This chapter, "Organizing and Drafting," makes some good points about patterns of arrangements and the patterns that different genres follow. I've written many documents in several genres, although I've never necessarily considered them as their own genre while writing them. I suppose I always saw them as a set format, but saw that format as a set of requirements more than a tool for the audience to use while reading the document.
I can see, however, why these genres might be useful to audiences (and therefore should be a part of our consideration of our audience before writing), particularly those who are used to reviewing documents in specific genres. For example, if a manager is accustomed to reviewing proposals, using a standard pattern in your proposal would help the manager understand what's being proposed and the reasoning behind the proposal with a standard introduction. Patterns of arrangement would be particularly helpful in writing a proposal, too. "If/then" statements and laying out costs vs. benefits would not only help the writer make his or her point more clearly, but will help the reader understand why the proposal is important.
These frameworks can also be beneficial because they help a to identify whether or not they should read the document in order, or if they can skip to various parts. For example, a white paper or set of procedures will most likely need to be read in order. A proposal, however, might be a different a story. A manager may need to know quickly how much the project is going to cost, regardless of the content of the idea.
Obviously, these genres relate to the employment project with the cover letter and resume. I think I would use a chronological pattern of arrangement most on a resume, e.g. when listing out relevant work experience. I think this helps potential employers/bosses understand how recent and fresh your experience and skills are from certain positions, or if you're going to be digging that experience up from years past.
Genres and Patterns of arrangement.
I have also written documents in many different genres. I also had not really thought much about the genres. The same goes for patterns of arrangement. I have used many different types without giving much thought to it. After reading the chapter, I realize that I could have made my writing alot easier by thinking about these things ahead of time. While my writing ended up following these genres and patterns, I never actually meant to, which probably took longer for my mind to put my thoughts in the right order to come up with the final document. I just started writing and my papers eventually ended up following one of the formats. I feel like these patterns could be very helpful organizational tools if thought about ahead of time. They create a basic framework and your thoughts and ideas can be added in to come up with the final product, rather than writing all of your ideas and then trying to rearrange them. It is something I will think of from now on before I begin to write papers.
Importance of Audiences
The genres that the chapter lectures about seem to be more natural when I look at my past work. It is beneficial to see that there is material that can clarify these patterns in writing. When I was reading the chapter, I could follow the techniques they utilized for their genres. However, there were small things that I overlook. It is important to structure technical documents correctly because it should hold important information and sent particular audiences. Your audiences, in many technical documents, are evaluating, questioning, and following your writings. As previous readings suggest, there are consequences from ignoring minor mistakes. This chapter may seem like an English class review but it gives us a good outline to follow to avoid mistakes
No Genre Consideration
In the past, I too have written several types of documents that the text deems worthy of certain genre styles of writing. While writing these documents, I made no conscious attempt to follow these genres. In retrospect however, I realize that I subconsciously followed these genres to some effect. While they might not be exactly to the structure and form of the genres in the book, they share a close resemblance. Initially, I felt that this can be attributed to either prior writing teachings or natural tendencies towards writing. In the end however, I felt that they can be attributed to both of these.