An application of Genre Theory: The Difference Between High School Writing and University Writing

From an early passage in Giltrows Academic Writing, readers are able to discern the difference between high-school and university writing styles. She examines the situation and forms for both writing styles and suggests that they are different genres. She identifies the situation/purpose as either instructional (i.e., schoolroom essay) or for research (i.e., anthropology report). She notes that these are very different genres of writing, which, depend on the situation in which the student writes. Giltrow also looks at the form/standards to writing: either a set standard or a variable (changing) one. High-school students are taught to be concise and well organized. For university students, however, the standard depends on the discipline: the organization in a History book report is quite different from that in a Psychology lab report. Giltrow effectively shows that the different situation between high-school and university suggests that these two kinds of writing exemplify two different genres.