QRGs: The Genre

Quick reference guides are easy-to-use tools that allow the reader to gather a large amount of information on a particular topic. The quick reference guide is a unique genre of writing with its own conventions and purpose.



Calsidyrose "Compass Study" 8/21/2010 via Flickr CC BY 2.0

1. What do the conventions of this genre - the Quick Reference Guide - seem to be?
Quick reference guides are intended to be easy to read, while still providing a broad range of information. To do this effectively, they divide the information into subheadings that describe various components of the topic. The subheadings are often in the form of questions that a reader might ask. The heading itself serves as an overall explanation of the topic to be covered. The text is informative, and intends to represent all sides of the topic or debate. Quick reference guides often include relevant hyperlinks and images, just like blogs.

2. How are those conventions defined by the author’s formatting and design choices?
The authors tend to make the divisions between subtopics clear with spacing and large subheadings. The author will fill space along the margins with appropriate information to make the information more aesthetically pleasing.

3. What does the purpose of these QRGs seem to be?
Quick reference guides are meant to be quickly scanned for necessary information. They provide a broad base of information to cover everything that a reader might want to know about a topic. They do not focus too heavily on any specific event within the overall topic, but may suggest sources for additional reading. Like a compass, they can point you in the right direction for more detailed reading.

4. Who is the intended audience for these different QRGs? Are they all intended for similar audiences? Or different? How & why?
Quick reference guides cover a broad range of readers. They are written in a way that allows readers with no knowledge of the topic to comprehend the details. They can also provide supplemental details for knowledgeable readers, or answer a specific question the reader may have. Guides for more common topics, are likely to have fewer introductory details. Writers understand that someone who reads their quick reference guide has to have some interest in the topic, so they will cater to the audience based on the topic.

5. How do the QRGs use imagery or visuals? Why do you think they use them in this way?
Images are placed beneath subheadings that they address. Pull quotes are often used for emphasis. Charts are used to display relevant data. All of these visuals are used to display information in a more concise and appealing way.