72 LEARNING TO WRITE, READING TO LEARN LANGUAGE AND SOCIAL POWER 3

knowedge end uftiTmatey helo you in choasing our career Fnally As a place where yau leam o
the forthcoming Joint Construction phase, with students making suggestions
based on their discussions in small groups and the teacber guiding them to scalise and deveico m a e and rierdy amosphere
organise their ideas.
Now they are working on thei: irst and second arguments. The text the
Aig O.K Now, er's ty and get these into an order so we can organise how teacher scribes on the board is in quotes below. Her guiding role involves taking
mary paragraphs or how meny new idees we are going to introduce. Can the spoken suggestions of the students and reworking them as necessary into
someone sort of hetp me work that out?
appropriate written expression. This kind of interaction gives all shudents the
OK Who can see the main thing that keeps coming- the whole way through?
experience of writing collaboratively with an expert before writing on their own
Lise? and makes learning to write much more like learning to taik than in alternative
L Leam about e wide range of subjects
traditional and progressive pedagogy encounters. Decades of working with
Teecher higL This seeris to be one of the mo5t important things, doesn 1 it7 So we can
teachers has convinced us that success ful Jont Construction is the most powerful
say a 7 nex ton Where else does t corme up
again ? classroom practice currently available as far as leaming written genres is
Put that wth the 1[pointing at the notes
concemed
ighi So we can put 7 against that - h a t could all be part of the s a m e -
peragraph. then, coudn 7 t ? Somewhere else - the same sorf of thing where we
eacher Fight So Firsty. ou leem atouta wide rsnge od subjects br axampe. maths
an ink i together? Can you finod any otherlinks? Filppa?
science, aormputers socral studies. spelling, art crat rseding. enguege.
Fikope Use your educaton to get a good jot
ibrary. sripure, lesming a new angusge - eaanga new iarnguege
Teache Righi Now, wouid that be a new idea? Or is t the same, do you think ? l all
toows on: eveyhing leads to help you to tho nert thing bul you 've gol to and Tancher O.K Keep going. a t eise -7 Yes. S i
Siro We leen aboul other ihings- peODe 3 CUstures sand rsigrors
orpanise t so youve got one comploto Remember that glue tyng to get that -
her Right. We ve got here Firsty. rou iean s0out s mce rsngs of subyects Meybe
caragraph to stio together? We want to have i complete paragraph and hen
another complete paragraph. Do you think that one would wot as e follow-up ? we Cen put añer subyects um. 7 subyscs. cuRrss ard pecoie-couid
Dut ihot in there? So we could put that in. o Frsty. you lean adout a wde
Aner you ve pot your knowiedge and you'vo applied al these skils, whel ere you
range of subjecis, cuiures and peooie. For exampe nd ihen w* coud go on
ong lo be sbe to do there?
o our for axample. So thet gets soms of Ihe other ings in. Fimppa
Suppon pour lamily
Filippa We iso lean abou sport
p p o r Pour laniy by what7
acne Yns Wel, [W poat soon in there because o o t a s n 7 mentioned 7 put An
ihere, sport OK. o we can pu t im ihere Anything eise i h e 7 Um, e
Tha[ woukI be hst
jOO. SO tiat woukd really be another pamgraph, woulan TH7
sport and heaih. OK What aiss hare e gol up there on Ihe doard mih 1?
Lalking about that Yes, Linh ?
paregrap, logotier, 3o onco me ve done al these ihengs wat Navs w* ganed?
GOd Ke4: On low o behove and how fo ive
Um Lsan aboul o wde rango of sutyects and good 1de8s on hon to behsie Y8s Students Knowleige leacher sonies, some cicren md atong)
um, te oly thing s. though, wial's gono o happen o his paragraph? fs gong aacher OK 9a um, uiimate)y. ths aows us o acheve a grmaier undersiending o the
worid and incraase or knowiecoe. OK Se exiparagrapn iar's have a look
tobe alsotam'y- S6 ong huge
Who can
uge so mayie we0 can simas1 iave sub-perapraphs of he same hny n* skart7 Lock ai ihe nnber 3 ow whaf3
oN O0d arquTe
Lim San? Um un Rana
suck say al t u aducatian and namuny Biatparagraph, these 8re
KADIAr uRls bron 1 fiey 7 gening hendt oaming hou behsit h p n y Aana
ruas they c o u i pl torm one paragraph, coultn 7 they 7 So ne pk poo eSS Aurngna. No, sacanly »a rsaly reed to ink thast a iltie ba wih the i r
Daragrapn o what coukd wo say Siciy. ty achevn s , what d wa just
Teach arnd Thia t w i g
By thas p t the tcacher and claas have Degotuicd a Thcsik stage for theu
Cxosiuo, wuch prevew rEaBO fo gong to school
Steta
Silder3
art a mwiy
S e s y a e awevr a kowmiga i wi han pul al vhuas who
74 LEARNING TO WRITE. READING TO LEARN
attend the schoo, in e pooion faome studonts roading along] O.K. So can you d yos-
reed hat lor me, Nicole Nlcole EAL Everyne
Teacher Good And whet ano7 Can we dovolop that e tde ba moro 7 is thors oryhing
here thal ou can add to that rom the board7 Daad? Teact
Daad
And you can support your tamily or yoursetf irom your job makes A- o r ?
Toacher Right Um, so this wil enable the individual to then suppon themsevos or their
ganaral
fnison)tamilies Teacre Evayoro Tt sprcÁe Angrt Taras.
You noticed here I've usad te word indindual rather han say mysel. 1 could
say mysel # Iwes wriing ä tor mysef, but consldering l'm not, I'm writing for
This shift reflects the absence of any shared linguisticaliy iníormed cocuee
eveyone. her's why fm using the word indhvidual you were wnling i, Hyou
about grammar, an issue we wili address more fuly in Chaprer S. takng tis
were i n g lo comvince your Budienca, yoU cOuld take wo ways. Hyou used he
episode as a point of departure.
ward indhviduel Rmeans everyone ihat ever goes to school which is a stonger
statement can Ke jst your own stalement referming to - you So. you have
hink about that when oure wrling, hink about who 's raading 1 and which is 2.5.3 Writing outcomes
going to make the stronger statenment Words fike that will either make it
The final version of the text jointly construced in this lesco is preeaed beio,
soonger ad make more, make the piece of wrting mare powerful whichis and provides another model of the genre for tbe class a ddition 1o e 25-30
wnet yow wented io do, isn1i? YoU wat lo make he resder realy beleve what
expositions writen at the end of tbe irst cycle, the ezpositioa jointly constTcei
oure saying Sa sometimes ou have to dhoose your words: i's not aways a
in that cycle, and the modei used in the Deconstruction sage the.
good e e D We Fom yar own personal hing. Me, me, me ar, or we or us or
a Sometimes you might make it broader and make i the whole, ali chidren
n general, af scroos in general So thar's something you have to think about 2.16] Exposition (Year 6)
when youre writng es we
stongy befeve cnidren s a d g n ssco ne zloeg rasors sacatons e
Tae interactions we are looking at here make explicit reference to knowledge can uts your sre parens can wo and hey a o t ere o o 7 t a s a * i s au a r a
about geare. which bas been introduced in the previous cycle. The genre is sctoot You can ieam acos a nide enge d s u a s i c h w g e a a rendos anoT
exposition and its stages are refered to more and less technically (as intro- krowedgesnd tnatey hep unaocsig araer Frely, ta s pae t e r u
ucioe or Tbesis, and as Arguments, explanation or reasons). In addition, as the socaise and deveicpna amand herdy sspe
tar by the eacber above indicetes, there is discussion of
ni specific word
chous in relatios to the purpose of the genre. In particular, the teacher is dis-
Frso you leam abour 3 c e ange d s e s a r s r e a e For eanoe a nas
serce comores soca s t e s speing
cssing the choice of frst or third person in relation to speciñc or generic
an cat raacing engage kray. s n
ea
scpure eang a rew enguage ans y o e s e e s So a e y , t s aos s
Teference, but without using any terms from either traditional or functional gram- achieve 3 greater understandg of the n o t and incease a s coepe
Secanay, a t acheing s w e g e t nd e n give a re nidas o end s s e
Towards tre end of this TLC, in discussion with the teacher, an ESL teacher 3 berer chance puse *
wbo was observing the lesson does
om
career or j r e s p e This » eade te nds
explicitly refer to this issue using the temm suppon nemseves ar ner anies
thid perso. but this is
subsequently followed up non-technically with the class Finay at scho peope isam oo teneve, socaise c e r chiren sraa a
by their teacber ouher, pey. ave tn een u te resporse have ner on sesscipine coey a scno u s
and torm rendships anch hey may ksao fo
ES y icharge trom yro indrioua's, rom our to 'eir. hepe ve amncad you t a chicren snaud aed s s e eesrs
Ther own s e
spine. and irom rendshps we make' to menoned a d epeiy evey i n t i t a i a e e
hey make ? worseri qprnvdso
Becsse wers n a 3aking aood ora person; we re
king about a lot of peopie.
Ercesent God gut
Becsuse, p rere in o s hrst two peragraphs, remember we taked &00ul
And there wil soon be another 25-30 models produced at the end of cycle
Here's one of them, considering the civic issue of whether to build n
two
a
ereraly, we dant tes ecos i beina you o
o the Dird
curseves So when we got down amphitheature in a park just dowa the road from the school
peragraph we started tuking about indiiduas n
rsfering to us,
sEyrg yu ard we ard tey. so me had io go back to
generaly speaking instes
 LANGUAGE AND SOCIAL POWER 77
76 LEARNING TO WRITE, READING TO LEARN
we have done
from expressing themselves in meaningful ways." In this chapter
[2.17] Expositlon (Year 6) forms of language
what we can to allay these fears by showing that all
on modelling and repetition;
Expostion for Should an amphitheatre be buil in Wiey Park? [Flppa development, whether spoken or written, depend
mean we cannot adapt what we
I strongty believe that the amphitheetre in Wiey Park should be buit for these following this is how we learm language. But this does not
once we have taken control. By
reasons, such as: t etracts mdre people to the aree, shops end public ransport will eam a larger have leamed in ways that are meaningful to us
to a close, Texts [2.18] to [2.20] below show further
proft, people will become more interasted in Wiey perk. and lis suitable for al ages. way of drawing this chapter
taken from Jon Callow's work (Callow
My fist reason is thal ii wil bring more people to our area because there are not many man examples of students taking control,
6 at Dulwich Hill Public School
atactions in our community and ii can be something to ramember our bl-centenary by in years lo 1999, Ng et al. 1999) with a class of Year
Schools Program). The
come. (another school in our Metropolitan East Disadvantaged
to recurrinng
Anoter point to menton is shops will eam more money, for example, the new restaurant students' local swimming pool had recently been closed due
train line. The students
damage caused by its location next to goods
a
which will be buill wilh in the amphitheatre. And not to forget Pubic ransport which will cresle structural
Jon was working with launched a campaign
for a replacement pool, which
more money lor the govemment and will be more eesier for the disabled to travel by if they wish to
included a brochure distributed to local residents and letters to the mayor (2.20].
do so.
And last but not least it is not onty for the grown ups but ii is also suitable for children for
example, there will be entertainment such a5 concerts, plays and shows. In my opinion from a [2.18] Students' brochure
child's poit of viewI think it's going to be fun and N's about dime the counci did something ike
this.
hope i have convinced you that we should have a amphitheate at Wiley Park. Please helP kee
Marre krlle p ool open,
/AACLn
Later in the year that these texts emerged, Joan and Jim were unofficially jut help uy don afi ay
POC
banned from working with teachers in NSW schools during a state election
sOin c MONEY!!
campaign. The then Labor government was promoting a traditional "back to
basics' (including grammar) approach to literacy teaching, at the same time as its Pui ycur non t . "
On tonn
h:
Departnent of Education was releasing a Writing K-12 syllabus which was O
