McChrystal 1

Adrienne McChrystal
Megan Keaton
ENC 2135-07
7 July 1016
Genres are categories, which change according to the way people use them. They are
comprised of rhetorical situations that have appropriate responses. These responses are then
repeated, creating expectations and norms. Different genres of writing predominate in different
disciplines (Maimon, Pertiz, and Yancey 18). Previous to this class I spoke at my high school
graduation ceremony. This text would be classified under the genre of speech or even further
graduation speech.
Traditionally, a graduation speech is a narrative, telling the story of the past four years. In
some cases it can be persuasive, inspiring graduates to chase their dreams. Overall, it is seen as a
final goodbye. There are different sub-genres within the classification of graduation speech.
This is due to the fact that multiple people speak during the ceremony. These people each play a
different role within the class, and are used to represent the population of attendees as a whole.
The sub-categories within the genre are based upon the speaker and their qualifications. For
example; principal, valedictorian, salutatorian, class president, city official, etc. The principal
and city officials speeches are assumed to be the most attractive to the parents and other adults
within the crowd. Based on their position within the school system, they have the most
credibility among the adults in the crowd. The valedictorians, salutatorians, and class
presidents speeches are likely to be most appealing to the students they are graduating with.
Based on their standing among the school system, they most directly reflect the students
viewpoints. While there may be a large variation between the high school experiences of the
smartest student in the class and someone who coasted their way through high school, these

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speakers are still considered a representation of the student population. The class president may
have the least credibility than all the other speakers, from the perspective of parents and other
high ranking members of the audience, but is traditionally seen as the most relatable with the
graduating students. This credibility, primary from their peers, stems from the fact that the
students chose this speaker by voting in an election the previous year. The class president is
likely to have made speeches to the students prior to graduation, which may also increase their
credibility among the class. Most people imply that the students speaking will incorporate more
humor and have a more relaxed tone, but this element is often compromised due to nerves.
While composing my speech I unconsciously took multiple genre conventions into
consideration. The audience was made up of school faculty, staff, families, city officials, friends,
and of course the graduating students. Evaluating the audience I would be speaking to, helped
me keep the content appropriate for all ages. Considering the audience as a whole, made up of
many parts allowed me to include features that would be understood by each age group. These
features included; quotes, jokes, sarcasm, and statements of gratitude.
The speech was a narrative, mostly geared to the senior class as way to thank those who
had helped us to this point, reflect on our past four years together, and share one last milestone as
a class. Throughout the text the underlying tone was humorous, encouraging the audience to
reminisce positively on their high school experience. Sentences were kept relatively short,
mirroring that of a conversation. Brief sentence structure was purposely executed to maintain the
crowds attention and keep them engaged throughout the entirety of the speech. To fulfill my
main goal of speaking for and to the students, most elements were geared towards them.
Presenting as class president allowed me to speak on behalf of the class, without putting myself
on a higher level. Essentially being the voice of the class contributed to the large use of plural

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pronouns like we and us. Specific features for the students were expected to only be
understood by their intended audience, which is an acceptable practice in the genre of
graduation speeches. References to class pranks, memorable teachers, and unforgettable
memories are common elements included in many graduation speeches.
Speeches are usually expected to include quotes, used to sum up the speakers message.
Keeping this in mind, I quoted two different people throughout the text. While the addition of
quotes to my speech was mirroring a widely accepted practice, the source and style of the quotes
were less compliant with the traditional genre conventions. I quoted one student from the
graduating class directly from Twitter. The class of 2016 is like the cast of Friends. Once it was
gone, TV was never the same. Once we are gone, Charter will never be the same. The second
quote was from Ellen DeGeneres, Follow your own path and never someone elses, unless you
are lost in the woods and you find a path; then by all means follow it. While the message from
the first quote is common to those found in other graduation speeches, the use of social media as
a source is more uncommon. It is also common to quote public figures, but the sarcastic tone in
the second quote is uncommon to most quotes found in a graduation speech. Including quotes in
my speech was one way I complied with the genre conventions of the text. I purposely gathered
quotes from unique sources that also had unusual tones to separate my speech from the more
traditional ones found within the same genre.
The speech was broken down into several parts including an introduction, multiple
paragraphs expressing gratitude, followed by a closing statement. Following a common
convention, I based the majority of my speech off of the people who had the most influence on
the graduating class. Giving thanks to influential role models also ties in to the purpose of the
speech. It is common to state their name and share in which ways they have contributed to the

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class overall success. I took this element a step further by including some humorous memories
each figure shared with the class. The slight addition to this common convention helped solidify
the colloquial tone of the entire speech.
In order to prove my credibility for speaking during the graduation ceremony I included a
joke about my position as class president. I began thinking why am I up here to give this
speech? Im not the smartest and Im not part of the staff. Im just the only one who thought
class president had a nice ring to it. Apparently winning an election qualifies me to speak
before you today. Lets just forget that I ran unopposed last year. Joking about my leadership
role allowed me to effectively set a humorous, light-hearted tone in the opening of the speech.
Since I was not only talking to my peers, but people in positions of power and other
adults, the text included various traditional elements of a graduation speech. Including formal
announcements of gratitude and recognition. The social expectations were to be appropriate for
all ages yet more personal to those graduating. Due to my main purpose, reflecting with the
class, a bulk of the speech included embarrassing moments and life lessons. Visual elements
including large font and adequate spacing were seen by me only, used as a way to improve the
verbal presentation of the text.
I followed the basic genre conventions of a graduation speech, but may have broken
some norms by adding my own ideas to the genre. Genres give us a way to categorize or
describe types of compositions (Braziller and Kleinfield 5). Even though I added various
untraditional elements, the overall structure of the text can easily be identified as belonging to
the category of graduation speech.
Work Cited
Braziller, Amy, and Elizabeth Kleinfield. The Bedford Book of Genres: A Guide and Reader.

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FSU edition. Boston: Bedford/St. Martins, 2014. Print.
Maimon, Elaine P., Janice H. Peritz, and Kathleen Blake Yancey. The Brief McGraw-Hill
Handbook. FSU edition. Boston: Bedford/St. Martins, 2012. Print.