In Kerry Dirk’s essay, “Navigating Genres”, the author uses several categories of genres (and her own essay) to provide examples to her readers about how genres can be understood and why they are so important. Her essay is an example of how a writer can use genre as a template to address their audience. The language she uses to address us as readers is informal. However, She uses collegiate words to maintain an air of intellectual superiority. In doing so Dirk provides more than just textbook examples on genre. She provides the readers with insight into how she as a writer drew from other pieces of literature in the same genre to create the essay she wrote to us.

Dirk also uses humorous examples such the ransom note and the headlines from The Onion to connect with her target audience. In doing this, she provides examples of how writing within genres is specifically geared towards a target audience. These examples give more meaning to her explanations and help readers see the importance of using genre as a rhetorical strategy.

Dirk makes learning about genres a lot more thought provoking than a textbook would have. Her examples are relatable, they help readers understand how writing within a genre can change and how writers make specific choices within their genres to connect to their audiences. Her essay also eliminates the idea that writing is solely formulaic and can be done easily. This essay teaches us as writers how to assess our audience, how to think about purpose, and how to use genre as a template when writing but to also remember use the freedom within that genre to effectively convey our message.