Three Fundamental Concepts for Genre Transfer Studies: A Case of Postgraduate Dissertation to Research Article

Abstract

Studies on genre transfer are relatively unexplored when compared with other aspects of genre studies. To gain a good understanding about and for such studies, at least three fundamental concepts should be thoroughly explained and taken into consideration. This analytical review article aims to provide basic understandings about the three concepts, namely; genre, genre studies and genre categorization. In the first part, the notion of genre is explained through a variety of definitions proposed by genre researchers. Secondly, studies on genre and its implications are the topic of the discussion. The three distinct but interrelated traditions or approaches of genre studies are reviewed with a comparison and contrast among the three. The way each of the three approaches is informative for a genre transfer investigation is also provided as an example. Lastly, the concept of genre categorization involving different ways of classifying genres is examined. A special emphasis is placed on categorizing the dissertations and research articles which are two crucial genres for graduate students around the globe these days. This article concludes with an example of how the three fundamental concepts can be employed to establish the dissertations and research articles as two separate genres, so that their distinctions can serve as a foundation for a study of genre transfer between the two. The review of the three concepts is expected to shed more light on the genre transfer studies especially from the dissertation to research article with the hope that more of such investigations will emerge for the benefit of graduate students and dissemination of their research.