Genre as a Set of Expectations · seed 1 · A4, ink-friendly. The answer key prints on its own page for grown-ups.

Reading with genre glasses on

English · Reading Comprehension · ages 17-18
Name ______________________   Date ____________

  1. A mystery holds back the culprit's name for three extra chapters before revealing it. Which move is the writer making?

    • Refusing to name any culprit
    • Delaying the promise to build tension
    • Meeting the promise at once by naming the culprit on the first page

  2. What is a genre from the reader's perspective?

    • The set of promises a reader brings to a text
    • A shelf label based on author name
    • The book's printing, binding and sale price

  3. The moment a story swerves from its promises is usually worth a slow reread.

    Circle one:   True   False

  4. You found a passage that refuses a genre convention. How do you show it well?

    • Name the convention, quote the passage, explain the effect
    • Retell the whole plot, then give the genre label at the end
    • List every genre the story might belong to, without quoting

  5. Two openings describe similar events, but one feels like horror and the other like romance. What tells them apart?

    • Font size and page layout
    • Comma count alone
    • Tone, word choice, and rhythm

  6. Reading a text in two genres at once can only confuse you.

    Circle one:   True   False

  7. An essay calls a story science fiction but gives no quotations, paraphrases or references to specific passages. Which addition would best support its genre claim?

    • More adjectives about the future, to make the science fiction label sound certain
    • Quoted evidence: the expectation and the lines that meet or break it
    • A longer title for the essay that names the genre in full

  8. A detective opening slowly turns into a love story. What is the sharpest reading?

    • The writer lost track of the plot, so the genre change is a mistake
    • It keeps some crime promises and trades others for romance
    • The story is only a love story, so the detective opening can be ignored
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Answer key

For grown-ups. Fold this page away before handing over the rest.

Reading with genre glasses on W1-mt_2OD97Y6LmG-s1

  1. Delaying the promise to build tension · The culprit is still named, so the promise is kept, but late. Holding it back builds tension, which makes it a delay.
  2. The set of promises a reader brings to a text · Genre is the starting guess about what kind of story this will be.
  3. True · The change in direction is usually where you find the story's meaning.
  4. Name the convention, quote the passage, explain the effect · To show the refusal fully, name the convention, quote the passage and explain the effect.
  5. Tone, word choice, and rhythm · Tone, word choice and rhythm each signal the promise. An uneasy tone, words of cold and dark, and clipped sentences point to horror; a warm tone, words of light and closeness, and easy sentences point to romance.
  6. False · Each lens reveals what the other misses, so using both helps you understand the text.
  7. Quoted evidence: the expectation and the lines that meet or break it · The essay needs textual support for its genre claim. Stating a genre expectation and quoting lines that meet or break it supplies that support.
  8. It keeps some crime promises and trades others for romance · Name which promises it keeps and which it trades away.
Worksheet · LightMySky