Composition: History & Theory: 1950 - 1959
Purpose-Based Approaches to Teaching Writing
Description
Robert J. Connors in “The Rise and Fall of the Modes of Discourse” (1981) points to McCrimmon’s Writing With A Purpose as putting the nail in the coffin for the modes of discourse as far as their influence on teaching strategy. There was, instead, an emphasis on purpose. The rise of purpose-based approaches to writing and heuristics made the classification of discourse less important than the “why” and “how” of student writing. Connors implies that those instructors using mode-driven textbooks after this time (into the present day) are, more or less, out of touch educators who may be looking for a quick way to focus on product and efficiency in teaching.
Date of Upload
3/14/09