ond
a
scn d Thc n LOCAL
radically progressive in orientation (e.g. process writing, whole language, poetry aeflcr fo. E-OPEN
and narrative across the curriculum, grammar at point of need, if at all) - all this
ichelle
D08172s+ arrc ly:le poo trall, GOVERNMENT
'lund
at the same time as we were having considerable success with our genre-based
A
ORNSydndy
G E d e y
I9uiwch 1llP-S
SITS
post-progressive pedagogy in several schools. In response to this political gareth IAROUNDWHILE
HUNDREDS5
intervention, the class of Year 6 students we have just been considering, who Jim Name
20RN Snay Adur ess OF
was working with at Lakemba Public School, took it on thbemselves to protest by AGE KIDS MIGHT
Suburb
writing expositions to the Minister of Education on why genre writing was a hien
good thing (allowing for one anti-genre exposition, on the grounds that genre DOB 20/u/s Ch cqu 35 Q1o
WTting had been scheduled during that student's favourite part of the curricu-
3ORN Sydney
lum). They were very proud to controB a genre that mattered as far as public
issues affecting them were concerned." It made them feel grown-up and ready to One of their letters to Mayor Cotter is also shown below as [2.21].
make the move to secondary school.
Throughout our work many critics have raised concerns about genre teaching
locking students into writing constrained by models and thus preventing them
"One can Dever be sure about the impact letter writing
campaigns of this kind might bave; but as Significantly, to our kaowledge, these 'coacerms' have never been pressed beyond the scare-
part of this controversy LERN was able to lobby the Minister of Education to establish a joint mongering phase and backed up with research demonstrating the doomsday scenarios sup
LERN/NSW Department of Education project through wbich Mary Matken-Horarik
produced posedly inlicted on students by geare-based literacy programs; Reid 1987 and Freedman and
a
pioneering set of genre-based literacy materials (Macken-Horarik et al. 1989). Medway 1994a, b include sorme engaging reparte.
3 LEARNING TO WATE. READING TO LEARN
LANGUAGE AND SOCIAL POWER
2.19] Student form letter to Nayor Cotter
[2.22] Luka's letter to Mayor Cotter
Dulwich Hill Public School
Dulwich Hill Public School
ichede Vg.a Lvem 'ron Du'wich Lear Me Cothar
lious re d noduce muself, - am LuRa Mlarsi d i am
o m he Aquo ary d a avdant_iom Dutweh di Pbhe
hca, my tiass hae oaen d'scxrg ard ivesgo ne maer
. Ciosing 3sn ; a r n c e P , He ae very aues
e s s s vere ter cr cheae. 0 s ol chAren woutd
Se nnovad spaned
ke are demt
o m asons g you sheuld mae t
y , a e r a lcng or Summer, MarricRulic rovdu
aar ne C
Marcic lle Pol
nclamng
as e mos
ieocal Sumina Ps
a ohnMaroev,tle
Conduy cny Ë Shude Survayed n cu suruol tan
Mor2 aspi2 l d stun a: Jcud bi ame icea
hns
* * * y ancemes coren Parens can locoi Act
d 2
ao nces a
poci Js_accor n its
e S have a cal, Kn, and
realhy iace *
9
c
cas stes » eae msider
Yurs Sncerey.
TN.n d v Ca T a o
MCcd Von
L2aso wrote an
exposition [2.20] which he has recontextualised as a In response to the pool campaign the school's principal received complaints
Ioa protest enerappropriate to its mode of delivery (including school from local politücians about the inappropriateness of students involving
eerbead sabutaton, self-introduction,
subject, message, valediction, name and themselves in local afairs along these lines - complaints that were strongly
arej e expostion functions as subject and message in letter. From this rebuffed by the school. The students did not get their pool," but they did make
we car see bow
sudrats can adapt in
purposes, iDc~uding as many
geares meaningful ways to their own an impact. because their control of genre afforded them the opportunity to get
and
arguments as
necessary (four not three in this text) involved.
sdstiDg to the rde of rensmiss ion (e g business lerter, letter to
edinox, oditoral, political speech). essay, the
Council funding constraints meant that it was aot until nwo decades later that wotk wis
completed on the redevelopment of another pool site to help meet the needs of local residents.
 LANGUAGE AND SOCAL POWER 81
80 LEARNING TO WRITE, READING TO LEARN
2.6 Teaching AND learning teaching function, in a broader sense, that is a feature of the environment
as a whole (Halliday 2003: 238).
In the twelve months or so before (his book was drafted, Jim attended an
Traditional cducation emphasises, probably too strongly, the teaching disposi
international e-lcarning conference in Hong Kong and the annual meeting of
TESOL (Teachers of English to Speakers of other Languages) in Boston. In the tion; by the same token, constructivist education bas emphasised, certainly too
presentations he attended the vertb teach was never mentioned Teaching was strongly, the learming one. Genre-bascd literacy pedagogy was designed to get
taboo. Such was the dominance of progressive ideologies of learning, now gen- teachers off this pedagogy pendulum and develop strategies which botb teach and
erally re-presenting themsclves as social constructivist (as outlined in Chapter 1). learn.
that teaching had to be conceived as facilitating learning. The idea of an In addition, as Painter (e g 1996, 1999) bhas showa, we also sbare a disposition
teaching conference would be, apparently, unthinkable. Teachers had indeed to talk about language as we teach and lcam it. And we naturally take advantage
learmt to bite their tongues, at least when it came to talking about their work of the words language uses to talk about itself (e.g. word, coll, mean in the
We often wonder what parents would make of this, if thcy were fully aware of examples below).
what was going on. Parents like the mother below, advising her six-ycar-old
child on how to accept a birthday invitation by phone (from Painter 1986: 80) Painter 1990. S4 (Staphen 20)
(Stephen entera childcare cenue and oddresseso stoff member|
Child I donT AnOw what lo say Stophen e pot a paper
Mother Vel i s i you say hIs is Devia. and hen you say thal yru wil be abio to po to Corer On ler's have a lood. What's on Ihe paper? (opening tolded she) Do you tnow?
John's pery Stophen Um, that's words (pointing) nara words
(Chld dials the number and stats talking knto he disiing ton
No, wat for some one to pick up thor phone ond say Telio to yau. Painter 1996: 57 (Stophen 2.10)
Voice Helo (fingenng missing togglo on his raincoat)
Child s s Ded. Im gong to come lo Join s penty Stephen Ineed a coat a coal what's
-
Acaled?
(after child hangs up)
Mother here, good. Nexf ime, ater you ve said your name, give hema chance to speak Painter 1996: 59 (Stephen 3.7)
before you go on Motner You'ro noughty boys lo throw them up there
Stephon Hal did i, by occ/dent
Parents like the father and mother below helping their four-year-old son formu- Moher Woll, Hor's noughoy ihan
late an abstraction (from Painter 1999: 121): Stephen Not by occident that's not naughoy, thar's moan (pauso) yoU sey
sory
Father This car con1 go as last 85 our. Painter 1996: 59 (Stephen 3.10)
Child thought- I thought all cars could- alfl cors could go the same - all cars could go the (Stephen ogproaches mother holding upa complicated dupto sinacture)
same (p3use) 1ast- Stepnen Balance moars you hold t on your ingars and t doesn1 go on the oor
Mother The same speed.
Child Yes, same speed. Here are some further examples of language about language from Jim's
children when they were between four and six years of age:
Parents like those scaffolding the spoken recount texts reviewed above. How
would their children have leamed to
speak if everyone around them was busy meaningrording Youre trickingfoking
biting their tongues? The point here of course is that as Halliday and
Lemke have meaning/wording What does drown mean?
argued, we are all borm with a predisposition to both teach and wording I know what running comes trom
learm rn
wording/scrbing Thol says Daddy. that'3 my H (ooking at pavement)
(UJust as children are
predisposed to leaD, so parents, and 'others', are
scnibing/sounding Handbag has gor d'
predisposed to teach . Lemke (1984) has sbown that a theory of
must take account of the human
leaming
predisposition to teach a s well as of the
82 LEARNING TO WRITE, READING TO LEARN
sCribing/sounddng WPhoabe didn 1 have a stlent 'o, t woud be Aubby
sounding Not caro Daddy. (pl (pl lpl Ipl pero
As Halliday comments (for further details see Painter 1999, Chapter 5 The
construal of sermiosis as process':
The earliest linguistic terms an
English-speaking child learns to use are 3 Write it Right/the Right to
not terms like noun and verb, or even
word and sentence; in fact
not nouns at all
they are verbs, typically
afterwards tell... He also bas a clear
say and mean [1:9], and
they are
shorly Write
concept of naming.. at 20 months,
what that, and at 24 months, what's
that called?... By the time he is two
years old, the child has a considerable awareness of the nature and
functions of language. When be starts to talk, he is not
only using
language; he is also beginning to talk about it. He is constructing a folk
Iinguistics, in which (i) saying, and (1i) naming-meaning, denote different
aspects of the same symbolic act (Halliday 1977: 32-33). This chapter focuses on the genres that students are expected to read and write in the
Genre-based
secondary school, described In the Sydney School projec's second phase, the
de
literacy pedagogy takes advantage of the disposition to teach and BIUh project. Theknowledge realised in these genres is described in terms of three
iearn and the disposition to talk about
language while doing so by designing a broad semantic tropes: classifcation, cause-and-effect and evaluation. These semantc
mentoring role for teachers into the TLC and by providing relevant themes are exemptmed in a range of
standings about
under genres in science and
history. The ctucal
language to share with students drawing on functional
linguistic resource
for building uncommonsense knowledge ls then explored grammatical
theory. We will retum to the issue of why everyday pre-school ways of talking metaphor. The chapter concludes by presenüng the range of writen genres from
about language ere Dot enough in institutionalised
learning contexts in Chapter 5. perspectives of categories (typoiogy) and tendencies
(topology)
Having establushed the foundations of social literacy in infants and primary
school, we Dext turned our attention to secondary school
bad to focus our ateption on
writing. This meant we
embedding genre writing in subject areas and
carefully consider the nsture of disciplinary knowledge from a
linguistic per-
pective. Tbese tasks fell to the Write it Righ1 project, the next 3.1
actuD rEscarch.
of our phase Embedded literacy: the Write it Right project
Around the same time the Language and Social Power
project was taking otf im
Sydney, we began to explore tbe nature of literacy in specific subject domains.
Inspired by the by Halliday on scientific discourse (Halliday 2004), Jim
work
directed a project focusing on the language of physical geography and history,
working with Suzanne Eggins and Peter Wignell (Eggins et al. 1993, Martin et
al. 1988, Wignell et al. 1989, Wignell 1994). It also became clear from our work
Write it Righ/the Righi to Write was our preferred compromise as a dame for the secandary
sc hool wotkplace project, our nudding bodes, an enployers' group nd a govenment agency.
Ouid oot however accep! "the Right to Wnte' phrasing As eucators and lingusts, we were
uudersrandably just as uneasy abour the coanorations of Wnte t Right', but bound by the
fuoding it aruacted to eaabie tte research
"Ai cee Ecmbedded Literacy is a widely used tem for embedding literacy teaching in cumiculum
stage Jn's a tailee puTAL carrs, & 3y
yeary~ pruaptiug ue h tis ferzisted vwith tcusingly over ihe lcaruing. Another widely used tern with asimilar connotatioas 'integratng bteracy.
tLstutce bere.
1he geogruphy and history rescarch was funded by the AusTralian Resenrch Council
84 LEARNING TO WRITE, READING TO LEARN WRITE IT RIGHT/THE RIGHT TO WRITE 85

