This short video provides an introduction to genre analysis as a critical reading and writing strategy that can help strengthen your own writing of research articles.
This video is part of the University of Guelph’s Writing in the Sciences (WITS) website designed to provide science researchers and post-secondary students with practical guidance on how to use clarity and precision in scientific writing. This video was created by Dr. Jodie Salter and Dr. Sarah Gibbons, and the WITS project was made possible by an NSERC Science Communication Skills Training Grant. To access the WITS website with its modules, resources, and interviews, visit [ Ссылка ].
VIDEO Descriptive Transcript:
Genre analysis is a critical reading practice that you can use when you’re preparing to write a research article. [The first page of a published scientific article showing key sections: title, article info, abstract, and introduction.] The scientific research article is one genre of writing, and it comes with specific conventions and characteristics that you can get more familiar with by analyzing the structure and style of articles in your own field.
Genre analysis involves finding examples of writing in your field and reading closely to examine the patterns and trends that you notice. A useful starting place is finding a well-written, well-cited article in your field. [Web of Science database with search entries listed and the cursor movement tracking to the “Export” tab on the top toolbar.]
As a researcher, you’re reading all the time. However, you’re typically reading for content – not for structure and style. [A published journal article with the left-hand navigation pane open and the cursor moving over the article’s sub-headings.] So, you may not pay attention to the overall organization, paragraph structure, and other aspects of the articles that you’re reading. [The Introduction section of a published journal article with three main sections: introductory paragraph, a numbered list of “reasons,” and a concluding paragraph.]
Genre analysis, in contrast, involves adopting a new type of reading practice in which you’re thinking about the ORGANIZATION of each section, the FUNCTION of each paragraph, and the SIGNAL PHRASES that writers use to introduce key information and transition to new topics. [A red circle draws emphasis around key phrases in the Introduction: “greatest threat,” “several reasons,” “crucial factor,” “Therefore.”]
While you may start with one article, a key to genre analysis is to look at multiple examples so that you can see a variety of different styles and structures and identify what techniques and approaches you’d like to use in your own work. [A cursor clicks through journal titles listed on a database.]
You can also use this reading practice to identify what aspects of an article you don’t find effective as a reader and that you want to avoid in your own work. Genre analysis is a useful way to familiarize yourself with the specific expectations for research articles in your field and to strengthen your own writing.
Ещё видео!