If one is asked to define the word “genre,”
he or she might respond after some deliberation with something along the lines
of “the rules that allow a text/movie/song to fit into a certain category;”
however, Kerry Dirk, author of the essay Navigating Genres, points out that “genres
require more effort than simply following the rules,” but “genres usually come
with established conventions” (258). In order to “assign” a piece to a certain
genre, we must analyze these conventions and how they apply to the piece in
question. The textual piece under analysis below is a word problem from a text
book; what, exactly, are the conventions for a “typical” word problem? Aside
from the obvious (numbers, math signs, foreign language, being found in a
large, heavy book, etc.), textbook word problems, from physics to calculus to
chemistry, each have a loosely “specific” formula. No pun intended. Whether it
involves Suzie oxidizing copper or Jonathon measuring the pressure of a fluid, textbook
problems tend to aim to turn the issue at hand into a “real life” and relatable
situation. The goal is to make the audience, which, just to be clear, is most
commonly students, feel as though they are the ones performing the experiment
or observing the process that is taking place. These problems are intended to
make the student think critically and solve for an answer. Almost without fail,
they will say something like “solve for…,” “calculate…,” “determine…,” or
simply ask a “Who?, What?, When?, Where?, How?” question. They have a tendency
to be written in a serious tone, lacking any sort of comedy, romance,
playfulness, or extreme detail. The questions tend to lack eloquence because
they are not meant to elicit emotion from the reader (aside from the possible feelings
of frustration, confusion, and/or utter defeat). The authors are not novelists,
lobbyists, or poets, and therefore, have no intentions of causing the reader to
empathize with the subject or be persuaded to take action. The language is very
precise so as to avoid confusion in what the question is asking for; however,
the given information is not necessarily straightforward. For example, if a
student is asked to solve a problem that requires the knowledge of the density
of an object, the value of density may not necessarily be supplied; instead, the
student may be told the mass and the dimensions of the object and therefore, be
expected to be able to determine necessary information from the given values.
“An adventurous parachutist of mass 70.0 kg drops from the
top of Angel Falls in Venezuela, the world’s highest waterfall. The waterfall
is 979 m tall and the parachutist deploys his chute after falling 295m, a which
point his speed is 54.0 m/s. During the 295-m drop, (a) what was the net work
done on him and (b) what was the work done on him by the force of air
resistance?” (Freedman, Ruskell, Kesten, Tauck; College Physics, 210).
On the off chance that you read the
first line of that and decided it was far too much information and mathematical
concepts to waste any more brain power on, it does, in fact, turn a physics
word problem into a “real life” situation (perhaps jumping off a waterfall is
not completely fathomable for all of us, but the concept exists in real life,
regardless); it aims to force the student to think critically; both questions
begin with the word “What…”; it lacks a certain eloquence that might be present
in a textual piece such as the parachutist’s account of his fall; and lastly,
it gives information that must be used to determine other material necessary to
complete the calculations. Lo and behold, a “typical” word problem is at hand.
I never even thought of the idea of considering word problems as a type of textual genre! Kudos for selecting something different! Word problems are definitely not my strongest suit, but as long as you understand the pattern of the question being asked, I can see how these questions follow a certain scheme. I enjoy reading problems that are on the creative side. One time, on a bio lab quiz, I appreciated the professor who incorporated a “Dr. Who”-themed question. It took away the usual sense of quizzes and made it actually a bit enjoyable for me, who understood the bit of context. The indirect questions do bother me sometimes, but as soon as I am able to piece the information together, the feeling of accomplishment is very satisfying. I do agree, if the question were to be phrased in a context we, students, could relate, I feel that it would be more encouraging to work out the problem.
ReplyDeleteI found this really interesting because I never would have considered word problems as a genre of writing before taking this class. Your project builder completely proved me wrong though! To go off of what you were saying about word problems’ purpose, I think they also serve a purpose to give the reader/student a chance to work through the concept on their own, without the guidance of the lesson that was outlined in the previous chapter. Typically the solutions to the problems are on another page to force the student to work through it on their own and really understand the concept. You did a great job of outlining the specific, unique conventions and rhetorical devices of word problems while simultaneously also managing to make your writing very entertaining and funny! Kudos!
ReplyDeleteI personally find it very interesting how you chose word problems to be your genre because that is not something that many people would normally think of that. A word problem, as you have showed, does fit the criteria of a genre. I like how you stated that the purpose of a problem is to have the student feel as if they are the ones performing the experiment or observing the process that is taking place. It is also very true how word problems are almost exclusively directed towards students in order to test for their knowledge and ability. I also liked it when you said that that the authors of these word problems are not novelists or poets because that is a very different type of writing. These word problems do not need to be entertaining in any way and are normally straight forward and to the point. These are all points that you have displayed and identified, which is why I feel like your project builder is a well thought out piece.
ReplyDeleteIt crazy to think that such specific things like word problems are also considered genres and that they have their own special conventions. I really like the point you made about word problems are very precise and serious which is really true. You can really tell from the language the word problems tone. Also, I did not really notice that all a lot of math/science based word problems tend to try to convey a “real life scenario.” When I read that I realized that it actually is really common in my math/science classes. I thought this piece was interesting and found it really cool that you in used a specific piece and gave an actual example. You really explained the conventions well, which made this easy to understand. Interesting view on word problems!
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