in disadvantaged schools that we needed to extend our work on genre to more standings that we leam school. We have to be careful here, since in multi-
effectively address writing across the curriculum in primary school and writing cultural societies, we cannot take one common experience of domestic and com-
in different subject areas in secondary school. In 1990 Sue Doran, then Executive munity life for granted. But keeping this caveat firmly in mind, it is generally the
Oficer of the Metropolitan East Disadvantaged Schools Program (DSP), secured case that the knowledge about sea creatures assumed in Text [2.5] depends more
funding from the Australian Education and Training Foundation (1990-1994) for on commonsense experience than the knowledge in Text [2.6], which has to be
a large-scale action research project accessed elsewhere:
focusing on the relation between secondary
school and workplace discourse (reviewed in Veel 2006). This work developed
through the early 1990s concentrating on three workplaces (science industry, (2.57 Every sea crealure soes my shark differently. The pengulns hink she is The brother. The

Rose et al. 1992; media, Iedema et al. 1994; and administration, Iedema 1995) great white shark shes a princess but in a cuddly sort of way. The crab next door Thinks shes

and on several subject areas (including English, Rothery 1994; geography, Smart But you haveni seen The cilly crabs next door! -

Humphrey 1996; history, Coffin 1996; mathematics, Veel 1999). We will have to
set aside the workplace research here; key references to this elision include (2.61 A shark is a type of species that fives in the sea. A shark is one af the largesl sea crealures.

