Genres allow individuals to comprehend what to expect. This notion is developed in Kerry Dirk’s “Navigating Genres”. She states that location is one of the important factors in writing, as it affects the genre. Different scenarios require different genres. Kirk encapsulates this by saying, “different grocery stores make for different grocery lists.” (Dirk 255) One must adjust their compositions in order to be appropriate to the circumstance. Dirk uses several variations of a ransom letter to showcase the importance. She follows this by telling her experience of writing a letter to her bank. After some research she formulated that it must be very formal and polite. She also knows the purpose of her letter so with this knowledge in hand she was able to properly write her speech.

David Foster Wallace wrote “This is Water” as a graduation speech. We expect that a graduation speech will relate to the graduating class, contain life advice preparing them for the world. His speech begins with him telling a story about two fish swimming when an older fish asks them, “Morning, boys. How’s the water?” (Wallace 3) The two other fish swim until one says to the other, “What the hell is water?” (Wallace 4) Immediately into his graduation speech Wallace lets it be known that this will not be a mundane speech by injecting vulgar language and outright saying that, “The story thing turns out to be one of the better, less bullshitty conventions of the genre[…]” (Wallace 6) Wallace subverts his audience’s perceived image of the genre and by doing so they are captivated, waiting for what he might say next.

However, Wallace is still able to give his anecdotal stories that provide the audience with advice to use in their new lives among other things. Following the fish tale he goes onto a story about two men sitting in a bar in Alaska. The essence of his speech is how liberal arts teaches how to think. Wallace then goes more in depth about how liberal arts teaches what is important to decide, what to listen and how to act, as well as understanding others.