Genre_Analysis

Genre Analysis 1. Introduction • Set the scene for your discussion. According to the latest figures from AGB Nielsen Media Research Malaysia/Arianna, sports news has garnered top position amongst all English regional news channels. Actually not only English, the sports news has very strong impact all over the word. This argumentative text which this paper will study is a piece of sports news about Carlos Tevez, an Argentina football player. This text is a reportorial telling of true events, belonging to the non-fiction genre. Specifically speaking, it is a kind of particular genre “sports news” which has its own characteristics. The purpose of this paper is to analyze this text in genre theory and discuss the implications that could be applied to practical level for teaching argumentative texts to L2 students. • Outline the sections of the paper. This paper contains five sections. The first section introduces the scene for discussion and outline of this paper. Secondly, it will review the literature references. The third section is the main part which will conduct a genre analysis of the text, identifying and analyzing the text features. Based on findings in section three, this paper will discuss the implications for teaching argumentative texts to L2 students in section four. In the last section, this paper will draw conclusions.. 2. Literature review • Define key terms for your paper, e.g. ‘genre’ and ‘register’. Defining genre To do the analysis, first, the word “genre” needs to be defined to show a clear direction. According to Bhatia’s (1993) view, genre is “a recognizable communicative event characterized by a set of communicative purpose(s) identified and mutually understood by the members of the professional or academic community in which it regularly occurs. Most often it is highly structured and conventionalized with constraints on allowable contributions in terms of their intent, positioning, form and functional value. These constraints, however, are often exploited by the expert members of the discourse community to achieve private intentions with the framework of socially recognized purpose(s).” Defining register The term register is another important word. M.A.K Halliday and R. Hasan (1976) interpret 'register' as 'the linguistic features which are typically associated with a configuration of situational features - with particular values of the field, mode and tenor...'. Field for them is 'the total event, in which the text is functioning, together with the purposive activity of the speaker or writer; includes subject-matter as one of the elements'. Mode is 'the function of the text in the event, including both the channel taken by language - spoken or written, extempore or prepared, - and its genre, rhetorical mode, as narrative, didactic, persuasive, 'phatic communion', etc.' The Tenor refers to 'the type of role interaction, the set of relevant social relations, permanent and temporary, among the participants involved.' • Discuss the literature on genre analysis. 3. Analysis • Describe the analytical approach you use to examine the features of the text. Bhatia (1993, pp. 22-34) purposed that there are seven approaches to carry out a genre analysis. However, Bhatia (1993) suggested that it does not mean that all the approaches should be used in a study. By contrast, it should be flexible and purpose-oriented. More precisely, it depends upon the expectation of the analysis, the type of the genre and the background knowledge one already acquired to decide which method should be employed. Since this research is more possible to be applied in the area of teaching English, at first the context of the specific genre will be taken into consideration and discussion and then this paper will use the linguistic approach to discuss the text including the register of the text, structure of the text, linguistic features of the text, cohesion and coherence of the text and effectiveness/ineffectiveness of the text in terms of the above areas. • Carry out a detailed analysis of the text. Discuss (among other things):  the purpose of the text (Context) The communicative purpose is what Bhatia (1993) recommended that the most important factor in genre classification. In the texts, there are several purposes.  the register of the text (field, tenor, mode) Field, Tenor and Mode combine to form the register of the text (Halliday, 1964, 1978, Halliday & Hasan, 1985). This paper will adopt these three variables to determine factors for the linguistic features of the text. Field: Tenor: Mode:  the schematic structure of the text (Theme progression) There are 17 paragraphs in the this text and include 29 themes in each Sentence 1. Former Liverpool (an England team) manager Graeme… 2. Tevez… 3. He…Tevez’s actions… 4. He [Tevez]… 5. He…He…He… 6. It…He…He…It… 7. Souness also… 8. Why… 9. Mancini… 10. He [Mancini]… 11. That…How… 12. Mark Hughes… 13. The problem with Carlos… 14. That…There…That… 15. Former United striker Dwight Yorke also… 16. I…No-one… 17. We…You…The manager… This section shows how good writers structure their sentences to focus the reader's attention on the important points in the text. You will see how to make your meaning clear by linking information within and between paragraphs. • what the key concepts are; • how the key concepts are being developed  the linguistic features of the text (Mood, Transitivity, Theme, clause complexing) Mood (Interpersonal), Transitivity (Experiential), Theme (Textual) analysis Clause Complex Analysis  salient aspects of cohesion and coherence of the text  overall effectiveness/ineffectiveness of the text in terms of the above areas 4. Teaching implications • In the light of your analysis, discuss the implications for teaching argumentative texts to L2 students. We can combine our knowledge of grammar, texture and text structure to reveal the conventional language parrerns that effective users of English apply to the texts they construct. These descriptions can be very useful tools for language learners as they investigate the meanings in texts and learn to control and manipulate texts in order to achieve different purposes with language. 5. Conclusion • Summarise the major points made in the paper and your suggestions for teachers. References • Provide a list of all the references cited in your paper (APA format). • Do NOT include references which you have not cited.