Christie and Martin 1997, Martin and Veel 1998, Iedema 1997a, b, 2003, Rose There are 350 type of shark A shark is shaped like a torpedo. Sandpaper is like a shark body.
1997, 1998 and White 1997, 1998, 2000. Elastüc is in shark body inset of bones A shark can grow up to 8 meters.
In 1996 the neo-conservative Howard Government ended the federally funded
Disadvantaged Schools Program (two decades after its founding as part of Similarly, the knowledge about sequences of activity in Text [(2.3) would be
Whitlam's socialist education reforms). Although the NSW Department of relatively easy to share (a little work on Christian religious festivals in some
School Education (as it was known at the time) maintained a Disadvantaged culural contexts notwithstanding) compared with the school work needed to
Schools Centre at Erskineville for a number of years, it shifted its focus build up shared expertise for Text [2.7].
statewide, becoming known as the State Equity Centre. The innovative researob,
materials production and distribution practices initiated in the former Metro- [2.3]! went to my dads for 3 weeks an we went to ante Jhins house for crismuse. I got Leogo and
politan East DSP were scaled back. A consequence was that research reports on humoniC

mathematics and creative arts could not be completed, and that the extensive
materials prepared for teachers and students across subject areas could not be 2.7-The let pump sends the blood to the arteries and then to the head to the toes. The body
effectively in-serviced or distributed. Ongoing debates about literacy teaching caries oxygen that slowly gYves up while going through the body. Then the Blood goes back to the

and controversy over the teaching of grammar led to misgivings among some lungs to get more Oxygen -
politicians and NSW Education Department bureaucrats, witb the consequence
that the institutional impact of the Write it Right project on Australian secondary Critically, different genres (description, report, recount, explanation etc.) are
schools was severely diminished. The work has survived, however, in the col- tuned to different kinds of experience. And in secondary school this means that
lective memory and ongoing inventions of the educational linguists noted above each subject area will have its own relatively distinctive suite of
genres, as
and those inspired by them. For example, Lexis Education (http://www.lexised outined in the work by Coffin, Humphrey, Rothery and Veel mentioned above.
com) bas developed extensive language and literacy in-service programs draw- We will retum to this issue and its implications for
organising secondary school
ing beavily on and extending Write it Right research. It also underpins the curricula in §3.8 below. But before pursing this we have to establish the different
Reading to Learn methodology described in Chapter 4 below. kinds of meaning that all knowledge, whether commonsense or schooled, is
actually made of.

3.2 Genre and field

3.3
As we saw in Chapter 2, shared experience is a crucial dimension of
genre-based
Understanding things: classification and
pedagogy, since genres are always about something; if this knowledge is not
composition
shared it is very difficult for students to concentrate on the structure of the new
3.3.1 Learning to dlassify at home
language they are being scaffolded to learn. And as we noted there, this shared
knowledge may involve everyday domestic experience or specialised under As Halliday and Painter have shown, in their second year of life children are no
EARNNG TO WRTE READING TO LEARN
weTE T RHTITE PKAT TO VATE

img resticed to naring individuals aith what are essentially 'proper

but ae already teveioping the names 34 g 3
ablity to use words to refer to classes
of things
generalise azos3 pbenomenal instances with common nouns (Halliday
1993 2003. 334-5). And this means
woring out ho to classify things, a process Moe
described by Painter 1999 in some detail Here is an
example of Stephen's
parezs belping him sort out whales and fish in his third year of ife.

3.1) age 27
And classifications are onging'y atjusted, ofen erplcit reirnz
criteria. Of special nterest here is the tervention of
MTE ari
Sphen's toz ud a a f
year older brother Hai, wio complicates the process by rnging he periaies
Esa pase)
ub a
fst knowledge he has iearned at schooi mto tse disoussion
Fane Ye. ood boy. Ts a raie
Sn ogfs s wae, Ts-isa isn (3.5] age 3

A later, chey
ecver
a0m2s togemer.
year are continuing to explore the classification of Stephen
Mcer
Stephen Pacor?
32] age 3:8 Mcther N. Co
Stepren Dos rtan arira
Seress ezrining ananal gsaw puzze piecee) Mother Ystts.
Sepen Trere n t a tox; and there isnt s a plarypus an animar?
Mote Yes Stepren rs. rs juta dog.
And s a sea an anima Mother Yes, DA Cogs are aimas
MOher Tes (sheprerding Siephen to baroom). Stephen No, Tey arent
Segten Anciser erer Mother Wel, whars an animai hen?
You CO your lee while yau're thining (Painter 1996. 57) Stephen Um (7a) girates an anima.
Mother Oh, Isee, ou thirik arimais is oniy lor zoc
arima
WhEre appropriate, ciassification may focus on what members of classes are
Stephen en.
made of or their parts, ie. their Moher Dogs are anumals too, heyre tame animals. Ard cats, ca*s are arimas ico D
composition you knc

Ha (chippirg in) And pecple, we re arimaas.

z.21 age 2:7
Stephen Were not (Painter 1996: 63)

Moe n a you remermber what hat is? (= picture in beok)

Sepre M Stephen res ists the schooled knowedge in this exchange; and a year later be
laughs his mother off when she suggests that people are creature
Wre
Siepren taronA.
a roA, Aid hosee and whats d made of? (3.6] age 4:4
Staphen Cn (ase) srou.
botrer Yes, har s gi, rs rea ot ca. (Mother and Stephen are discussing whether whaies kil gecple)
Stepren Mede d ca Mother There may be ane kind of whate thet can, tul mc whales are nice
creature
Hater krd its cated Stephen They're not creatures Mum, trey're whaes
igie.
en

Siegren igo. (Painer 199%. 45) Mother Yes; creature is anything thars ailva.
Stephen A r e we creatures
 WRITE IT RIGHTITHE RIGHT TO RTE
S LEARNING TO WRITE, READiNG TO LEARN

types of discipline, giving the

eh.
The teacher's elaborations bere sub-classify wo
Mother
Stephen No, were nod (eughing) (Painter 1S66 55) Simple taronomy in Figure 3.1.
seit-iscpene
But in another year Stephen will be in school, coming to termms with the fact that
there are both commonsense and uncommonsese ways of classifying experi- discipine
ence, even if the school promotes its class ifications as true and pre-school
uies discpine
knowiedge as false the idea that some of the 'stars' we see in the sky with
(eg.
he naked eye are really planets and many of them are actually galaries). Figure 3.1: Subdassification of disciplie

aow establisbes
3.3.2 Cassication in school Tae difference here in school is that the classification process
which the teacher deines
abstractions concepts about noo-sensory experience
The work we see Stephen, his elder brother and parents doing in these examples thar means you go home cnd do par
for the ciass: Your self-iscipline
-

is related to the organising work we saw the teacher doing with her class in don 't need someone to say, Huy up: it's 4:30. it's
homework at nighi, cnd you
Chapter 2, as they sorted out the ideas for their exposition. One phase of that time to do your homework Tou can just go in do it yourse cnd iook afiear
aegotistion was resolved by distünguishing discipline that people enforce upon
The abstractions then enable the class to coasolidate infoemation in
yourself
you and seifdiscipine.
their final argunent

3.7] Buiding field for joint construction

Dscpin
Teacher

Grd k e s on r t Deeve The same kind of classification and sbstraction process sets up the abstraction
Fppe
be ntat-sa wide range of subjects in 3.81.
Teacher Rig Shee a t n e r ad Thal can
n ácpe
dpine s a a s a n k o t atar yursead cordyasa'sdi
an

[3.3] Classifying school subjects

nes Sa Ran e to sors a t Your sekdephe-rameers ya g
home e d y a r hanework t n i g h and y u a n t nsed samene t sy.

