Examining Expertise in the Disciplines: Using Genre Theory to Research How Students Are Asked to Perform Expertise
Document Type
Panel Presentation
Start Date
20-4-2017 10:45 AM
End Date
20-4-2017 12:00 PM
Keywords
Genre theory, composition and rhetoric, interdisciplinary
Biography
My name is Ali Braenovich and I am a senior English/literary studies major. I am from Fayetteville, West Virginia. I have a deep interest in composition/rhetoric studies and I'm hoping to pursue a masters degree concentrating in this subject.
Major
English/ Literary Studies
Advisor for this project
Kelli Prejean
Abstract
My research examines how educators ask their students to demonstrate expertise, stance, and citation format in their senior capstone projects. Using genre theory as a guiding lens, I analyze the typical academic genres students are asked to imitate to perform expertise in their chosen discipline. Specifically, I use Michael Carter’s and Mary Soliday’s theoretical frameworks of “genre as social action,” which conceives genre as a fluid concept that changes along with cultural, institutional, and textual norms. My study focuses on the rhetoric used in various disciplines’ capstone syllabi. My goal is see how all disciplines use writing to prove knowledge and to think through what similarities and differences exist in how we talk about writing in the disciplines. My conclusion is that using genre theory to look at writing in multiple disciplines provides a productive framework for helping students better understand academic writing.
Examining Expertise in the Disciplines: Using Genre Theory to Research How Students Are Asked to Perform Expertise
My research examines how educators ask their students to demonstrate expertise, stance, and citation format in their senior capstone projects. Using genre theory as a guiding lens, I analyze the typical academic genres students are asked to imitate to perform expertise in their chosen discipline. Specifically, I use Michael Carter’s and Mary Soliday’s theoretical frameworks of “genre as social action,” which conceives genre as a fluid concept that changes along with cultural, institutional, and textual norms. My study focuses on the rhetoric used in various disciplines’ capstone syllabi. My goal is see how all disciplines use writing to prove knowledge and to think through what similarities and differences exist in how we talk about writing in the disciplines. My conclusion is that using genre theory to look at writing in multiple disciplines provides a productive framework for helping students better understand academic writing.
