‘Genre’ means the type of publication you are producing (eg novel, report, textbook). Different genres will have different structures and often allow different content features (eg novels rarely use colour photographs; scientific research papers have a specific layout).

Readers understand what to expect from a given genre – they know what they expect to see and read. The conventional structure and features in each genre support its content and help readers to make the most of it. Ignoring these expectations may frustrate the reader and reduce their understanding.

Think about the genre you are working in, and use its conventions to guide readers.

Different genres have different conventions:

• Length. For example, a novel or textbook is long, and readers expect to settle in for a long read. Newspaper articles are relatively short – a reader suddenly finding that an article is much longer than expected might lose interest.
• Structure. For example, a novel is loosely structured to offer creative space for readers to engage spontaneously with the narrative and the characters. A textbook uses a formal structure to lay out its subject section by section, and lead the student systematically through the major and minor topics.
• Paragraph length. For example, academic and scientific writing uses long paragraphs (6 sentences or more) to develop an argumentative point. Newspapers and online content will often use 1- or 2-sentence paragraphs.

• Language. For example, online writing for the general public uses everyday words and phrases. More abstract words such as acknowledgment, implementation, intervention and subversion are found mostly in formal writing.