Devitt discusses the rhetorical side of genre in order to understand the

writing world. She initially states that we must first be able to distinguish
between the common definition of genre and genre as a dynamic patterning
of human existence (Devitt, 573). The key in understanding this new
definition of genre is to find the source of text classifications. Most traditional
writers claim that that the form of genre and its content in discourse act as
one, but Devitt contests that to understand genre, its form must be
separated from its content. Devitt gives examples of how classifying texts is
based on static products, opposed to genre that shifts away from these
formal features because these features dont necessarily define what a genre
is. These classifying texts/formal features may be a part of analyzing genre,
but they are not the focus. An example Devitt gives that makes this more
relatable and understandable is when she talks about mail. When we receive
a letter from a sales representative we automatically know they will try to
make you buy their products, so you either throw it out or find which
products they are selling. However, if you get a letter from a friend you
respond in a different, more personal way. This proves that although in
genres there are classified texts, they are much more and entail purpose.
Devitt then delves into explaining the new conceptions of genres by
proposing that genres in essence are responses to rhetorical situations that
are repeated and have different appropriate responses to each circumstance.
Halliday further defines genres as "the configuration of semantic resources
that the member of a culture typically associates with a situation type. It is

the meaning potential that is accessible in a given social context" (111)

(Devitt, 577). These recurring situations do not occur through texts, which
further verifies genre as a semantic and functional concept (Devitt, 577)
that constructs recurring situations. Overall, genres define situations, and
interchangeably, situations define genres proving that genres are actually
dynamic (construct and respond to situations). By connecting the dynamics
of genres to discourse community and other social frames, a genre must
respond dynamically to human behavior and social changes (Devitt, 579).
This means that by being part of society and its ever-changing habits, people
change society and therefore change genres.
Devitt then poses a question So what does such a reconception of
genre do for us as composition scholars and teachers? (Devitt, 580). She
then illustrates that by analyzing genres and their texts in communities can
lead to a better understanding of the choices writers make. By quoting
Flower and Hayes, Devitt explains how writing goals encompass generic
goals. By this she means that in order to understand writing goals, you must
understand the historical, community, and rhetorical forces that shape
them-how writers learn them, and how writers use them (Devitt,581)
Furthermore, by understanding genre and what it entails, we can better
understand discourse community. As Swales clarifies in his book Genre
Analysis, genres construct situations and situations construct genres,
[meaning]discourse may construct communities and communities construct
discourse (Devitt, 582). To understand these communities, you must first

recognize that genre connects readers and writers including their products,
processes, and interpretations of genre. Writing requires considering both
their situational and generic demands (Devitt, 583). By combining situation,
generic demands, and how genre connects readers and writers, This new
theory of genre reveals and explains the centrality of genre to writing, its
importance to understanding how writers and writing work(Devitt, 584).
Work Cited:
Devitt, Amy J. "Generalizing About Genre: New Conceptions of an Old
Concept." College Composition and Communications, Vol. 44, No. 4.
December 1993. pp. 573-586.