Genre is best defined as a specific type of text or communication that is characteristic of a group. This is an often unnoticed but very important part of everyday life. It applies not just to art, and books, but how to communicate at a specific job site. It is something that I have taken for granted in everyday life so far. The importance that art genres have on culture is immense. A large of my childhood was watching cheesy, old, blockbuster action movies with my family, like Kindergarten Cop and Top Gun. We also watched a lot of police procedurals, like CSI and Law and Order. These two different genres and mediums, while they are not the Sistine Chapel or Pieta of cinema, are a significant part of the culture I grew up with.

Genre is very important to the workplace, and in everyday communication. It promotes mutual understanding within a group of likeminded humans, and it improves teamwork. This is part of makes up a discourse community in the workforce. Every employer has its own genre of communication that is specific to itself. This is very evident in the healthcare industry and its different uses of Latin medical terminology and, for lack of a better word, slang. In the healthcare industry, a Foramen Ovale might be called a PFO elsewhere. Learning the specific genre of communication within a discourse community is an important, and often overlooked, part of human nature.

In the text written by Carline Halik, she goes into detail about how genre is an important part of identifying who is part of a group and who is not. It becomes an important part of developing an identity within the group. (Halik, Marcy Galbreaths 2014 ENC 1102)

In the text written by Joseph Moxley, he brings up the importance of clear communication when people from different discourse communities meet, as they will have different expectations about how to communicate. This would be very evident in diplomatic meetings, were people who are from vastly different groups have to be able to come find agreements in situations that are often very consequential. (Moxley, 2023)

Works Cited:

More than Just Pieces of Paper: The Role of Genres in Professional Employee/Employer Relationships, Caroline Halik, Marcy Galbreath’s Spring 2014 ENC 1102

Genre – What is Genre? | Writing Commons, Joseph Moxley, 2023.

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