This book offers an alternative view to current postmodern approaches to composition. It takes a critical realist stance to arrive at the "essence" of written communication with the aim of informing a practical application: a computerised writing tutor. Following Robert Franck's seminal work on modelling, a theoretical model of writing was first formulated, consisting of an architecture of functions which constitute the prerequisites for effective communication. Next, an applied model - a composing algorithm with an input option - was developed, showing composing to be a systemic social...

This book offers an alternative view to current postmodern approaches to composition. It takes a critical realist stance to arrive at the "essence" of written communication with the aim of informing a practical application: a computerised writing tutor. Following Robert Franck's seminal work on modelling, a theoretical model of writing was first formulated, consisting of an architecture of functions which constitute the prerequisites for effective communication. Next, an applied model - a composing algorithm with an input option - was developed, showing composing to be a systemic social...