I'm about to hand this out to my students. I made it up, so all mistakes are mine, but anything that sounds good is thanks to lots of books and blogs that I'm sure I've inadvertently stolen from! Please let me know if I've left anything out, included anything that doesn't fit, or in general put things in a confusing way.
Domains of Writing – Keep this in your binder!
Technical pieces focus on structure. The purpose is to follow a specific format. Any type of writing may also be technical; most technical writing is also expository.
Analytical writing is philosophical and is designed to explore a particular idea, providing information that supports and/or destabilizes it. The purpose is to encourage the reader to continue to think about the idea even after finishing the work.
Creative pieces also explore an idea, but focus on looking at it and describing it in a new way. The purpose is to entertain and enlighten the reader.
Expository documents try to explain a specific event or idea clearly and precisely. The purpose is to inform the reader.
Persuasive writing attempts to hoodwink or bludgeon the reader into agreeing with the writer’s point of view. In some cases, persuasive writing will appear to fit another domain. The purpose is to get the reader to agree.
ANY suggestions are welcome. I'm always a little nervous about doing stuff like this!
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The Green Knight and Plague Fears
3 hours ago
4 comments:
I guess my biggest concern is the separation of "creative" into its own category. Awesome expository writing should also meet the criteria described under "creative." I don't think these categories are as mutually exclusive as they sound here. Hope that helps.
I agree with Debra about creativity being a part of the other categories. I know what you're trying to say - that there is a type of writing that is not associated with scholarly essays - but at the same time, it would be nice if your students could be creative when they write.
Can something support and destabilize something at the same time?
Oh, stink, it ate it! GRRR!
Anyway - not at EXACTLY the same time, Chili, but in the same piece. Kind of like pilpul - I'm channeling Tevye, I think.
"You know, you are right."
(someone makes an opposing point)
"You know, you are right as well."
"Reb Tevye, they can't BOTH be right!"
...
"You are also right."
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