"The text focuses on the process of genre analysis, using the selected approaches discussed. The book provides examples and analyses of genres in an effort to support, illustrate, and extend any abstract concepts that have been introduced. More important, it gives students the theoretical tools to conduct their own primary research into genres. In that sense, the methodology is expansive rather than reductive. Presumably, two students could conduct an analysis of the same genre using different approaches and come up with divergent interpretations. In all cases, for an interpretation to be valid: (1) the analysis must be systematically applied, and (2) the analysis must be supported with concrete examples from the text (i.e., film, television episode, newspaper). It must be emphasized, however, that depending on the specific area of study, one approach may be more useful than another." (Preface, page xiii)