This semester has given me more opportunities to apply theory to Writing Centre practice. One of the major discoveries I have made is <\/span>in the area of<\/span>\u00a0genre. This semester I took the class \u201cTeaching\u00a0<\/span>R<\/span>eading and\u00a0<\/span>W<\/span>riting<\/span>,<\/span>\u201d and it was exciting to see what I learned in the class show up\u00a0<\/span>repeatedly<\/span>\u00a0in my writing centre appointments.\u00a0<\/span>One major focus of the class was genre awareness and using the genre approach to teach reading and writing.<\/span>\u00a0In the class, we learned\u00a0<\/span>that teaching genre must begin<\/span>\u00a0with the recognition that genre is a cultural phenomenon. Different cultures have different structures and features that are associated with different genres.\u00a0<\/span>Hyland (2019) explains, \u201cWhat is seen as logical, engaging, relevant or well organised in writing, what counts as proof, conciseness and evidence, can all differ across cultures\u201d (p.41).\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n This poses an extra barrier to international students. In addition to facing the same challenges that all students face when learning how to write at a university-level and the grammatical\/vocabulary challenges students may face if English is not their first language, these students also <\/span>have to<\/span>\u00a0figure out North American English genre structure and features which may be radically different to those found in their culture.\u00a0<\/span>Hyland (2019) writes that it is important for teachers to recognize the cultural differences in genre and textual organization and to teach students how to consider their audience\u2019s expectations when they read the text.\u00a0<\/span>These principles can also be applied by writing tutors;<\/span>\u00a0it is important to be aware of these different genres, to validate students\u2019 own cultural expectations, and to guide them to the expectations of North American professors.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n To illustrate, I will share an example of one session I had this semester. The student\u2019s paper was full of ideas. Each paragraph could have been divided into several paragraphs and many of the ideas continually circled back to the same main points. To me, it seemed like a jumble of ideas <\/span>with<\/span>\u00a0no clear focus. However, in the final paragraphs, I saw that the student\u00a0<\/span>again circled back to those ideas that had been introduced and explained their connections.\u00a0<\/span>With\u00a0<\/span>the idea of genre awareness<\/span>\u00a0fresh in my mind, I explained the structure and organization that was expected in the paper. However, I framed\u00a0<\/span>the genre of the paper<\/span>\u00a0as\u00a0<\/span>an<\/span>\u00a0expectation in North American academia. As I explained, I saw lightbulbs going off in the student\u2019s mind. He said, \u201cI never understood why professors have been telling me that my organization is confusing. This is how I learned to write an essay in my home country<\/span>.\u201d\u00a0<\/span>The<\/span>\u00a0student could not see why the structure of his argument was confusing because he was following the patterns that are expected in his home country. By approaching the situation as a cultural difference rather than a right vs. wrong way to structure his paper or even a confusing vs. clear way to structure his paper, the student was able to\u00a0<\/span>understand his own writing and approach his writing from the perspective of a reader from a different culture.\u00a0<\/span>This awareness<\/span>\u00a0allows him to be more successful in his university studies here in North America.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n References<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Hyland, K. (2019).\u00a0<\/span>Second Language Writing<\/span><\/i>\u00a0(2<\/span>nd<\/span>\u00a0edition). Cambridge University Press.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Christina’s Reflection Christina Morton April 25, 2021 This semester has given me more opportunities to apply theory to Writing Centre practice. 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