Investigating Genres

New Tech, New Genres

OpenClipartVectors. "Compressor Archiver Compress Packing Shrink Ace" 10/10/2013 via pixabay. Public Domain

New technology has brought new twists to the means of getting information around. Genres were eventually developed to categorize these developments. One example of these new genres is the Quick Reference Guide. 

• What purpose(s) does this genre usually serve?

The main purpose of Quick Reference Guides is to condense a rather large amount of information on a topic or subject. This is done possibly for a variety of reasons. One of these reasons is to give an individual information on a topic that they may know nothing about. It might also serve to peak interest or to refresh the readers memory on the topic at hand.

• Where, how, or in what context do readers usually find this genre?

It seems that Quick Reference Guides are quite abundant on the internet. Most articles on a website such as Flipboard appear to be Quick Reference Guides. In essence and appearance,  the articles in something like Wikipedia are also of this genre because they serve to quickly educate the reader on a certain topic, subject, or event. Another place where this type of genre is found are in places were a shorter manual is needed for quick access instead of a full sized one. For example, I have seen that many cars come with a large, specific manual, but then also have a smaller one which gives information on basic operation of the vehicle.

• Who is the typical audience for this genre?

The typical audience can basically be anyone looking up some quick information on anything. It could be someone that is interested in learning more about something they saw on television. It could be a student doing research or someone trying to change a fuse on a car. Again, the typical audience can be anyone.

• What are some of the key features or characteristics that are unique to this genre, distinguishing it from other texts? 

One of the main features is that it is concise and rather short for the amount information it is covering. Quick Reference guides mostly just give main points. Another key feature is that it is the formatting. There is various sections with bold subheadings. Quick Reference guides are also loaded with pictures, graphs, and diagrams to better help the reader understand the topic.

• Based on your answers to the questions above, come up with a definition in your own words for this genre.

Quick References Guide is a writing genre that quickly but effectively informs the reader the reader on a topic or event. It can be used by individuals with no prior knowledge on the topic or just to refresh the readers memory.


Reflections on Ryan's Post:  Ryan's post on podcast helped me get rid of a misconception of mine. This misconception was that podcast were slowly fading awake and were now becoming useless. However, this is not the case at all. Podcast are extremely useful! I guess my issue before is that I did not know where or when I can listen to one. I now know that I can listen to them when multitasking and the fact that they can be automated to tell you when a new one comes out makes them that much more useful.

Reflections on Cheyenne's Post: One of the main reasons that I choose to reply on Cheyenne's post was because it was on the same genre that I did: the Quick Reference Guide. The reason I did this is because I wanted to get a different take on what I had written about. I missed the part about articles on major news websites such as CNN. It also provided some food for thought on the true meaning of a QRG. This question was: are all QRG's internet based or can they also appear on physical mediums?