ot
h s
4:30 Is n e o doyauronewat. rou can psgon
rarselac koo s e r yauset A d i cs7 sso mean dsopie nar's cang
om e-pepe-byny he niss f e have s c d r s »ha do you

flag their
heve o? This abstaction plays a key role n modelling for the students bow to

arguments in their introduction witbout spelling them cut

Studers Oten
Teacrer And pou nne a n o sbw nen When yov lesve scrs and go ot ad

Stucers e A ue

somecn asaly tere ss- amasan Sometmestngni e gaor art

Ad it also enabies them e set up a topic sentence tor heir first aunent wich
her's oingu neper, meornes you jsi e ® goa_ soy w2 You both links back to their intraduction and is then speled out in heir argmTt

tey say SoMpa sesae d 7 a t ies tee An So sst msss re

DrC sats sapine Rgrt
90 LEARNING TO WRITE, READING TO LEARN
WRITEIT RIGHTITHE RIGHT TO WRITE 91

maths
readlng in Chapter 2). It begins by setting out the Classification
system, and then works
spelllng through the Description stage with a phase devoted to each major type of
writing
language conducting substance, and two sub-types.
Culture
rliglon
wide range of llbrary (3.9] Classifylng conductors
subjects
computing
arn
Classiflcolion The materlals used in alecuonlcs can bo divlded into three bosic
CTait Conductors
typos.
Woodwork
Science Insulators
Ocial studies
Somiconductors
Sport
health Oescriptlon
type 1 Conductor
Most of the conductors used in electronlcs are matals Ike copper, aluminium
Flgure 3.2: Generallsing a set of subjects and steel. Conductors are materials that obey Ohm's law and have
very tow
rasistance. They can therefore camy electric curanta from place to
From these examples we see the place
important ways in which students experience without dissipatng a lot of power. Ase result, motals are usehul as
continuity and discontinuity as they move from home to school. They are still connecting wires to cary slectical slgnals from place to plece. They help
classifying their world. But now the classitications are based on specialised cri- ensure hat most of he
signar's pawor reaches Its dasUnalon Instead of
teria, and often involve abstractions. And the taxonomies waming up the wires ln betweenl
they build are used not
just totalk about the ongoing experience of the child's type Insulstars
immediate sensory
environment but are used to develop various realms of Gloss, most polymers (plasues), nubber and wood are all
knowledge that are xemples of
specif+c to each discipline, and to the organise
where this writing
insulators. These are materials whlch wll refuse to
cary an electric cuTenL
knowledge is stored.
specialised They are useful for Jobs lke coning electric wires to prevent them from
*shorting together or giving you a shock Siik end coton are also
good
insulators
3.3.3 Classification in sience (when they're dryll) and some af the mains wiring In very old
houses once used them but by modem standards this was
-

pretty dangarous
Building up specialised classifications
of uncommonsense experience becomes Since you could gat a shock whon wet or a spark would sot them
sllght when
even more
important as students move into science and related
subjects in
dry!-
type 3
secondary school. We will consider an example from the general field of Semlconductors
All the
electricity here, beginning with a relatively accessible report (3.9] by Jim Lesurf transistors, dlodes, Integrated circuits, elc. used in modem electronics
for bis website 'The Scots Guide to are built using a range of semiconductors. The
basic proparty of a
Electronics', which he originally designed to semiconductor Is given away by its name - it 'conducts a litle bir. A
help sudents at St Andrews University learm some basic electronics. This is one
semiconductor will cary electric curent, but not easily
kind of material a secondary school student as as a nomal
might well uncover surfing on the conductor.
web. For many students it is the kind of
material they have to depend on to type Ja Some materials are intrinsic semlconductors. The somiconducing properties
supplement handouts distributed in class (wbich often provide just a
tbe glimpse of occur in these materials naturaly. However, most of he semiconducting
understandings involved) all the more so
if these students do not have ype3b materials used in eiectronics are extrinsic. This meema that len to themselves
access to a textbook have
or a strong preference for online over print materials hey are excellent insulators. These materials are tumed into semiconductors
even when they do (Jones 2007,
2008). by doping them with small amounts offoreign atoma
n terms of
genre, Text [3.9] is a report, as it makes generalisations about htp.lwww.standrews.ac
uk www_pa/Scos Gudeinfalcomp/conducticonduct.him
entiies. Specifically, it is a
classifying report, since its function is to classify
different substances hat conduct The uncommonsense criterion used to establish this classification is the ability of
which would focus on
elecuricity (as opposed to descriptive reports
just one phenomenon; e.g. the goannas and sharks reports substances to conduct electricity (higb, low or in between). Serniconductors are
further classified as intrinsic or extrinsic with respect to another criterion

hmp:/www.st-9Ddrews.ac.uk/-www_pa/Scots_Guide/intro/electron.htm
92 LEARNING TO WRITE, READING TO LEARN WRITE ITRIGHTITHE RIGHT TO WRITE 93

(whether they have been 'doped" or not to adjust their atomic structure). The And Text (3.12] similarly notes that there are rwo groups, but without
taxonomy constructed here is outlined in Figure 3.3. immediately specifying them by name; once again the third term in the system,
semiconductors, arises later in the text:
conductors
intrinsic (3.12] Classificatlon naming no types

semi-conductors
Classiflcalon An far as the abillty to cary electricity is concermed, we can place most
extrinsic substanc0s Into ane of wo groups.

insulators Oescrfpüonn
type The first grouD contains maternols with many electrono thet are Iroa to move
Figure 3.3: Cassification of conducting substances These materfals are called conductora because they madily cary or conduct
elactric cumrents. Conductors are mosly metals but also include graphite.
Outside of biology, diagrams of this kind are seldom used in secondary school to ype 2 he socond group aontatns matenals with very few oloctrons that are freo lo

represent classification systems. Students have to construe the system (i.e. learn move. Thase materfals are callad monconductora and are very poor

through language), by reading not viewing. Sometimes headings highlight the conductors of electricity. Nonconduxtors can be used to prevent charge from

system as in Text (3.9] above; sometimes key terms are highlighted (using bold, going where t is not wanted. Hence thoy are olso colfed Irsulatorn. Somo
comman insulators are glass, rubber, plasüc and air.
italics, underlining, colour or as 'clickable' links, explicitly flagged as such or
There are a fow materlas, such as gemanum and sillcon, caled
not, in web-based texts); sometimes there is an explicit Classification stage; ype
somiconductors. Their abilty to conduct alectrtcity la Intemediate between
sometimes there is a separate paragraph for each sub-typing phase, with or
conductors and Insulotors. Samlcanductora have played an important role In
without a topic sentence foregrounding the phase. Any one or combination of
modem alecaronics (Hetternan and Learmonth 1083: 212).
these highlighting strategies may be used - or none at all, in which case many

students may have trouble seeing that a classification process is underway at all.
However they are textured (i.e. woven into text), specialised classifications of
Text [3.10) illustrates a canonical Classification stage.
this kind are one key dimension of knowledge building in secondary school and
are critical to guiding students to read and write report genres. The criteria by
[3.10] Classification naming three types
which conducting substances are classified in Texts [3.9}H3.12] (i.e. their atormic
structure) draw our attentioa to the other key dimension of building specialised
Classification All materials can be dassiled Into Duree groups according to how readily they
pemit an eiec1ric curent to flow. These are: conductors, Insulators end
knowledge about things their composition. To explore this we have to go deeper
semicondudon (Glendinning 1980). into the stnucture of conducting substances, since it is the nature of their atomic
composition that is crucial. Lesurf's website takes us deeper down this path, but
Text [3.11) has this stage but it only inttoduces conductors and insulators; semi- here we will look at anotber type of report that describes the parts of an atom

Conductors are introduced later on in the report: .13].

