Out of the Woods: Emerging Traditions in the Teaching of Writing

Twenty-five years ago, writing instruction was characterized by an approach that focused on linguistic and rhetorical form. Since then, we have gone into the woods in search of new approaches, focusing in turn on the writer and the writer's processes, on academic content, and on the reader's expectations. In our search for a new approach, we have come up against some thorny issues, five of which are described in detail: the topics for writing,...