Composition: History & Theory: 1865 - 1899
Bain, Alexander: English Composition and Rhetoric (1866)
Description
Scottish rhetorician Alexander Bain’s 1866 English Composition and Rhetoric foregrounded the modes of composition (Exposition, Description, Narration, Argument) as an organizational principle for the text. Though the modes had previously been mentioned in other texts, Bain was the first to conceptualize the modes for teaching. Bain’s modes met a need in the United States for teachable writing that emphasized correctness and the ability to follow directions.
Author
Amanda Hayes
Date of Upload
4/19/11