Kerry Dirk wrote “Navigating Genres” to help inform readers about how genres are used and how to apply them to our writing. Genre is the form of which one writes, as well as, rhetorical situations that change the tone of one’s writing. Kerry said, “knowing what a genre is used for can help people to accomplish goals”(253). Different genre’s are used for different things; for example, a text would use a different genre than a research paper. Texting is used to communicate with someone in few words. A research paper is used to present a topic and describe what you have learned. Both are forms of writing, but are completely different genres. It is important to change the genre in accordance with what you are trying to accomplish.

Writing is full of rules. Dirk points out that “the rules change as the genre changes, that no rules apply to all genres, and that genres require more effort than simply following the rules”(258). This is important to remember because you can’t use the same style of writing for every situation. The rules change as the goals change. If a writer already knows a specific genre well, they are then able to develop on that genre to create an entirely new one. They are able to expand on their form of writing to change the way a piece should sound. There is no specific formula on how to write a paper, but as the genre changes so can the use of language. Genre is used in everything we do, and it is important to know which one to use.