3.11] Classincation naming only two types (3.13) Compositional report

Classimcston All the prectcal effects of electicity are produced by the movoment of Classificalion The atom is a basic unit of malter Ihat consists of a dense, ceniral nucleus

olecrons. In olectical work generally, mate rlals can be grouped as efer surrounded by a cloud of negauvely chargad electrons

conductors or Insulatore Descripion

The atomic ucleus contains a mix of posiúvely charged protons and
Decriplon pan 1

electricalty neural neutrons (except in the case of hydrgen-1, which s the

typ3 lo eddton to Uis Uhere are matanals in which the degree can be varled
These called sem-conductors.- only stabie nucide with no neutronrs)
are
(Jennoson 1980: 23)
pert 2 The elecrons of an atom aro bound to the nucleus by the electromagneic
forca.
pan 3 Likewise, a group of atoms can remain bound to each oher, foming a
Lesur further tubclassifies exriasic semiconduclors as n-type or p-type depending on how
bey are dopes itb donor atoms or acceptor oues (see $3.7 below). moleaule (hp://en.wikipeda.org/wk/Aiom).
94 LEARNING TO WRITE, READING TO LEARN
WRITE IT RIGHTITHE RIGHT TO WRITE 95

This text is a compositional

report rather than a classifying one, as it generalises
the parts of atoms, which are also (3.14] Classifying people
parts of molecules. Unlike classifying reports,
composjtional ones are often supported by a diagram such as that in Figure 3.4. A devout Roman Catholic, Diem
As with Figure 3.3 above, the labeled was fervently an0-communist, nauonafist and socaly con
image enables the reader/viewer to grasp sarvatlve.i'storian Luu Doan Huynh notes, however, hat 'Diem represented narrow and
at a glance the overall
structure of the knowledge wbich unfolds more
pro oxtremist netionalism couped wth autocracy and nepoüsm'. As a weaithy Colholic, Diem
saically, in more demil, in print. was
viewed by many ordnary Vietnamese as part of the elite who had hetped the French nde
Vietnem
Diem had been interior minister in the colonial govemment. The majority of Vietnamese people
were Buddhist, and were alamed by acions such ss his dedication of the
counry to the Virgin
Mary (htp:/lon.wklpedia.org/wikietnam War).

Most specialised classification in history is in fact borrowed from other ields

nucdeus
neutrons erotons
-

for example, the classification of 'Rainbow Herbicides' and the diseases linked
to the notorious Agent Orange in Text [3. 15].

electrors
(3.15] Classifying things

shell The defoliants, which were distributsd in drums marked vnth color-coded bands, included tha
Rainbow HerbicidesAgent Pink.
Agent Green, Agent Purple, Agent Blue, Agent White, and,
most lamously. Agent Orange,which induded dioxin as a by-product of its manutacture. Abou
12
Figure 3.4: Compositional structure of a hellum atom 4 milion galons
(45,000.c00 L) Agent Orange were sprayed over Southeast Asta during the
American invoivement A prime area al Ranch Hand operations was in the
(http://www.radartutorial.eu/21.semiconductors/hl04.en.html) Mekong Delta, where
the U.S. Navy parol boats were vunerable to atack fram the
undergrovh at he waters edge
In science and related subjects the world is extensively re-classified and re-
composed,; and the classifying and compositional reports doing a lot of this work The U.S. Veterans Administraion has istad
prostate cancer, respiratory cancers, mutipl
introduce large numbers of technical terms. The definitions of these terms myeloma, ype lIdiabetes, B-cell lympnomas, sot u5sue sarcoma, chioracne, porpBryra cutansaa
(inchuding of course the criteria defining them) and their relations to one another tarda, penipheral neuropatny, and spina bifido in children of veerans
exposed to Agen Orange.
(as classes and parts) constitute the new knowledge about
things which shudents AUthough there has been much disaussion over whether the use ol these defokianis consütuted a
have to understand. These new
concepts are not directly available to the senses, violation of the laws of war, the defoliants were not considered weapons, since exposurs to them
and so we do not bave words for them in our
everyday vocabulary. We cannot did not lead to immediste death or incapactation (hp//en.wikipedia.crgwiivMetnam Wa
see, touch, hear, feel or taste them. Rather, we learm
them, as part of insti-
rutionalised teaching/leaming (i.e. school). The critical When it comes to classifying historical events,
is that all of this uncommonsense
point
we are heremaking however, historians do estab
knowledge is made of meaning, and has to be lish classifications of their own. These may or
may not involve technical terms
Jearned through the specialised
language and images through which it is con- i.e. proper names for phases of history such as WWII, the Gulf War, the Long
stnued.
March, Mabo, the Sharpeville Massacre, the Renaissamce etc.). In Text [3.16]
below, initial upper case letters designate the Indochina Wars as a proper name;
3.3.4 Classification in social sciences but the first, second and third wars are not technicalised in this
way.
Some subject areas are of course more technical than others. If we move to the
humanities end of the curiculum, (3.16] Classifying historical events
we still find
descriptive, classifying and comn
positional reporns. In bistory, for example, significant people and places are
classified as in [3.14]. There were three Indochina Wars. he first was to remove the French te second, he Noh

Vietnamese campaign to unity the counry, and the thrd, the clashes between Vietnam, Cambadia
and China. Al three wars saw massive loss of ife and soaal and economic dislocatian within the
region. The peñod marked the end of westem Imperialism and forced he USA to acknowedge
 WRITE IT RIGHTITHE RIGHT TO WAITE 97
TO LEARN
LEARNING TO WRITE, READING

1979 berween the People's Republic of

of other nations expansonism, was a brdef but bloody border war fought in

inis even as a superpower, to Rs capacity to detemmine the tate

h here were
Chins (PRC) and the Socialist Repubic of Vietnam.
Dennet and Doon 2003 474).
(http://en. wikipedia.org/wiki/Sino-Vletnamese_ War)

Arst indochina war (against French colonisatton) Compositional reports in history introduce students to the structure of physical
phenomena (e.g. temples, cities, battle lines) and human agencies (e.g. armies,
all specialised decompo-
governments, education systems). Once again, almost
ndochine Wers
second Indochine war (ietnam War) sition is borrowed, ypically from the fields the historian is addressing. Text
(3.20] outlines the organisation of the underground unnel complexes used by the
Vietnamese as bases during Resistance War against America, beginning with
third Indohine war (Vietnsm, Cambodia, Laos) Cu Chi, but immediately developing generalisations. Each sentence describes
one or more parts of the complex, in bold below.

Wars
Figure 3.5: Classification of the Indochina
(3.20] Compositional report in history

Even where historisns agree the classification, the lack of technicalisation

on
Classfication The base area at Cu Chi was a vast nework, with nearty 200 mies of
used for the same phase of history, as
exem-
means that vanous teras can be unels. Any facity used by the guemilas- a corferernce oam or tralning
One advantage of this is that it allows
pibed in 3.17. B.1S] and [3.19] below. area- had amast immediate underground access.
of view, more and less explic-
e sane events to be named from different points Descnpoon Hidden bapdoars led below, past guarded chambers, o long passages
the terms (e.g. Dirty War and Anti-
ily loaded with the vakues of those using of parts Al regutar intervais, branches led back to the surtace and oher secret
Indochina War, cí. la Guerra de las
French Resistence #ar in lieu of the First entrances. Some openings were even conceaied beneath he waters of
sueams or canais.
Mavnas ihe Faikiands War). AL he deaper leveis, here were chambers carved out fr ams factories and

a well for the base's water supphy.

317] Fist indochina War
There were siore rooms for weapons and rice, and here was someiimes a
Franco
French indochine Wer, Ant-French War, hcsptal or lorward aid sadon.
Te Fir docnina War (aso kcwn as the
War in Frenca, and Ant-French Long corrmunicaicn tunnels aonnected he base with other disant
Wa. Fao-Vieuninn Ywar, indochina War, Dirtny
ea in French indochna from
Oecember 19, compiexes
R e s s t a Wa n contemprary enam) wes oughe
Base ktchens were aways near the surtace, with kong. carved-out chimneys
designed to difuse cocking snoke and reiease t some distance away.
iepedaogmkaFis_jnaochine _War Near he kitchens were the guemilla's sleeping dhambers, where they coufd
survive for weeks al a tine f need be.
(3.18] vetnam War Everywhero on he top level, herg ware unnels ieading upwarts to
huncreds of hidden fring posts for defence of the base.
w s nown as he Vieirem Wsr. Trese have shted over
s nve ben
appied o (htpwww.pos.org/bartefieicvieinanigueTilainderhtm)
V e e war s de most commony used ute in Engisn. R hes been vanousy
a
sied t e Second incocn wx. he Vetnan Coric ne Vierem War, and. in Vietremese.
As in science, labelled images often support, or even flunction in place of,
C a v r e T e Vetnem Wai r rinç chén ching M tRessarce War sgans
compositional reports of this kind (Figure 3.6 below). The knowledge deveioped
here is specialised, but not technical. It narmes sensory phenomena, which
wpede.ogatEtymonz.da_ieram_vra shudents can observe in photos or cross-sectional diagrams (or on site if a class
visit is possible). So, unlike science, students to not have to learn a batery of
ra19] Sino-Vietnames War
terms defined in terms of criteria based oa sense-augnenting technology,
mathematics and decades or even cennuries of record keeping.
The Sivsanese we *s n o te Tr idochina Ne, o m n e PRC s {}
C a e s o ganst v e r a n Seseron) and r atners as s a n s t Crinese
98 LEARNING TO WRITE, READING TO LEARN
WRITE ITRIGHTITHE RIGHT TO WRITE 99

