As student, I have always viewed writing classes as boring, formal, and focused on correct grammar and format. All of my high school teachers wanted my essays to contain a thesis, backed with three or more paragraphs of evidence and analysis supporting that thesis, and a conclusion. I hated writing those essays, and by the time I was half way into writing the essay, I would sort of forget what I was saying or defending. I one hundred percent never considered who I was writing for or what I was trying to accomplish. I was just writing an essay on the topic I was given and hoping that if I followed this specific format well enough I would receive an A.
As far as genres go, I only ever considered them in relation to music or movies, not ever in writing. However, after this week, I see genres in everything. I sort of recognize I have been following conventions in situations that I never considered. For example, this summer I had to write a statement for the Financial Aid office, and having never written one before, I Googled it. After some research, I found that most statements for schools are supposed to be short, to the point, and specific. These statements are a genre that has its own conventions, and I wrote one without even realizing they were in their own category.
For the rest of the quarter and my writing career, I am very excited to do more free-writing that will allow for my thoughts to wander instead of always following a strict outline or format.
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