Genre conventions are recurring patterns that help readers recognise a kind of text. A mystery may create uncertainty through restricted information; a report may use an executive summary and numbered headings. “Generic” here relates to genre, rather than meaning vague or ordinary.
Genre conventions and narrative conventions
Genre conventions concern expectations associated with a text type. Narrative conventions concern how stories are told, including characterisation, conflict and point of view. They overlap: a detective story uses narrative techniques within the expectations of a mystery genre.
Examples across genres
Mysteries often organise information around clues and delayed explanations. Gothic fiction may use unsettling settings and uncertainty. A scientific report usually distinguishes methods, results and interpretation. These are tendencies, not rules that every text must follow.
How conventions guide a reader
Recognisable patterns help an audience anticipate what matters. A writer can meet those expectations, vary them or deliberately disrupt them. Explain both the convention and the particular choice made by the text rather than assuming a genre label proves its meaning.
How to analyse a genre convention
Identify a pattern, point to evidence and explain its relationship to the wider text. For example, restricted access to information may keep a reader close to a detective’s uncertainty. Consider whether a later revelation changes how an earlier scene should be read.
Avoid confusing subject with genre
A story about a crime is not automatically structured as a mystery, and a frightening scene does not make an entire novel Gothic. Support your classification with recurring features and acknowledge mixed genres where appropriate.
Related study guides
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