The Axiological Question
Using Fulkerson’s framwork:
Expressive writing is good when it reveals and represents the author’s authentic voice. This voice includes thoughts, feelings, unique language, beliefs, values, experiences etc. Both Donald Murray and (according to some) Peter Elbow are expressivists.
Formal writing is good when it is accurate. It is correct structurally and grammatically. Five-paragraph essays with perfect introductions, thesis statements, topic sentences, body paragraphs, and conclusions are considered “good writing” when read from a formalist’s perspective (so long as they are free of syntactic, spelling and all other errors).
Mimetic writing is good when the writer’s thought process is revealed through careful consideration and analysis of facts.
Rhetorical writing is good when “writers shape their discourse to the demands of a particular audience.”
The Process Question
The expressive writing process is very “processy,” recursive and supports the notion that a written work is never complete. Formal writers follow a more liner process, with concern for producing “correct” writing. The memetic writing process involves the gathering of facts, research, critical and analytical thought. Rhetorical writers identify an audience, which is kept in mind throughout the process.
The Pedagogical Question
I now think that, according to Fulkerson’s theory, one teaches writing effectively by first identifying the theories and philosophies one wishes to implement in a course, and then remaining consistent in the way such theories are actualized and explained in terms of expectations a teacher has of his/her students. For example, if an assignment simply asks a student to write expressively, an instructor must not hold that student accountable for not having written memetically, rhetorically or formally.
