Cognitive Perspective

“Rethinking Genre from a Sociocognitive Perspective” by Carol Berkenkotter and Thomas N. Huckin discusses genre theory. Berkenkotter and Huckin claim genres help professionals communicate with their peers, and genre knowledge is essential to professional success. The authors discuss their thesis statement, support their argument with several years of research, as well as identify five general principles of genre theory. Berkenkotter and Huckin acknowledge their work is not a fully developed sociocognitive theory of genre. However, they support their argument with a synthesis of the evidence. Their five principles of genre theory include dynamism, situatedness, form and content, the duality of structure, and community ownership. The conclusion
Incorporating Rosenberg’s strategies for reading scholarly sources necessary to comprehend “Rethinking Genre from a Sociocognitive Perspective.” As this article is difficult to read, it is important to break down the reading into manageable sections, as Rosenberg suggests. Furthermore, recognizing the intended audience and main points of the article before reading the full text, helps the reader gain a greater understanding of the content. Beaufort’s claims regarding discourse communities are similar to Berkenkotter and Huckin’s theory, as well. For instance, Beaufort also describes the genres function in discourse communities. Swale’s CARS model also applies to this article, as the authors’ establish a territory with the discourse community, as well as present and describe their research.
This academic article was challenging for me to read, even after applying Swales’ and Rosenberg’s tools. I was not familiar with the five general principles of genres, before reading “Rethinking Genre from a Sociocognitive Perspective.” Furthermore, I am not completely comfortable with this new found knowledge. However, I agree with Berkenkotter and Huckin, when they argue I must actively use this new knowledge, rather than just acquire