Dethier - Twenty-One Genres and How to Write Them

2013 by University Press of Colorado

Published by Utah State University Press

An imprint of University Press of Colorado

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Boulder, Colorado 80303

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Printed in the United States of America

The University Press of Colorado is a cooperative publishing enterprise supported, in part, by Adams State University, Colorado State University, Fort Lewis College, Metropolitan State University of Denver, Regis University, University of Colorado, University of Northern Colorado, Utah State University, and Western State Colorado University.

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ISBN: 978-0-87421-912-8 (e-book)

ISBN: 978-0-87421-911-1 (paper)

Complete cataloging information for this title is available from the Library of Congress.

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A Real Resume 2012 Alyson Frederick; Analysis of Religion Reconsidered 2012 Zachary M. Seward; Complaint Jennifer Sinor; Diagram p. 174, Lynn Langer Meeks and Carol Jewkes Austin, Literacy in the Secondary English Classroom: Strategies for Teaching the Way Kids Learn, 1st edition, 2003. Printed and electronically reproduced by permission of Pearson Education, Inc., Upper Saddle River, New Jersey; Everybodys Gotta Jump 2012 Sam Abbott; If I Had Known 1990 Greg Brown; Independent Living Coordinator Application Alyson Frederick; Kamin Thai Cuisine: A Cache County Must Try 2012 Whitney Olsen; Law School Admissions Essay 2013 Corey Dethier; Luke Skywalker vs. Dracula 2012 Benedek Nyikos; Music in the Milking Barn 2012 Jeffrey Howard; Not a Hard Decision 2012 Emilio Zamudio; Not Milk? 2012 Anne Wilcken; Partial Annotated Bibliography for The Logan Nunnery: Discovering an Obliterated Site 2012 Allie Anderson; From Problems for Atheistic Evolutionists, www.creationtips.com/evoluwrong.html, accessed September 1, 2012; Reflection 2012 Emmie Harmon; Religion Reconsidered from 50 Successful Harvard Application Essays, 2005 by Staff of The Harvard Crimson. Reprinted by permission of St. Martins Press. All rights reserved. Unraveling the Head Sweater Harangue: A Rhetorical Analysis of John Does Letter 2012 Cambri McDonald; Soap Box Jennifor Sinor; Table p. 216, Richard Johnson-Sheehan, Technical Communication Today, 3rd edition, 2010. Printed and electronically reproduced by permission of Pearson Education, Inc., Upper Saddle River, New Jersey. Technical and Professional Writing Program Technology Wiki Wikipedia; The images, Man and Goose, High School Trauma, and Reading Understanding 2013 Natalie Young, used by permission. All rights reserved. The Impact that Level of Physical Activity Has on the Relationship between Eating Disorder Risk and Emotion Regulation in Female College Students 2012 Alyson Bernhisel and Kendra Homan; The Importance of Writing Badly Bruce Ballenger; The Trade of Scavenging 2012 Greg Geddes; Undressing King Lear 2012 Diantha Smith; Using Geophysical Methods David Dethier; Weather or not were ready, its here BroadlyEclectic. BlogSpot.com.; What I Really Wanted 2012 Michelle Theriault Boots; What Is a Practical Education? Donald M. Murray; What Price Clean Air? 2012, The Washington Post Writers Group, reprinted with permission.; Whats the Matter with Creationism? 2012 Katha Pollitt; Wiki Wikipedia.

To Larkin and Corey

and their future writing

, Problems for Atheistic Evolutionists

Acknowledgments

The thinking of Donald M. Murray underlies my whole approach. Id be flattered if people saw this book as an extension of or a distillation of Dons work. Don loved to share, so I know hed be happy to have me pass on to others ideas he sowed in my mind.

Melody Graulich is always my best critic and strongest support. Denice Turner convinced me to foreground the genres and is thus midwife to the book. Shanan Ballams close, honest, and insightful readings led to improvements in the text throughout. My writing groupDiane Bush, Christine Cooper-Rompato, Pat Gantt, Keith Grant-Davie, Dave Hailey, Keri Holt, Michael Spooner, and Rebecca Waltonpushed me to rethink drafts of early sections. My son, Corey Dethier, solved my thorny Microsoft puzzles and provided sage advice from a student perspective. Natalie Youngs sketches and design ideas helped make the manuscript into a book.

My thanks go to all who have allowed me to use their work as examples in this book, and especially to Greg Brown, for the use of his lyrics. Im grateful to the following for talking to me about writing in their disciplines: David Dethier, Megan Dethier, Melody Graulich, Chalmers Hardenbergh, Jack Lannamann, Sheila McNamee, Lynne McNeill, Natalie Young.

As anyone in academic publishing knows, Michael Spooner of USU Press is remarkably good at what he does. I consider it a privilege to work with him.

Introduction

Genres, Moves, and Never Getting Stuck Again

Whats the hardest part of writing for you? Sitting restlessly in front of your computer, your head full of worry but not words? Trying to come up with a flashy opening? Knowing when its time to stop? Finding something new to say during the dry endless middle? This book offers you 228 writing moves tools for your writers toolbox, steps to revive your mind and your momentum, things to DO to solve your writing problems, to get the pages out. Throughout this book, the arrow indicates go to this move number. The moves will give you ways to handle everything from coming up with ideas to polishing a final product. Using this book, you will always have options for what to do next, and you should never get stuck for long.

This book is called 21 Genres rather than 228 Moves because an easy way to find the best moves for your writing situation is to identify the form, type, or genre of writing you need to producean essay? a business letter? a blog? I analyze each genre to help you understand it, then suggest a series of moves to take you from start to finish of your writing project in that genre. This book covers more genres and writing moves than youll ever use. The point is to find the best move for your current writing situation and try to remember successful moves for the future.

take you through a series of writing steps, from discovering to presenting.

If the prospect of writing anything nauseates you, start with , Solve Your Process Problems. You may be surprised at how straightforward, relatively painless, even enjoyable writing can be. And how much youll learn and discover from it.