Aims and Modes

Effective communication relies on understanding the relationship between the audience, the message, and the communicator. Writing that is focused on the writer is mostly expressive, writing centered on the message is informative or analytical, and writing focused on the audience is generally persuasive.

In this course, we will study the aims and modes (or purposes and patterns) of writing.

The Aim or Purpose

Characteristics of Expressive Writing (Paper 1)

 Characteristics of Literary Writing (Paper 1)

Characteristics of Referential/ Informative/Expository Writing (Papers 2 and 3)

Characteristics of Persuasive/Argument Writing (Papers 3 and 4)

Characteristics of a Analysis (Paper 4 and 5)

Patterns, Methods of Organization, or Modes

Check out this overview of the methods of developing or organizing an essay.

Description - Attempting to make the reader understand how some physical reality or concept is structured (seeing, feeling, hearing, tasting, smelling).

Narration of Process - Explaining how to complete a process. This mode of writing is common in how-to papers and manuals.

Comparison/Contrast - Analyzing the similarities and differences. 

Cause and Effect - the relationship between events or things, where one is the result of the other or others.

Classification - Organizing the details of the writing into general categories. For example, high school students often informally join cliques: jocks, nerds, druggies, and wannabes.

Narration of Events- Showing how events are related in time. The narrative arc of a story is shaped by the beginning, middle, and end of a story.

Evaluation/Analysis - Making a judgment about the subject being evaluated.

Definition - Writing that seeks to define an abstract concept.