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Jasmine Jackson
Professor Kneese
Writing 2
June 9, 2016
Genre Conventions
We read newspaper for news with our morning coffee in the morning. We update our
status on social media to let our friends how we are doing. We also write academic essays for a
grade in school. All of these examples are types of literary genres. Its also pretty clear that
poems differ from business letters. They are all forms of writing, but they are different in terms
of the audience, the purpose and the context in which they are consumed. For example, the goal
of academic essays tends to be persuasion, but information in instructional manuals are not
usually up for debate. What distinguishes a newspaper article from a Facebook status update are
the conventions of the genre. Conventions of writing are the standards set in specific genres of
writing, and includes structure, audience, context, purpose and style. While its important to
know that blog posts and prose novels are different genres, there are similarities within the
genres. They both serve the purpose of providing entertainment for consumers and both also are
consumed in a context of leisure.
Love is an intense feeling of deep affection, and many artists opt to express their love
through various mediums like poems, song, fiction, movies, etc.. Stories of love may have a
happy ending or perhaps not so happy endings. On one hand song lyrics tend to be catchy,
simplified stories and span from 3 to 5 minutes on average. On the other hand, a novel telling a
love story develops a plot over several hundred pages. There are many difference between lyrics
and novels. Lyrics are usually heard, while novel are typically read. The context in which you

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experience the genre also vary. In addition, the structure and styles also differ since each medium
serves a different purpose.
Song lyrics and novels tend to have very different structures. Lyrics start with an intro,
continue with a verse, a chorus, perhaps another verse, the chorus is repeated, then the bridge,
and the outro. Although all songs do not follow this structure, they contain at least a verse and a
chorus. The intro is an important element of the song, because it is the first lines lyrically that the
listeners hear, and it usually hooks the listener and encourages them to continue listening. Novels
are longer works that can span from fifty to hundreds of pages in length containing a beginning,
a middle, and an end. Alternately, the beginning is where we meet the characters, the setting is
described, and the main conflict is introduced. This is where the characters developed and where
the plot progresses up to the climax. And the ending is where the story comes to a close and
where the conflict is resolved. If the ending is good, the reader will usually have something to
take away from the story. In addition, prose novels are generally divided into chapters. The
chapters can serve as a pacing device. As a reader, youll probably wait until you finish a chapter
before you put the book down to do another task. Some chapters introduce a new location, skip a
period of time, or switch the point of view in between characters.
The verse and the chorus are key components of a song. The verse is either descriptive or
narrative, and tells the story. It can be compared to the poetic stanza, and can have a rhythmic
pattern. Common rhyme schemes are AABB and ABAB patterns. For example, In J.Coles
Power Trip, I'm in your city and I'm wonderin' if you're home now, Went and found a man but
I'm hopin' you alone now, Can't help but feelin', like I dropped the ball clich, I used to pop up
on you at the mall each day, he uses an AABB rhyme scheme. The chorus is usually repetitive
and contains the main idea. The song title is often found in the chorus as well. And chances are if

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you get a song stuck in your head, it will probably be the chorus. The purpose of the chorus is to
keep you listening. A unique feature of songs are the adlibs. They can be in the verse or the
chorus. They are used to add emphasis to certain words or phrases, a sense of intensified
emotion, or a layer of repetition.
A difference between song lyrics and novel is the context in which they are consumed.
Lyrics are typically heard and novels are typically read. Even though novels can be listened to,
its less common. Song lyrics can be background noise while someone does another task such as
driving or doing homework. Whereas novels demand the attention of the reader. It is really hard
to multitask when you are trying to read something for comprehension, visualization, or even
reading like a writer. Furthermore, readers tend to enjoy books in a library, bookstore, coffee
shop, outside on the grass or anywhere isolated, and relatively quiet with minimal distractions. A
reader will likely be sedentary, but a song lyric listener will be doing an activity such as running,
dancing, or other exercises.
Song lyrics are constructed for the multitasker. Typically, song lyrics are simple and lack
the complexity that some novels contain. While song lyrics can contain a story, the artists usually
get to the point. Whereas novelist relay on character development to keep the reader engaged.
Novel can contain back stories and flash backs so that readers can understand moments that
belong to the present in the novel. To keep readers engaged lyrics are repeated. And key words
are emphasized for meaning by the artist. The lyrics also do not contain a whole lot of imagery,
like novels. Again lyrics get to the point with descriptions. Novel can contain paragraphs worth
of description to describe a new character or a new location. These descriptions can uses literary
devices such as metaphors, similes, personification, hyperboles, etc.. For example, in J.coles
Power trip, Okay back when I was sleepin at my mamas crib, Even back then when I was up

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there in Mohammed crib. A novel would likely describe the house in detail from the color, to
the location of his room in the house. It may also describe what his room looked like. Details like
whether he slept on a king size bed or a twin sized mattress would also be included. There could
also be information of the city, and the neighborhood. For the multitasker all of that information
isnt necessary, lyrics get to the point by giving the important details relevant to the themes and
messages of the song.
Figurative language is used very differently in novels and song lyrics. Similes and
metaphors can be visible throughout lyrics, but a novel will be more strategic where figurative
language is placed. In a novel, similes can be used to describe a location, describe characters, or
symbolism to set the tone for a circumstance. Idioms, clichs, synecdoche may be present in the
dialogue in a novel as well as the verses of songs.
There are many different literary genres, with their own set of conventions. Each serves a
different purpose, audience, and context. Lyrics and prose fiction novels differ in terms of
structure, length, and organization. The context, the way in which people engage with these
genres also differ. However, the genres serve a similar purpose: entertain. They use similar
conventions such as figurative language as well.

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Works Cited
""Power Trip" Lyrics." J. COLE LYRICS. N.p., n.d. Web. 09 June 2016.