[3.23] age 415

VIST CONG TUNNEL COHLUX
Stephen Mum, can bikes go faster than cars? Can bikes go faster than cars?
Mothar You're always aaking me that.
Stophen Icon't ramember.
Mother They go about the seme.
Stephon What about vans? (ponders) Vans go faster than cars so vans shouldgo faster
than motorbikes. (Paintar 1999: 304)

As we can see, Stephen has learnt to that 'a

l a s t doflaction wall
now reason huppeus so b should
hring post Wall happen'. Cause-and-effect relations of this kind are an important resource for
Aright trapdapr
Hrat ald post Mesting room

4 Punjlstako trap
(S Relnforcud stenpig
Staray0
Dapan
enche to
Ana T o a
explaining uncommonsense phenomena in school. In
primary school science
there is a tendency for explanations to foreground sequence in time over cause/
chamb
effect, since these are apparently seen as more transparent for young leaners.
Text [2.8] introduced in Chapter 2 featured an activity sequence of tbis kind.
Figure 3.6: Typlcal VIlet Cong tunnel complex

(http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/720577.stm) [2.8] Heart explanation

The left pump sands the blood to the arnenes

3.4 Understanding processes: activity sequencing and hen to the head to he toes.
The body caries arygen hat slowly gives up while golng thraugh the body.
3.4.1 Time, cause and effect Then tho Blood gos back to the lungs
to gst mare oxygen.
In Chapter 2 we gave some examples of Hal at two years of age learning to
reason in dialogue with his parents. Exploring cause/cffect relations is a central
Here most relationships between events marked
feature of language development in the home documented in Painter 1999, who are explicitly by temporal con-

includes a telling example illustrating Stephen's indignation when his mother

junctions (hen, while), alongside one purposive relation (signalled by 1o). In
fails to offeI an acceptable explanation. spite of the foregrounding of sequence in time," the explanation is really about
why the heart pumps blood through the body (in order to give it oxygen) and

(3.22) age 3:6 why it goes back to the heart via the lungs (in order to get morc oxYgen).
answers the question of why the beart purmps blood, most of
Although this textrelations
Slephen Why (7) douds and ii does raln? the causeleffect
the
left implicit,
are the reader must infer cause/lefTect
so

MoU Why dooo it ram 7 from temporal sequence. In order to do so the reader needs to know the
Slepen Why wiry- Uhero are cloude and i doos slern to rain and we don't ike It. function of the explanation genre t o explain causes and effects - and to
(corfused) i y duos il coln when we don't wont it 7 recognise texts like this as explanations (and not simply a recount of events).
Stephen Am In the following explanation (3.24], lightning is explained in temporally
Mcxher don't know unfolding terms. Tbis explanation goes through four distinct phases that were not
Ssphen You have o ell me somoingt (Pairter 1999. 213) marked by paragraphing in the original version, but we have labelled below.

By the tiune he arrives at schol Stephen has been apprenticcd into reasoning on
his own
- about the relauve of vcbicles for
apeed cxannple.

Sclence discourse docs unclude some sequearialy organised texta wbich do aot imply causaliy
tor example, procedural recounts, in whuch the teps undertsken during an expenoeot are
ecorded (Maytin aud Rose 2008).
LEPRaNG TO WRTE PEAORG TO LEARN nTET T I T E RIT O HRTE 0

Figure 3.7: impfication sequent

The secoed phase distinguishes two types of ighming. ss

piains
pbenomeca get hat by lighming on tbe ground In this cae the cruse effect
how
realised intide single clause rather than berwees tao iauses. ia
reiationship is a

order to realise cause and effect thus way one event and the casal miation ar
umd expressed as nouns (the movemen t h e rearon) and the otber evem
modifies he reason

Caus Ed

e a l eapiasaoe seusce, mo of te semoal kmks are iet inpisct

e uestuo Sum apecatins bout e gee the ene even A more spoken version woaid express this sequeace as twa cises inked ty a

cter Te gict temporai restios bave bes aided bere so the electnc energy moves betaem the atmospbere ad t
ing coajunctoa,
groud and so tall objects are stnucik by ligttnis
The last phase expiains wty we beat túhuder ater bghtoinz

In this case he canuseeffecd is zgain reaissed inside a ciause, but ths toe caue is
realised theough a prepositionsi phrase (becovse of thiu), and 'ha' pcks ug the
e e c s si d
reason frorn the preceding clzus (ie tha ight trowis farter thoT sumd)

Ba re ierand th ju e p b t temporl sequevce. in reteee d t e t o tasn r g taor m e r t e d a d hnam

scietic r s of s ksd e sequmces are realy inplication sequesces,

becase te reiatiss bevem eveas r ataly contingrt os. ie. f tii This phase then cociudes rith thus', makog explicit that although *
hppethea s s s a (f»am rsa kot ciouds than it wil ercounter expenievcE izhting 2nd thunder as separate e v e , there is a rect relaienshup
between hen - tory are two aspers of e same pteomenc
coidar ie d of seqsce each e v s bos a codio for the ert (
d ect ef te preceding rvm (hen). diagrada Figz37 ere us s s e watose r e n r r ra
Tey a r a e p a a e e e m e r a
102 LEARING TO WRITE, READING TO LEARN
1%
Note that the causal tonjunction thus refers here to the vcientific reasoning [3,15] AMarnatin *wptanation tor hgrtnlng
involved, rather than to cause-and-effect reiationshíps obtaining arneng the
phenornena themselves. This knd of logical relation ia discussed furtherin
Chapter 5 (55.2.2).
The final phase of the text expiains that thunder
balance of electrical forces in the atnosphere
and lightning contimue until
is achieved (via
a sgarstrr
a purposive reia wra
tis signalled by to)

e sertrial aags in ta atmengree b a in

balarcs.
Tectical terms commocly zrise in the cne of ezplanations; two expla
ation 1equeces in (324| are named with the technical terma static electricity
and ighrng

sCecarters cac a

and ergrrstetn d sgpn tat a krig

s * . igaing is ingr jat an everyday verm for tte piay of
e d g roTs i he sk i is ou, in aiditin, 2 eciaical
e te ttar i i s he tzglanztios we bave been racking bere. So the

S e a viecz end ternzives t epacaIns xznised xoA

z rai issmation tjaai moveme, evoizion). Ctoer pca modal gers Marna zd Rese 2 , T H r
W. w e e 2 , 29
. bz, n r a (sw 1G, . t, 19n, b, 11a, Vei 192,
104 LEARNING TO WRITE, READING TO LEARN
WRITE ITRIGHTITHE AIGHT TO WRITE 105

evolved to consolidate its uncommonsense perspective on the udiverse and is this proceure at least three tmes. The three groups were of diferert szes, one
stored as wnting. d about wenty people, ane of abaut thirty peopie and ane of about 4 peope

detaild When the first group was pt logedher Kally ordered Pfc. Torres to man the
3.4.2 Time and cause in history recount machlne-gun and open fire an te viltegero that hed been grouped togeter. This
Tores did, but before eveyone In the group was down he ceased fro and
Turning to the humanities discourse of history we bave to come to terms with a
refused to fire again. Ater ordering Tomres to recommence firing several tmes
different kind of uncommonsense knowledge, equally or even more abstract but Lieutenant Kally took over the M-50 and finished shooting the remaining vrage
much less technical than that of science (Coffin 2006, Martin 19938, b, 2002b, in thet first graup himsel. Sergeant La Crou told me thal Kally didn1 bather to
2003, Vel and Cofin 1996). Since history is concermed with recording and order arryone to take the machne-gun wien the other mo groups of vidogers
interpreting the past, we will begin with a focus on activity unfolding through were fomed. He simply manned t himsef ard sho dam al vilagersh bon

time with texts construing a sequence of events. These are used to focus on groups (http://www.iaw. umkc.edutaculhy/projects/ieis/mytaitidenhor_v hmi,
events in which the details of what happened are historically
significant.
The examples we use here are all drawn from the field of the long period of Except for exceptional episodes of this order, historians cannot afford to
conflict in Vietnam. The first Text (3.26] is a recount of the My Lai massacre in chroaicle history as a sequence of events in such detail. Their job is rather to
1968. It is an excerpt from a letter by Ron Ridenhour, which led to exposure of generalise across events and the people invoived. To manage this they partition
the cover-up by Defence Department officials. The recount begins with an the past into phases of activity undertaken recurrently by groups of people,in
Onientation that establishes the sources of the story. The Record of events then addition to the great men who are singled out as history makers, such as General
goes through two phases, which we have labelled here. The first phase has less Giap and Ho Chi Minh in Text [3.27] below. Each new phase of actuvity is
detail; the second phase goes into more, gruesome, detail. The time sequence is signalled by a time phrase, in bold bere.
construed by temporal conjunctions, in bold below,
[3.27] Historical recount

