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An analysis of nineteenth‐century discourse classifications, together with the discourse “types” presented by classical pedagogy, helps to explain what was involved in the transformation of rhetoric into composition as it is taught in the American college curriculum. The difference between rhetoric and composition is in essence the difference between social action and academic artifact; this difference is analogous to the difference between rhetorical genre and compositional mode. Although formalism dominates pedagogy and classroom practice invites formalist reduction of social knowledge, genre theory invites us to look to the rhetorical situation the student is actually in and the rhetorical situations we want students to learn how to handle.

Social scientists have shown a healthy research interest in writing in their fields, but little of this research interest has carried over into pedagogy. This article argues that since writing functions to disseminate knowledge in all fields, it ought to be part of instruction in all disciplines. The article sets out four approaches to incorporating writing in social education fields and describes specific writing activities in each of the approaches.