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Tyler Miller

15/10/19

English 121

Emily Litle

Bazerman Summary and Response

After reading the Bazerman article I believe that he is trying to describe all the right ways

of these genres and how we react to them. The main things that he goes over and describes are

genre sets, genre systems, systems of activity, and how we use them. He says that these examples

can help students with situation that they are familiar with. Bazerman gives many examples form

this material that will help with a variety of different things. Bazerman explains how it might be

hard to understand how these genres work. It’s not a good thing because people don’t even know

what these genres were designed for and then they’re stuck looking clueless

The genre set is a selection of different types of texts that someone is most likely to come

up with. It’s when people take on the role of having to write or speak that they are identifying

how they work. He explains it as if someone has a work order or a report they should figure out

that routine so that they can learn that skill to produce that kind of work. “In cataloging all the

genres someone in a role is likely to speak and write, you are identifying a large part of their

work (Bazerman 374).” If they can recognize all the different forms of writing then they must

engage to study and communicate with others. If they evaluate themselves then they will be able

to overcome the challenges and opportunities that are offered. When I compare myself to this I

think that it is a true statement, because it took me a while to get into a good routine of doing
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things when I got into college. I struggled throughout the whole year, but this year I have made a

huge change and it’s all because I found myself a good routine.

The genre system is when different sets of people work toward a gather in a fashioned

manner. “Is compromised of the several genre sets of people working to gather in an organized

way (Bazerman 374).”It’s how one genre can follow another in a regular communication that

flows with a certain group of people. The genre set is written by someone who sets up a content

that consists of a syllabus, and that allows them to understand what they are going over for the

course. They do this so that the course is organized and once they are done they can add all the

quizzes and exams up and submit it to the register to enter an institutional system of genres.

When it comes to having a rubric to the course it makes everything easy because you have all the

assignments and the due dates, so you should be able to get everything done on time.

For some people, they struggle with the smallest tasks and that he talks about doing even

if it’s just trying to understand what someone is trying to tell you. “In defining the system of

genres people engage in you also identify framework which organizes their work, attention, and

accomplishment (Bazerman 375).” Even for physical activities people struggles to do the

smallest tasks even if they try. That’s why they are there to help build concepts and strategies for

them to use when they are playing. For me I’m one of those people who struggle to comprehend

some of the things that people are telling me, but once they rephrase what they are trying to tell

me I’m normally able to understand them.

If they can understand the flow and how to form the texts of the genre and activity

systems then they are able to identify and change the systems by three different systems deletion,

addition, or modification. Those things provide the tools for people to make new things happen

in multiple different ways. He talks about how some choices that people make influence weather
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you are making the right choices or not. For people to understand those things they need to set

themselves up for opportunity so that they can have interactions that break up some of the

tension that people build up. It helps them break the mood that there in and find another routine.

Citation

Bazerman, Charles, and Paul A. Prior. What Writing Does and How It Does It: an Introduction
to Analyzing Texts and Textual Practices. Routledge, 2009.