7.8 Approaches to teaching writing: the genre approach to writing Genre refers to the way that texts of the same nature are organised and the way that
language frequently re-occurs in texts of the same type. For example, recipes are all
organised in the same way. Ingredients are listed and then the steps are described. All
recipes contain similar language. If we want our students to write a recipe, it is useful
for them to start by studying how recipes are organised and the type of language that
is commonly used, before starting on the work themselves.
If you want your students to write a film review (or any other genre of writing), start out
by studying various film reviews in class. Firstly, do some comprehension work on the
reviews (for ideas see Chapter 6, Reading). Then study the film reviews with a view to
analysing how they are organised. Ask students whether they can see any
characteristics regarding both language and organisation that are similar between the
reviews. For example, do all the reviews finish with the author’s opinion? Does the
writer make a recommendation? Where is it placed, at the beginning or the end?
Which tenses are used to describe the film? When you think that students have
enough information, summarise the characteristics for all to see. You can elicit this
from your students. They can then use the summary to start planning and organising
their own film reviews. They can also incorporate examples of language items that they
encountered, without copying directly.
When using the genre approach to writing, try to set tasks that students are likely to be
involved in outside of class or that have some sort of relevance. For example, don’t
ask students studying English for their university course to write lonely hearts ads,
unless of course it’s for fun in class!
I have outlined two approaches to the teaching of writing; of course others exist. EFL
writers have debated the issues surrounding the genre and process approach to
writing. I think that both have their advantages and both can help students produce
good pieces of writing. I also think that the two approaches can be combined in one
writing activity through study of texts and then movement through the stages of writing.
This, of course, will take time and can be developed into a writing project spanning
over a few weeks.