When writing a graduation speech would you consciously think about following a specific genre in order to achieve your goal? Probably not. Kerri Dirk demonstrates the power of genres and their impact in writing through her essay, Navigating Genres. In David Foster Wallace’s, This is water, graduation speech, these genre claims show to be true.

Dirk opens up a new spectrum of thinking when it comes to genres by stating, “‘location is surely among the situational elements that lead to expected genres and to adaptations of those genres in particular situations’” (Dirk 255). Location will play a large role in relation to the context of writing. In David Foster Wallace’s book, This is Water, the audience expects motivation and words of advice for the future. His stories are broad enough for people to relate to because it is likely for everyone to have felt frustrated at the crowded grocery store before, or irritated in the traffic coming home from work. This means they are more likely to take away from the advice that would follow. Location deems its importance of not just the place, but the expectations of the listeners.

Wallace writes to a specific audience of former students whom just obtained a variety of information. He teaches the point that liberal art students should not be conformed to the idea of how to think, as that is a common misconception, but rather to be able to choose what each individual wants to think about, “‘Learning how to think’ really means learning how to exercise some control over how and what you think” (Wallace 53). It gears the audience towards a mentality of accepting new ways of thinking. This ties back to the graduation speech genre by helping students prepare for their futures with a more open mind.