1. When I think of genre I think of books and movies. Both books and movies come in many genres, stretching from comedy, tragedy, romance, science fiction and many more. I understand the concept of genre's and that she uses them to help understand the discourse communities. But what is becoming confusing is whether she is giving genre's to the discourse communities themselves or the way they communicate. I don't see how giving the discourse communities themselves genres would help at all in the process of analyzing. On the other hand, I think it could be very tedious and confusing to give genres to the mechanisms of communication within the community. What kind of genres could even be established for forms of communications? Emails for example, are a form of communication but what genre do emails into, technology? If that's the case there is going to be overlapping of the genres. It's important to understand this process because like other authors have discussed, it can be very difficult to fully analyze a discourse community and uncover issues.
2. Devitt makes an interesting point when she begins discussing specialized communities creating writing for nonspecialized communities. I don't think many people, myself including make that connection. Do most people make that connection ever? If they did, or if they do realize it have people just accepted it? I don't think completely understand your tax forms from the IRS ever killed anyone. But wouldn't it be so much easier if the IRS created the forms in such a way that it would possible for average citizens to be able to fill them out? Why is it necessary to publish the forms in such a way that we, the people who are filling them out, need someone else to assist us in filling them out because they are so confusing. Maybe it's a minor issue but Devitt also mentions ballets. Ballots are fairly important items. Wouldn't you think it's important that average citizens should be able to easily maneuver filling out a ballet? Do the specialized communities realize that what they are creating is made for someone that doesn't have the level of expertise they do?
3. Devitt seems to be trying to explain genre's and their role in discourse communities. But she barely makes a straightforward connection of an example of a genre that helps elaborate what she's explaining. The one genre she mentions that I identified was a verdict. I don't really understand how a verdict is a genre when the only discourse community that it will ever apply to is the one in this example. How did Devitt decide that verdict was a genre? The examples that she used are great in elaborating her point but she doesn't make it very clear as to what that point is. Yes genre's but what about them.
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