Emily Nowka
Professor Breijak
English 1020
November 10, 2014
Genre Critique; Texting as a Genre
A genre is another word for “type” or “category.” It is usually a mix between semantic and syntactic features that, over time, become conventional to the audience. Members of the genre share specific characteristics, but they also have unique features that separate them from one another. One specific genre is texting. Texting as a genre can be very difficult to analyze due to its rapid evolution as a means of communication; however, its features include abbreviations, slang, and adaptions of letters and symbols to express different emotions. In this essay, I will examine and analyze texting and critique its characteristics in order to identify the features that classify it as its own genre.
Texting is a modern phenomenon that is steadily increasing in use, so much so that it has almost completely replaced voice messages and other forms of communications, such as email. Texting as a genre is evolving so rapidly that it is difficult to keep up with its constantly changing characteristics and features. With new abbreviations, acronyms, and slang being created so often, it can be difficult stay up to date with the genre’s characteristics.
The increase in use of mobile phones in the 1990’s is the main cause for the rapid evolution of texting. Text messages have become the most common form of communication, most likely because, nowadays, almost everyone over the age of ten has a cell phone with text messaging capabilities.
A new medium for communication does not turn up very often, which is why the linguistic effects of electronic communication have attracted so much attention. This relatively new form of communication has very specific features that separate it from all other forms. The use of abbreviations, slang, and various acronyms, such as LOL, are specifically used for text messaging due to the need to communicate quickly and efficiently. These characteristics of text messaging evolved so rapidly that they have become a whole new language.
Phrases such as “OMG,” “LOL,” “TTYL,” etc. are used to increase the speed and efficiency of texting which has played a huge role in the increasing popularity of texting. Phrases such as these are being created every day and their use is becoming more and more popular over time.
New features of text messaging are being created every day. One example is emojis. Emojis are the tiny images that one can insert into a text message to express emotion. These little pictures can even be classified as their own subgenre of texting due to the vast amount of expressions that they can convey. New features of text messaging, such as emojis, are being created in order to continually make text messaging more efficient.
Voice calls, emails, and other forms of communication are rapidly being replaced my text messaging due to its convenience. A person can send a text message in a couple of seconds without interrupting whatever other activity they may be doing. We live in a world that is always looking for new ways to multitask and perform tasks efficiently. Texting makes this more possible.
Although texting is a very efficient way of communication, it does have its own negative characteristics. Texting is generally a thin and unimaginative form of communication, it encourages poor spelling, it masks dyslexia, and it increases mental laziness. The increase in use of texting is proving to be detrimental to the popularity and use of other forms of communication that require more thought and creativity. However, none of these negative characteristics seem to get in the way of texting’s increasing popularity.
Texting is considered its own genre because it is different from all other forms of communication. It has its own set of rules, its own conventions, and even its own language.
Comments (5)
Rasha Khanafer said
at 3:00 pm on Sep 22, 2014
Emily, I like your rough draft and I see you have included three characteristics of a meme in general. However, I think it would improve your essay if you used another meme to showcase that all memes have these three characteristics. I also think including the picture of the meme would be beneficial.
Elton DeFrance said
at 3:41 pm on Sep 22, 2014
1. By analyzing the Lazy College Senior meme, I will be able to explain what qualifies it to be part of the meme genre, what makes this meme different from other memes, and also what makes a meme really a meme.
2. The purpose of the paper is to talk abut why the Lazy College Kid is a part of the meme genre and how it differs from other memes, making it a subgenre of the entire meme group.
3. The paper is organized from intro to general characteristics to specific characteristics and so on, but she is missing the specific characteristics that make her meme specifically her meme and unlike others. She only has 2 of the general characteristics, from what I can see. Also, the fourth and second paragraphs seem a little redundant.
4. She was within reason for all of her conclusions, with the exception of the intro where she states that the only thing we have done right in the world is make memes, when our generation has definitely advanced society in many ways, both scientifically on many accounts, and socially.
5. The strongest part of the paper was the intro. It grabbed me into wanting to read the paper, because she states that memes are our greatest achievement as this generation.
6. The weakest part would be the evidence given, because she only uses her meme to explain the whole genre that is memes. She should use more memes to demonstrate these general characteristics of memes.
7. I feel that she has the line blurred slightly between what is a meme and what is a subgenre of the meme group. She only uses one example, so the characteristics of that one meme could be different from other memes.
8. The syntax is fine.
9. I would give it a B- or C+, the paper just does not make me believe she understands what a genre is and how this meme she has chosen is a subgenre of the set of memes.
Also, make sure you relate your claims in your paragraphs back to your thesis. It makes the paper ore concrete.
Rasha Khanafer said
at 3:55 pm on Sep 22, 2014
1. Yes, the thesis is "By analyzing the Lazy College Senior meme, I will be able to explain what qualifies it to be part of the meme genre, what makes this meme different from other memes, and also what makes a meme really a meme."
2.The purpose of the paper is clear, it is to discuss what defines a meme and why the "Lazy College Student" meme can be considered a sub genre.
3. Although there are no parts that seem unnecessary, this paper does at times seem like disconnected thoughts.
4. No, I think the writer fully understood the "Lazy College Student" meme and even could be more specific about what defines this meme.
5. The strongest part of the paper is her description of what makes up the "Lazy College Student" meme.
6. The weakest part of this paper was the analysis of the meme she created. Although she explains how it fits into the genre, she does not do it thoroughly enough.
7. No, she does not make a strong case for defining the specific meme she created. She does however seem to understand what a meme is defined as.
8. The grammar in this paper was fine.
9. I would grade this paper a B because it seems that Emily understands what a meme is and her writing skills are excellent. However, Emily was not specific enough to truly explain all the elements that make up a meme and the sub genre she selected.
I think it would help if you mentioned other memes as examples!!
Eric Chang said
at 4:36 pm on Nov 12, 2014
1. You obviously wrote an investigation of a genre. In this paper, you talk about texting. In addition, you mention some of its manifestations such as its own language and emojis.
2. You do use some critique near the end when you explained the negative aspects of texting. However, I would like you to expand on this topic because the essay is suppose to be at its heart a genre critique.
3. You fail to mention several audiences. From the essay, you only seem to relate to the everyday person. However, there are several different people who use texting. For example, what is the difference between texting between teens and adults?
4. The strongest aspect of the essay is that you effectively analyze the genre. You demonstrate in great detail the various characteristics of texting.
5. The weakest part of the essay is that you lack a conclusion. The conclusion is just a summary of your essay and leaves off a message for the readers regarding the importance of your topic.
6. Overall, the paper was well written. There are occasional grammar mistakes. Just read it out loud and fix them.
7. You do mention that texting is important for society, but you should directly state that to the audience.
8. I would assign a B, you lack a conclusion and need more genre critique. However, you do have a strong analysis.
Jason Ahmed said
at 9:40 pm on Nov 12, 2014
1. The project is clearly focused on the genre of texting.
2. Yes, the essay does make analysis of the genre. It notes the positives and negatives of texting.
3. To be honest, the audience portion of the essay needs to be expanded. Who uses texting the most. Is their a group of people who dislike texting.
4. The strongest element of the project is the analysis of the positives of the genre.
5. I would like to see the negatives expanded upon.
6. The paper is very concise and well written,
7. Yes, the author excels at highlighting the importance of texting.
8. I would give it a B+. With a few tweaks, I feel like the project could receive an A. Good job.
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