Literacy genre applies when the author of the passage has a purpose of narrating or describing personal or imaginative experiences.

Literacy genre can include stories, poetry, nursery rhymes, picture books, folk tales, plays, diaries, and literature from other countries.

Literacy Genre

Books which give instructions about how to complete tasks of initiate activities fall within the procedural genre.

Procedural genre can include guide books, sets of instructions, manuals, and forms.

Procedural Genre

Passages which provide sequential information about particular topics and present material in accessible ways fall within the reference genre.

Reference genre can include maps, diagrams, catalogues, reference books, encyclopedias, atlases, and computer printouts.

Reference Genre

Expository passages are considered as such if it is scientific in nature, conveyed unfamiliar information unrelated to everyday experiences, focused on presenting information about a specific topic, and included technical/unfamiliar vocabulary. Written by authors who want to describe or explain objectively, inform, or discuss/argue about a topic. 

Includes guide books, newspapers, magazines, textbooks, and leaflets. 

Expository passages are considered to be more difficult to comprehend compared to narrative passages.

Expository Genre

Littlefair identifies 4 types of writing in "English for Ages 5 to 16):
- Literacy genre
- Expository genre
- Procedural genre
- Reference genre

Boston College

- Littlefair (1991): English for Ages 5 to 16
- Arnold (1992): Diagnostic Reading Record

Genre Theory: Author's Categorizations

Stamboltzis, A., & Pumfrey, P. (2000). Reading across Genres: a Review of Literature. Support for Learning, 15(2), 58. https://doi-org.ezproxy.lib.uconn.edu/10.1111/1467-9604.00146

Reading Across Genres: A Review of Literature

Genre Theory: Littlefair (1991)

Arnold identifies 3 types of writing in the "Diagnostic Reading Record":
- Narrative genre
- Autobiographical genre
- Informational genre

Genre Theory: Arnold (1992)

Genre theory has emerged as a result of Halliday's (1978) study on the relationship between language and its social context. The relationship between cultural environment, the purpose of our communication, and the genres we use in language form the basis of genre theory. 

This theory emphasizes that language and meaning of communication are interactive, thus making it difficult to separate the two ideas. Genre may be considered as reflecting socio-linguistic interactions within society.

Research suggests that genre is a useful tool in enabling educators to categorize texts on the basis of their form and meaning, and genre may have more to do with reading comprehension success/failure than one might initially believe.

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