Abstract
This paper explores an effort to improve information literacy within an undergraduate political science course by teaching students about the related concepts of genre and rhetorical context (purpose, audience, and context), how to look for the subtle cues that indicate genre, and how to identify the genre and rhetorical context of the things they read and use as sources in their own work. Assessment data is used to explore the impact of this type of pedagogical intervention. We argue that the ability to notice, identify, and interpret the genre of various texts is an important component of information literacy, which contributes to the development of civic skills.
