Generic Patterns in Application Letters: the Context of Pakistan

Abstract

An increasing number of researchers rely on genre to analyse academic and professional communication and to see how members of a discourse community use language. Since Swales’ (1990) seminal genre analysis of research article introductions, many researchers have carried out genre analysis of various types of professional and academic documents including job application letters. Subscribing to the view that genre is dynamic and socially constructed (Berkenkotter and Huckin, 1995), the present study explores if genre conventions in job letters written in Pakistan have undergone any change since Bhatia’s (1989) genre analysis of job letters in South Asian context. It was found that the job applicants no longer use the self-degradation moves as noted by Bhatia (1989). However, they still resort to glorifying the employer as a move and use old-fashioned courtly expressions to appeal to the sentiments of compassion of the employer. Although making good use of the typical formulaic expressions of the genre, most of the candidates fail to use language creatively and elaborately to present themselves as individuals with unique abilities and achievements.