Features of Written Genres

What are we learning today?

You will find the features of an email, a biography and a story.

Explanation

Each genre has its own features.

• An informal email starts with "Hey". It has short forms like It's and Here's. It can end with "Bye for now!"
• A biography uses he or she and the past simple. It has dates and places.
• A story uses paragraphs. It can use I and direct speech in quotation marks.

Ask: Who writes? Who reads? What for?

Examples

1. "Hey Günter, here's some info about my school." This is an email.
2. "Arthur Conan Doyle was born in 1859." This is a biography.
3. "It's a lovely evening," said a voice. This is direct speech.

Remember!

• Use informal words in an email, not in a biography.
• Direct speech needs quotation marks.

Check yourself

1. Which tense do we use in a biography?
2. What marks do we use for direct speech?
3. Which genre starts with "Hey"?