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2.3. Text Genre: Narrative vs. Expository
Text genre is a factor related to reading comprehension: a text genre is a type of written or spoken discourse and texts are classified on the basis of the intent of the communication. Broadly speaking, genre research aims to group texts according to type, and to identify and describe features which texts of a particular genre have in common. Text genres are expressed in linear and non-linear forms, and are narrative, expository or the two. They can be informative, entertaining and persuasive, depending on the intent of the author and the goal of the reader. The narrative text is known for having a literary or aesthetic purpose. They tell about a sequence of events in a chronological order. Fictional stories, novels and dramas are generally thought to fall within this genre. The purpose of expository text is to describe events or objects to illustrate, explain or persuade (Just & Carpenter, 1987b). Examples include textbooks, encyclopedias, newspaper articles and health promotional materials. Understanding of text is constrained by perceptions of the topic. An informative text provides a point of reference to be used to check for understanding.
Robert Hodge and Gunther Kress define genres as 'typical forms of texts which link kinds of producer, consumer, topic, medium, manner and occasion', adding that they 'control the behavior of producers of such texts, and the expectations of potential consumers' (Hodge & Kress, 1988, p. 7). Genres can be seen as constituting a kind of tacit contract between authors and readers, a kind of shorthand serving to increase the 'efficiency' of communication. They may even function as a means of preventing a text from dissolving into 'individualism and incomprehensibility' (Gledhill, 1985, p.63).
Any text requires what is sometimes called 'cultural capital' on the part of its audience to make sense of it. Generic knowledge is one of the competencies required (Allen, 1989). Like most of our everyday knowledge, genre knowledge is typically tacit and would be difficult for most readers to articulate as any kind of detailed and coherent framework. Clearly one needs to encounter sufficient examples of a genre in order to recognize shared features as being characteristic of it. As for reading within genres, some argue that knowledge of genre conventions leads to passive consumption of generic
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texts; others argue that making sense of texts within genres is an active process of constructing meaning (Knight, 1994). Studies conducted by Buckingham (1993) show that readers of a particular genre appeared to have a broader repertoire of terms and that the genre was being used as an unspoken rationale for moving from one topic to the next.
The definition of the term genre varies somewhat between different writers, but most follow Swales (1990) and Bhatia (1993) in relating the concept of genre to communicative events or acts. In such approaches, genres are defined not in terms of language, but by features which could be described as external to the text itself. These include areas such as text purpose, writer/reader relationships and the medium of communication (e.g. stories, newspapers articles, letters, etc.). These external characteristics naturally have internal implications such as the type of syntax, lexical choice, organization, layout, and many other linguistic features.
Genre however, need not be literary. It has been seen that genres can be found in all texts. It has been stated that expository texts are less familiar, less predictable and less "considerate" than a narrative text (Gordon, 1992), although there is a strong debate on the issue (Alexander, 1997; Gordon, 1992). Alexander (1997) suggests that expository text, when well written can provide emotional and cognitive interest, while many others, most notably like Rosenblatt (1994), disagree. Alexander (1997) likens this comparison of expository to narrative text as "finding oneself through the content" in expository text, versus Rosenblatt's notion of "losing oneself" in narrative text (p. 86). No doubt, reader variables such as age, interest, motivation and culture influence reading comprehension in all genres.
Genre provides an important frame of reference which helps readers to identify, select and interpret texts. Beginning reading instruction has been focused on the use of narrative text on the assumption that stories are easier to comprehend because of their predictable structure. This assumption is so deeply ingrained that almost all of the available programs for beginning reading instruction are based on story text because students will find it easier, to process stories than exposition. Any text requires what is sometimes called 'cultural capital' on the part of its audience to make sense of it. Generic knowledge is one of the competencies required (Allen, 1989). Like most of our everyday knowledge, genre knowledge is typically tacit and would be difficult for most readers to articulate as any kind of detailed and coherent framework. Clearly one needs to encounter sufficient examples of a genre in order to recognize shared features as being characteristic of it. As for reading within genres, some argue that knowledge of genre conventions leads to passive consumption of generic texts; others argue that making sense of texts within genres is an active process of constructing meaning (Knight,
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1994). Studies conducted by Buckingham (1993) show that readers of a particular genre appeared to have a broader repertoire of terms and that the genre was being used as an unspoken rationale for moving from one topic to the next. A genre-focused course, at least at the intermediate level necessitates that the students are taught to be more aware of the concept of genre and the way it affects and increase their ability to differentiate their language and text structure through the use of a greater linguistic range.
In a series of small-scale studies, Kamil and his collaborators (1994) have shown that students checked out a significantly greater number of story books, compared to information books, from the school library. Approximately 80% of the teachers used predominantly narrative materials because they felt that expository materials would be "too hard" for the students.
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