 2019;Gentil, 2011;Reiff & Bawarshi, 2011;Schoonen et al, 2011). For instance, Negretti (2012Negretti ( , 2017 has examined the role of metacognition among L2 graduate student writers in facilitating effective rhetorical choices in academic genres.…”