Arfa Sitara Nisar BS 8th (Linguistics)

Professional genre is a part of formal discourse but what sets it

apart is that professional genre is always goal oriented while
formal genre may or may not be.
Written types of professional Genres, essay, letter,
comprehension, novel, drama, application, business letters,
reports, job advertisement, research articles, thesis,
Spoken forms of professional genres, Speech, Announcement,
dialogue at court etc
The place where professional genre and formal discourse
departs is the fact that formal discourse is situational reaction
to a certain formal setup, and professional genre is an
deliberate attempt to persuade someone or to obtain some
outcomes
e.g, students sitting in a classroom and conversing is a formal
discourse as class is a formal setup but their conversation may
or may not be goal oriented, on the contrary teacher delivering
the lecture is a part of professional discourse because he or she
is being paid for that so the better they deliver the better would
they be paid and students will be benefited as well.
How different professional genre works!
Considering an example of a job application letter
1: Establishing credentials
In the above letter, the writer makes a reference to a lectureship
in the department that he is applying for. In fact, it is so
ambiguously worded that one almost takes it for granted that
there is a position available. In most other cases, it is customary
to refer to the job advertisement. By doing so, the applicant

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indirectly indicates his perception of the requirement of a

specific job opening and then makes an offer in the form of his
or her own candidature. In the process, it also becomes possible
for the applicant to establish his or her credentials by bringing
in his or her most important strengths. A typical example
would be : This is in response to your recent advertisement in
the West Bend Tribune for a part-time insurance secretary. I
would like to apply for this position with your agency. I feel
that my experience and education have prepared me for this
position.
In the next example, we find a more daring and yet effective
strategy to establish credentials, a seemingly perfect
combination of what the employer needs and what the
applicant thinks he can boast of: Sound background in
advertising … well-trained … work well with others … These
key words in your July 7 advertisement in the Times describe
the person you want, and I believe I am that person.
2: Introducing candidature
It is to offer oneself as a reliable point of consideration
e.g : With reference to your advertisement in the Straits Times
of 1 December, 1988 for the position of fashion copywriter I
would like to offer myself as a candidate for your
consideration.
The first part of the sentence, ‘’With reference to your
advertisement in the Straits Times of 1 December, 1988 for the
position of fashion copywriter’’, is an attempt to establish
credentials by referring to the needs of the employer and the
rest of the sentence, ‘’I would like to offer myself as a candidate

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for your consideration’’ offers the candidature for the position

referred to in the earlier part of the sentence.
3: Awareness of the requirements of the job
This part is the most difficult and yet the most crucial one. A
potentially successful application needs to stress that the writer
is aware of the requirements of the job and that he has
sufficient qualities and potential in the form of qualifications,
relevant experience, personal attributes, strength of character,
etc., to meet these requirements satisfactorily.
4: Enclosing Documents
eg: I hope this letter of ‘application’ will clarify some of the
information on the enclosed C.V., which outlines my
qualifications, experience and research interests.
Firstly it explains the function of the job application letter, i.e.,
it is clarificatory and not descriptive. That is the main reason
why these cover letters are not exhaustive in details. Instead,
the details are enclosed in the form of C.V., certificates,
testimonials etc. Secondly, it refers to enclosed documents,
which we listed as move 4, enclosing documents, in sales
promotion letters.
5: Using Pressure tactics
Very occasionally we come across a case where a candidate
would like to be so aggressive as to use pressure tactics to force
the reader to take a quick decision, though it is fairly common
in sales promotion letters. That makes the job application
situation slightly more unequal than the one in sales
promotion. In this competitive world of today, where jobs are

