“Ways of Knowing, Doing, and Writing in the Disciplines”- for 10/30
The problem in the writing refers to being able to “bridge the gap between writing in and writing outside of the disciplines, the knowing that and the knowing how” (Carter, 387). He is trying to respond to the different types of writing and how they help in any area of study and in life in general.
Carter gives other’s perspectives of the concept of genre. “Social action, ways of doing and writing by which individual linguistic acts on the microlevel constitute social formations on the macrolevel. Second, they establish the concept of genre set as a collection of related genres. Third, they use the genre set to indicate the role that related genres play in constituting complex social formations” (Carter, 392). “A typified response to a recurrent rhetorical situation directs our attention to certain patterns in the social action of language, patterns of recurring situations and of similar responses to those situations” (Carter, 392). As well as multiple other ideas. Each person’s concept is slightly different in how they perceive what a genre really is.
A metagenre is broken down into four categories. The first is responses to academic situations that call for problem solving. This category focuses on the process of problem solving. The second is responses to academic situations that call for empirical inquiry. This category focuses on “answering questions by drawing conclusions from systematic investigation based on empirical data” (Carter, 396). The third is responses to academic situations that call for research from sources. This category focuses on what kind of research is being done as well as the goal of that research being conducted. The fourth is responses to academic situations that call for performance. This category focuses on the primacy of an object as proof of learning causing success and then doing the performance of the learning.
Metadisciplines are sets of genres and social formation. Carter highlights the metagenres and broaden what their definition originally was. According to Carter, the metadisciplines work along side the metagenres and work within them.
