In his essay, “Navigating Genres”, Kerry Dirk expands on the typical definition of genre. He shows how genre is not limited to topics and themes such as horror, comedy, or romance. Instead he explains how genre is much more complex and relies heavily on knowledge of location, audience, purpose, boundaries, and past works. He states that a writer must understand his or her audience before attempting to write to them. The writer must adopt the vocabulary and format that the intended readers are looking for. This will help to assure the audience that the writer is credible and has knowledge of how to approach and talk to that specific group of people. Dirk also encourages writers to examine past works of a certain genre. This is because it will give the writer a solid foundation to base his or her paper on. It serves as a kind of blueprint to aid in the writing process and can give the writer an idea of what the audience is used to expecting. Furthermore, Dirk makes it clear to the reader that there is no specific formula to follow for genres. There are definitely boundaries and limitations of how information can be conveyed. But following a specific formula can make delivering the message less effective. He emphasizes that there needs to be a balance between freedom and boundaries. He also advises to avoid mastering one specific genre as it is not as beneficial as knowing a little bit about every genre. This will allow writers to pick and choose which genre to utilize to effectively convey their message. Throughout this essay Dirk gives very detailed examples of what makes up genre and how it can be used strategically. I found his explanations and advice educational and will be utilizing this information in my future writing endeavors.