Please read “Navigating Genres“ at least twice, taking notes as you read.
For Blog Entry #3, you will draw upon what you learned in “Navigating Genres” to compose a letter that takes into account the suggestions at the end of the essay:
First, determine what action you are trying to accomplish. Are you trying to receive an A on a paper? Convince a credit card company to remove a late fee? Get into graduate school? If you don’t know what your goal is for a particular writing situation, you’ll have a difficult time figuring out what genre to use.
Second, learn as much as you can about the situation for which you are writing. What is the purpose? Who is the audience?
How much freedom do you have? How does the location affect the genre?
Third, research how others have responded to similar situations. Talk to people who have written what you are trying to write. If you are asked to write a biology research paper, ask your instructor for examples. If you need to write a cover letter for a summer internship, take the time to find out about the location of that internship.
And finally, ask questions. (260-261).
You will need to imagine the purpose of letter, the audience you are trying to reach, and the context that inspires the need for the letter. The more the letter connects to an actual challenge you are facing or purpose you would like to accomplish, the more vividly you will be able to compose it. Your letter should be about 500 words in length and include a relevant image.
See general info on the SURF Blog page for information on finding and properly crediting open source images. Remember that all blog entries will be posted on your CI Keys page using the “Posts” feature.
Works Cited
Dirk, Kerry. “Navigating Genres.” Writing Spaces: Readings on Writing. Ed. Charles Lowe and Pavel Zemliansky. Vol. 1. West Lafayette, IN: Parlor P, 2010. 249-262. Writing Spaces. Web. 10 Feb. 2016.