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not easy to get, an applicant can rarely claim parity with the
employer. The stakes for the prospective employee are far
higher than the ones for the employer.
eg: I am required to give notice to Riyadh in early April and
therefore look forward to hearing from you soon.
So it’s a way to pressurize the firm as if they need you more
than you need them!
6: Ending Politely
Any promotional effort, whether it is for a product or service,
largely depends on the goodwill that it creates. In this respect
the function of closings in job application letters, like those in
sales promotion letters, is crucial. On most occasions it may be
a simple ‘Thank you’ or a more elaborate one like the
following: I hope you will find my qualification and
experience of use to you.
Discussing another Genre such as Research genre
There is vivid distinction between the abstract and introduction
of a research paper but most of the time people fail to make this
distinction.
We do not find any difference whatsoever in the way these two
genres are written, except that the introduction gives a slightly
more elaborate account of the description of proposed research,
and the abstract includes some indication of research
conclusion. It is somewhat intriguing to note that the two are
put together, one after the other, in the same article. Do they
serve the same communicative purpose? If they do, then why
this unnecessary repetition? Is there any justification for this

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kind of repeat performance on the part of the writer? Since it is

assumed that both texts are written by the same person and are
meant for the same readership, there must be some justification
for the role that these two genres have in the rhetoric of the
research article. As a matter of fact, the two genres have very
different communicative purposes, and should, therefore,
display different cognitive structuring, so that they remain
distinct as genres.
Research Article Abstract
An abstract is an abbreviated, accurate representation of the
contents of a document, preferably prepared by its author(s) for
publication with it.
An abstract, as commonly understood, is a description or
factual summary of the much longer report, and is meant to
give the reader an exact and concise knowledge of the full
article. It contains information on the following aspects of the
research that it describes:
1. What the author did
2. How the author did it
3. What the author found
4. What the author concluded
Eg: This paper sets out to examine two findings reported in the
literature: one, that during the one-word stage a child’s word
productions are highly phonetically variable, and two, that the
one-word stage is qualitatively distinct from subsequent
phonological development. The complete set of word forms
produced by a child at the one-word stage were collected and

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analysed both cross-sectionally (month by month) and

longitudinally (looking for changes over time). It was found
that the data showed very little variability, and that
phonological development during the period studied was
qualitatively continuous with subsequent development. It is
suggested that the phonologically principled development of
this child’s first words is related to his late onset of speech.
This example seems to answer the four questions by using the
following four moves:
1. INTRODUCING PURPOSE: This move gives a precise
indication of the author’s intention, thesis or hypothesis which
forms the basis of the research being reported. It may also
include the goals or objectives of research or the problem that
the author wishes to tackle.
2. DESCRIBING METHODOLOGY: In this move the author
gives a good indication of the experimental design, including
information on the data, procedures or method(s) used and, if
necessary, the scope of the research being reported.
3. SUMMARIZING RESULTS: This is an important aspect of
abstracts where the author mentions his observations and
findings and also suggests solutions to the problem, if any,
posed in the first move.
4. PRESENTING CONCLUSIONS: This move is meant to
interpret results and draw inferences. It typically includes some
indication of the implications and applications of the present
findings.
Research Article Introduction

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Introduction, as a genre, has conventionally been understood

as a piece of discourse which introduces other forms of lengthy
discourse, be it a
research article, a project report, a laboratory report or even a
student essay. Its communicative function is quite clear, but the
way it is treated in a particular context depends largely on the
requirements of the longer discourse it introduces; sometimes
the subject discipline will also affect the way it is treated, as
will, also, the organizational constraints imposed by the genre
in question, particularly in the case of student lab reports and
essays, which are generally written in direct response to the
requirements made by the department or the teacher
concerned.
According to Swales an introduction covers the following:
1: Establishing field
(a) Showing centrality
(b) Stating current knowledge
(c) Ascribing key characteristics
2: Summarizing previous research
(a) Strong author-orientation
(b) Weak author-orientation
(c) Subject orientation
3: Preparing for present research
(a) Indicating a gap
(b) Question-raising

