Sarah Dunn

ENC 1102
Professor Wolcott
18 February 2015

Genre Analysis
Amy Devitt, a professor of English and author of Standardizing Written English: Diffusion in
the case of Scotland 1520-1659 (Materiality and Genre in the study of Discourse Communities,
541) states that In sum, genre is a dynamic response to and construction of recurring situation,
one that changes historically and different social groups, that adapts and grows the social context
changes. (Devitt 580) Basically, genre is a multifaceted system in which the context and lexis
change according to its subject. The genre that I have a growing interest and curiosity about is
Human Trafficking. Human trafficking is a prevalent and dominating industry throughout the
world. This genre has sparked my interest because I seek justice for those who have been
wrongly dispossessed of their basic human rights. Within the discourse community of Human
Rights, more specifically, human trafficking many of the reputable sources are found through
websites, books, and online journals. The recurring topics within this community are what is
human slavery, ways in which to decrease this growing industry, and ways in which to raise
awareness about this social issue.
Lexis:

All three of these articles that I chose to analyze are similar in the lexis in which they use my
second article is the website global slavery index which gives a similar definition for human
Human traffickinga worldwide crime involving the exploitation of men,
women, and children for others financial gainis a violation of fundamental
human rights. Victims are often lured or abducted from their homes and
subsequently forced, through various means, to work in prostitution,
sweatshops, agricultural settings, or domestic service, among other types of
servitude. In addition to inflicting grave personal damage upon its victims,
trafficking undermines government authority, fuels organized criminal groups
and gangs, and imposes social and public health costs. As we have previously
reported, estimates of the number of trafficking victims are questionable due
to data and methodological weaknesses. GAO, Human Trafficking: Better
Data, Strategy, and Reporting Needed to Enhance U.S. Antitrafficking Efforts

trafficking. Human trafficking in their terms is

As you can see there are many similarities in the two definitions provided, both are made
Different countries use different terminology to describe modern forms of
slavery, including the term slavery itself, but also other concepts such as
human trafficking, forced labour, debt bondage, forced or servile marriage,
and the sale and exploitation of children. See the Underlying Concepts
section below for a full list of meanings of these terms, reflecting their
origins in international law.
All of these crimes share some common features. For the purpose of the
Index, modern slavery involves one person possessing or controlling another
person in such as a way as to significantly deprive that person of their
individual liberty, with the intention of exploiting that person through their
use, management, profit, transfer or disposal.

simple to allow any literate person understand and analyze the term Human Trafficking.
However, if one was confused or wanted more clarity about the definition they could easily make
their own conclusion by researching various definitions of human trafficking. Free the slaves, a
non-profit organization that works on ending slavery within our lifetime defines human
trafficking is

The modern-day slave trade--the process of enslaving a person. It happens

when someone is tricked or kidnapped or coerced, and then taken into
slavery. If moving a person from one place to another does not result in
slavery, then it is not human trafficking. The term human trafficking often
has a specific legal definition based on the laws of countries or states or the
conventions of international organizations, and those official definitions
differ slightly from place to place. For example, under US law, anyone under
18 who is in prostitution is considered a trafficking victim.

There is a clear and distinct use of language used throughout this discourse community that
allows its members to easily communicate and share ideas and thoughts.

Members
John Swales author of The Concept of Discourse Community. Discusses that a "Discourse
community has threshold level of members with a suitable degree of relevant content and
discoursal expertise. (Swales, 222) In other words, members of a discourse are usually experts
in the genre of the community. This isnt necessary to be a part of the community, however, the
more educated the more one can participate and gain more credibility when sharing their
thoughts within the community. Those who participate within this community are nongovernmental and governmental organizations as well as practitioners, politicians, advocates,
sociologists and students interested in preventing or reducing the number of people enslaved
today. As you can see the members of this discourse community ranges widely which is why
such an adaptable lexis in order for everyone to understand whats going on.
Structure
The structure and formatting of these sources are for the most part full of pictures, graphs, and
statistics. This helps to make the lexis easier to digest as well as the information to be more clear
and distinct when graphs and maps are included. However the United States Accountability
Office tends to avoid graphs and charts but instead focuses on legal documentation. All genres

may have recurring ideas and thoughts but may be conveyed to its audience in a different way. In
this case this structure was chosen in order to be professional and reach the audience of
politicians as well as other people government affiliated.

Works Cited

The Walk Free Foundation. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Feb. 2015. http://www.globalslaveryindex.org/

Human Trafficking. [Electronic Resource] : Monitoring And Evaluation Of International

Projects Are Limited, But Experts Suggest Improvements : Report To Congressional
Requesters [e-book]. [Washington, D.C.] : U.S. Govt. Accountability Office, [2007].; 2007.
Available from: UCF Libraries Catalog, Ipswich, MA. Accessed February 18, 2015.
Devitt, A., Bawarshi, A., & Reiff, M. (2003). Materiality and Genre in the Study of Discourse
Communities. College English, 65(5), 541-558. Retrieved February 1, 2015.

https://www.freetheslaves.net/