GAMPs Guide

Genre

Refers to the kind of writing with rules and expectations associated with it, such as emails, news articles, lab reports, text messages, academic essays, obituaries, and novels.

Organization

Involves the order of ideas in writing, including patterns like chronological, spatial, sequential, process, order of importance, classification, problem-solution, cause-effect, compare-contrast, advantages-disadvantages, and topical patterns.

Audience

Refers to the intended readers or specific people the author wants to influence with the writing, categorized into a general audience, a general academic or professional audience, and a specialized academic or professional audience.

Prior Knowledge

Involves using an appropriate level of detail for the target audience's prior knowledge and needs, including providing sufficient context, appropriate specificity of language, evidence, depth of ideas, and introducing unfamiliar information.

Formality

Involves adjusting the formality of writing for the target audience by removing or including informal words, using specific word choice, and maintaining a formal tone.

Ethos

Focuses on appearing trustworthy and knowledgeable on the topic, addressing opposition, avoiding factual errors, and proofreading for correctness and clarity.

Logos

Involves presenting information clearly, organizing ideas logically, making connections between ideas, and providing credible evidence appropriate for the audience.

Pathos

Involves appealing to the target audience's values, beliefs, self-esteem, fears, concerns, and emotions to enhance the impact of the writing.

Media

Refers to the method used to deliver information to the audience, including textual, visual, audio, spoken, face-to-face, print, digital, or a combination of media.

Purpose

Refers to what the author wants to achieve with the writing, whether to persuade or inform the audience, and includes connecting all information to the purpose and narrowing the focus appropriately.