With regret: The genre of teachers' public resignation letters

In recent years, in blogs and online news sites, a novel genre has emerged. Understanding this genre-the public teacher resignation letter-is the primary investigation explored here. Through examination of 22 viral public resignation letters, and utilizing Genre Theory and moves analysis, research questions included: (1) What are the common features of this genre, as demonstrated in the teacher-writers' moves and submoves? (2) When describing the state of education today, what particular sub-moves do teacher-writers utilize, and to what ends? Findings indicate remarkable similarity between the moves teacher-writers make in their letters, including, for example, building expertise and ethos, explaining the state of education today, and identifying abandonment. Authors also made use of sub-moves like metaphors, emotional appeals, and language of defiance and resistance. Our analysis reveals (1) how the teachers are writing and what work their letters do, (2) what they're writing about and what this reveals about current neoliberal policies, and (3) where we see implications of their writing for various audiences.