Definition of Genre

Definition of Genre

Nowadays, the term “genre” is familiar for the educational institution because of the reformation of the curriculum. It is one of the ma... 5:01 AM

Nowadays, the term “genre” is familiar for the educational institution because of the reformation of the curriculum. It is one of the materials of English teaching in junior and senior high school.

But actually, the term “genre” is used for many forms of expression in some context. Movie critics refer to certain types of film as a genre. In addition, music fans, talk about pop and rock as a genre.

On the contrary, Mulyani (2007:18) points out that genre is text which are patterned in a distinctive way to achieve particular goal. It is obviously states that the text which is called genre is written in certain arrangement to achieve certain goal. In other word, each text of genre has different arrangement and goal.

As far we know that people achieve certain goal, social goal especially through language. It means that language is used to achieve social goals. In this sense, language function to complain, to entertain, to amuse, to inform, etc among other things.

Moreover, Mulyani states that genre is a way for accounting for the predictable pattern of language (Mulyani, 2007: 19). Considering that quotation, genre is concerned with the overall purpose of a text.

Meanwhile, Gerot and Wignel (1994:15) state that

So genres are culture specific, and have associated with particular purpose, particular stages, and particular features. Most people appreciate the fact that Narratives (stories) and procedures (a set of instructions for doing something), for example, differ in purpose and in the way they begin, develop and end.

From the quotation above, genre is always associated with particular purpose, stages, and linguistic features. The particular stages are distinctive beginnings, middles, and ends.

In secondary education genres do not occur in isolation. Different curriculum areas employ particular selections and patterns of genres. They do this because they are trying to achieve different things. 

In summary, genre in educational institution can be defined as different text which has different goal or purpose, stages, and linguistics features. This becomes the main material of teaching English in high school in Indonesia nowadays.