Genre awareness: Effectively teaching composition through genre awareness at a community college

Abstract

This thesis outlines the history of rhetorical genre theory and how the evolving definition
of genre has influenced current genre awareness pedagogies. The survey of literature
examines implicit and explicit pedagogical approaches to teaching genre theory and
closely examines genre awareness as an alternative approach. Through exploring genre
awareness, the thesis highlights the specific scene of the community college writing
classroom in comparison to the scene of the university ,:vriting classroom in order to
detennine how to best instruct students. After a thorough examination of the scene, the
study progresses into a useful guide for comm1mity college instmctors to gain valuable
insight into how genre awareness pedagogy can be applied in the classroom setting.
These practical and useful teaching methods demonstrate the value of genre awareness in
collllllunity college writing instruction, and thus, add to the ongoing discourse and
scholarship.

Date of Award	2012
Original language	American English
Awarding Institution	Eastern Illinois University
Supervisor	Donna J. Binns (Supervisor)