Project Builder 1B: Inspecting Genre Generators

Genre generators use a genre’s conventions to create a random example of work from that genre. For instance, SCIgen “generates random Computer Science research papers, including graphs, figures, and citations”(SCIgen website). This genre generator follows the conventions of a research paper. Each research paper created is divided into several sections with the same order each time. Scientific papers usually begin with a title that highlights importance of topic followed by the author of the paper. Then, there is an abstract that summarizes the question asked and explains the motivation for asking it. After the abstract is the introduction. It presents the background of the question and what to expect in the rest of the paper. Next is the explanation of the methodology used and what models were used in trying to answer the question being asked. For these computer science research papers, charts and diagrams were also included in this section. Then there is an implementation section and a results section that includes the data and analysis of the project. Finally, there is the conclusion section and references section. This specific organization of the research paper (the sections, graphs, and references) is the same each time a new paper is generated, even if the words and topics are different. The research papers are often around 5-8 pages long, and often use Computer Science jargon. They have a scholarly tone that is confident and respectful.

Another example of a genre generator is Pandyland, which is a genre generator that creates random comic strips. The conventions for comic strips significantly contrast with the conventions for Computer Science research papers. While computer science research papers have text and diagrams, the Pandyland comic strips have three panels of pictures. Comic strips are usually short sequences of cartoons meant for entertainment. Some panels have text in bubbles and in captions while others have no text and have the characters performing actions. The Pandyland comic strips are easy to understand and colored. The text in these comic strips is very short; there is often a single statement in each panel or none at all, and the tone is humorous and light.

Similarly, an online meme generator (memegenerator.net) produces memes, which are usually popular images in social media that have white text over them. The text is usually large and in all capital letters. The generator makes single images of people, animals, or cartoons with text on the top and bottom of the photo, depicting what the character is saying. Like comic strips, memes are meant for entertainment. The text is often no longer than two lines and the tone can be sarcastic, witty, or comical.  

An additional genre generator is the Postmodernism Generator (http://www.elsewhere.org/pomo/), which produces Postmodernism Essays. Similar to a research paper, the postmodernism essay generated is academic-based and is meant to explore and expand on a theory or question being asked. These essays also have titles that contain the key words of the essay, followed by the author’s name. For these postmodernism essays, the department and university of the author are also included. These essays are divided into sections and numbered. Each section also has many quotes. At the end of the essay, there is a list of references. These generated essays can range from 2-6 pages of text.

How can thinking about what’s happening in these websites help someone better understand genre?

Each of these websites creates a random example of their genre. After trying out the website multiple times, many examples of each genre are created and can be compared and contrasted. How is a research paper different than a comic strip? Some surface level features are easy to spot. For one, they look completely different. One has pictures and cartoons, and the other has pages full of text with paragraphs. Each individual genre’s conventions and rhetorical devices make that thing that thing, and recognizing these creates genre awareness and an understanding of the genres and the term genre. When someone compares and contrasts the multiple examples from that genre, they can identify the patterns that are used in all of the examples. This is why the genre generators are so helpful. It doesn’t matter what you put into it, no matter what, you get the same patterns each time for each specific genre. This helps that person understand the genre and what to expect from any other pieces from the generator. For example, after generating many research papers, I can see that each research paper created has the specific conventions mentioned in the first paragraph, such as an introduction section and graphs and references. Now I know how to recognize and distinguish a research paper from a comic strip based on the conventions I understand about both of those genres. It also allows me to know what to expect when I read a research paper or what is appropriate when I need to write one. All of this information is given to me from experimenting with these genre generators and gaining genre awareness.