Generative stylistics: writing instruction as the presentation and application of usable criteria for decisions about language use¶

Theory · All theories
Evidence · 1 claim (1 for) · 1 study (1 theoretical), q1 · 0 of 1 report an effect size · 1 claim rests on one study

Description¶

The paper names and advocates 'generative stylistics', an approach to writing instruction built on the view that style is 'the manifetation and result of the choices nade by-the speaker/writer'. It holds that writing instruction should present and apply usable, conscious standards for producing, arranging, and rearranging texts, so that students learn to make appropriate decisions about language use with respect to a given context and intended audience, rather than relying on intuition or chance.

Design Implications¶

Context¶

Requirements¶

• Research must first define how forms and patterns of language affect readers and how readers respond to elements of varying relevance, so that a fixed set of standards can be established.

Constraints¶

• The paper states that mainstream American linguistics and composition theory do not offer workable criteria for making decisions, and cannot yet be used to establish a comprehensive generative stylistics.

Target Learners¶

• higher education students in college writing courses

Target Learning Objectives¶

• making appropriate decisions about language use in producing and arranging written discourse

Claims¶

• Teaching style can be reclaimed as an effective tool for socially responsible rhetorical communication [+W]

Related Theories¶

• Rubin's socio-stylistics of writing: style as both a function of individual identity and the social matrix

Examples¶

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Key Sources¶

• de Beaugrande, Robert. (1977). Writing as a Decision Process. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED159704