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(c) Extending a finding

4: Introducing present research
(a) Giving the purpose
(b) Describing present research
Eg: Amino-phosphonic acids such as glyphosate are known to
chelate metal cations in aqueous media (Kabachink et al., 1974).
Several studies have shown effects of metal ions on glyphosate
efficacy in the field and the greenhouse. Hensley, Beverman &
Carpenter (1978) reported that Fe2+, Fe3+, and Al3+ reduced
glyphosate activity, but that Ca2+, K+, Na+ had no effect.
Stahlman & Philips (1979) found that monovalent metal cations
had no effect on glyphosate toxicity, but that divalent metal
cations reduced the herbicide’s toxicity in the following order
of effectiveness:
Fe2+ > Ca2+ = Zn2+ > Mg2+. Sprankle, Meggitt & Penner
(1975), however,
found no interaction of Fe2+ with glyphosate efficacy and
others have found Ca2+ to antagonize glyphosate activity
(Philips, 1975; Sandberg, Meggitt & Penner, 1978; O’Sullivan,
O’Donovan & Hamman, 1981; Schultz & Burnside, 1978).
Turner & Loader (1978) observed that compounds with
complex or chelate metal ions enhance the effects of glyphosate.
They suggested that calcium and other metal cations might
immobilize the herbicide.
Laboratory studies of the interaction of metal ions with
glyphosate have also yielded mixed results. Hollander &
Amrhein (1980) found no effect of Al3+, Fe2+, Co2+, or Ca2+ on

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glyphosate-caused decreases in anthocyanin synthesis in

excised buckwheat (Fagopyrum esculentum Moench)
hypocotyls. Similarly, Gresshoff
(1979) observed no effects of Zn2+, Co2+, or Fe2+ on glyphosate
toxicity to unicellular organisms. Roisch & Lingens (1980),
however, reversed the inhibitory effect of glyphosate on
enzymes of aromatic amino acid synthesis of Escherichia coli
by addition of Co2+, and Mg2+ to the medium.
Using isolated bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) cells, Brecke &
Duke (1980) demonstrated that glyphosate inhibited uptake of
Rb+ before effects on photosynthesis, respiration, or RNA and
protein synthesis could be measured. The effect was apparently
not due to loss of membrane integrity decrease in energy
supply, or external ion chelation. No studies, however, have
been made of the effects of glyphosate on uptake and
translocation of metal cations in intact higher plants (Hoagland
& Duke, 1982).
In this study, we examined the effects of glyphosate on uptake
and translocation of Ca+ in soyabean seedlings. A secondary
objective was to determine the effects of Ca2+ on glyphosate
phytotoxity.
(Duke, Wauchope, Hoagland and Wills, 1983)
Explanation
In this introduction, as in the abstract, we find a typical four-
move cognitive structure. However, the nature and discourse
value of the four moves are very different with very little
overlap between the two. The authors of the introduction, in

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the first sentence, establish field by stating current knowledge

in the field and also give a reference to support their claim. The
second sentence beginning: Several studies have shown …
marks the beginning of the summarization of previous
research, which goes right through to the middle of the third
paragraph: … loss of membrane integrity decrease in energy
supply, or external ion chelation. Preparation for present
research begins: No studies, however, have been … and takes
the reader to the end of the paragraph. The last paragraph
beginning: In this study, we examined … marks the
introduction of present research.
Further Genres
Individuals in a court room use specific kind of professional
genre based on argumentation yielding to the success on either
party. Every individual inside the court room is supposed to
remain within that particular genre and validate their point.
Another example of professional genre would be a speech
made by any official of any organization or by any
spokesperson. It is for the purpose of propagating a newly
made verdict by the government or a law to be introduced to
the assembly. In our daily life khutbas (sermons) delivered at
different religious based gatherings could be considered as
professional genre keeping in view that most of the clerics use
religion as a tool to manipulate and exploit people.
Conclusion
Like all the other forms of spoken and written genres
professional genre has its own individual capacity. Its like a
force composed of words and phrases and sentences which

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could drive our deliberate purpose and let us achieve our

objective. Language being a tool makes professional genre a
tool as well as it being a part of it, and its upon us to make the
best out of this tool. Thank you!

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