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In addition to purpose and audience, another important rhetorical concept is genre. The term genre refers to recurring types of writing identifiable by distinctive features of structure, style, document design, approach to subject matter, or other markers. Genres usually arise from recurring cultural occasions or rhetorical situations with their own recognizable patterns. Certain cultural contexts or situations might call a writer to, say, compose a syllabus, a tweet, a complaint letter, or a scholarly article (all examples of genres) or to purchase a birthday card or a bumper sticker (genres that let you convey a message without much effort of your own). Any given genre has prototypical members that exemplify the most common features of the genre as well as innovative members that push the limits of the genre, playing creatively with its features. Some genres, such as the APA research report, are governed by strictly prescribed rules (the Publication Manual of the APA) set forth by the discourse community. Other genres are more diffuse or open to a wide range of structures and style (popular magazine articles, blogs, the personal essay). Exhibit 3.1 shows some typical examples of genres.