[3.26] Recount of event

n August 1945 the French coony of Indo-China (Viethan, Laos and Cambodia, nOw caled

t was June before I spoke to enyone who had something of significance to ad Kamoucnea) was occupied by Bntish and Nationalist Chinese voops ater the sumender of he
Onerntaton
to what I had aiready been toid of the Pinkvlle' incident. It was the end of une, Japanese who had szed it n 141. In October 1945 the French reumed determined ore
(souroes)
1968 whenl ran into Sergesnt Lemy La Crotx at the USO in Chu Lal. Le Crolx establish heir control. aspecally n Vetnam. French forces easily recccupied he scuthemn

nad been in 2nd LL Kally's" platoon on the dey Tesk Force Barker swept through parton of Vietnam, but were faced in he orth with a new communisi regime whicn nad been

Pinkvite' What he told me verifed the stonies of the others, but he also hed established in tneir absence by the cammunist leader Ho Ci Minh. Ourng te war Ha hod led the
sormething now to add. He had been a witness to Kaly's gunning dowm at least resistanco to the Japanasa ocauparon of Vietren, and after the war led a comminskdoninatsd
vwue separat groups of vilagers. was terible. They were slaughlering orgamsaton which represented Vienamese natonalst aspiraions Ho's organisabon was krown

vilagersike so many sheep as the Viet-Minh. The French were delemned to retake northem Vienam and n 1s45 Deçan
Fcord muitary operalians against the Vet-Minn, thus tnegenng the first indo-China War.
nTary Kalyo men were drogpiog people ou of bunkers and hoolches and puting them In late 1946 the French orced the Viet-Minh led by Generai Vo Nguyen Gias. at of Hand
and chidren of
ogatverin a group. Te peopie in the group were men. women
and ino the hitls of northen Vienam. By 1943 t apoeers nat the viet-Minh were beaten
f ages As soon as he teit Ohet the group wes big enough, Kaly ordered a M-60
However, the victory of tho communists in China gave ihe Vet-inh secure bases on the vielnam
(mecine gun) apt up arnd tho peapa kilied. La CroLx said tot he bore witness to
ne suengthened Vet-Mrnh
China bower, as wol as a
sour d miKary supplies. n JerUary 1951
ananpted an ai-out assaut on Hann but were easiy doBeated by he supener French ire cower

Neverteiess, he French u u d not defeat the VieLMirh in guerila wartare, despile he tact fat
An tariy plsyu de cover-up wa Mejor Cotus Fowell, who concluded in o I968 report
France had 10000 roOps in Vietwn and was backed b e Untes Sthles, whicn by 199 wos
reaposáng wskargas of Anerican alrclins that relatuos etweeo Amencau soldiers aud
Vietuotn uivüin are excelient ever tra player, Poweli wuld laier consungatc bis Payng 7 5 of tne ccst ot he wor
and supoot ihe
rsie sng-wag i n mastor in bis uotunous addresa to the UN io support of the Iay Wur n aty 18S9 Giop began te move Nis korcus acrusa Vietnam io invade Lcs
to block tis move by
httpihrww.cuortu 1 corb/mbrv/colin) brul) CunTInist guerii amy there, he Pathet Lao The French altwmpted
T e rrereEe is o eond Lieuteuast Wilusm Caliey, the oniy Amencu soidier cavicled in ai Dien Phu pcsitioned 15000 of ther best combat irero
They
a
sei a mejr dase B
reatucu to e azT eDnced o btn iprisonun! wod hard laiur tuu ultuetely erned Frnch expeted Dien
Dhun 8ien Pni d oped o kvce the Vier Atnn nu apen conbat. Fhe
tise aud a huf yaars ol benve urTest in ks AJterica abtaty prio
106 LEARNING TO WRITE, READING 1o LEARN
WRITE IT RIOHTTHE RIGHT TO WRITE 17
Ben Phu Io be e
staughtering ground for the Viet-Minh. Instesd the raverse
happened. The Vet
Minh besieged the French gamison at Dien Bien Phu and for two monthe by United Statas and Chinese Haticnaist Party in is figpi aqasinst Sapanese ocrpafior
pounded the base with
ilery, which the French hed aesumed couhd not be
uring d la i he French wern daested by he Gemans 1942 For Prencr
brought through the jnigte. Using huan
wee aaACkR he Vet-Minh Indochins, h meat that he coionial sshories brama
ovewhnimed Dien Nien Phu on 7 May, 1954 With he fal of Dien Blen Vdy Fr lya of te Cormar
u Fench pwer in Vletnen Itallan Axis powers. in tuuri rhle meari that the Frerch colerborated w ha
collapsed, Japrma lors ata
tn teir invasion af French indochina
y 1954 a a Geneva peacs confererce it was egreed Vietnem wouid be divided adang duirg1940 Tha Frerch coriA ta run sairs in te cudu
1 7 h Deraie North of this line was but ufimate power reided in handn of 7e apanese
to be a communist state of North Vietram ied
by Ho CTi
inh, whe south o the 17h peraie On May 1941 e Vt dirih eaa lounded s a leaqu i ta indernenc om Franca. The
a non-communist govemmet supporied by he Americans
wetotbiaed Eiections V1N Minb ogs oooed inpanet rapaton n 1149 ar he ume reon Tha ritet tato asnd
were to be held In March 1956 with the Interntion of
reuniing he
Chiness nafions part uogorted hen n
Cnty. Both Laos and Cambodte (naw Kampuchea) were granted independence, as we aa
nakan o n e e nerce we fenam Hicenw,
euai atus fCondon hay did nct nav enough pae to ight Ct as t r Mo Pi i r d
1947: 492). vsDected rd brg

These phases unfoid through time, as did (3.26) above, but they make use of Double oCupaion by France d Jaoan cortines rs he eman o s apií
fram Franca
setting time rather than sequence in time to do so. In
in
terms of genre, we can
and he Franch Irocrina cniknial hortas are eisg s e a e s w a
P r Frerch.
contrast historical recounts like
[3.27] that recount phases in time with detailed ) Faanrg ta y cid nge PM ta Frro sAontas t

recounts of events ike aperese amy riemed Tem

(3.26].
By organising unfolding events in phases in this MaEZ2 12A * aned ara i samsaa
ough teir puppar s a of te Enoira of Viatras ncr
way bustorans in effect durn actuvity sequences into
part-whole structures the -

past is decomposed into stages. Important pieces of this division can then be
amed, as we saw earlier in Text [3.16] weather and FrarvriJatparese pitaco Acrcing o HG o Mers soearLAa
above, which named each of the Indo- 1 mc
china Wars. So as far as recording the
past is concerned, historians recast time as drministrave qao har
kund of thng', and break it up into re rtemert d tw Frerc hsd z e d . s Va irn
significant segments. This shift from 14
sequence in time to setting in time is a fundamental dimension of
building
uCOmmonuenDe knowiedge in burmanities and social science subjects that deal
wh pest, such as an history, literary studies, social work, media
the
studies,
O D o s 2nd kastoncal
languistics
Like scento, however, historians aiso
are
expected to explain -
to move
Such historical accounts are comparabie to the entfic
beyomd peackaging up what happened to
interpreting why things turned out as
explxnationa disued
Thas grves rse to historical accounts wbicb not above, they do o t saspty chronacie they explain wy is mch
Chy xta. a varney
-

did
only progress through of causai relatuons are exprexed in i
pha b wuch a i establish ceuse/effect reiations between variety of wayt inciudmg cununcturma
events, both (g becuse, bus, however, by, 1o) ncuta ithe reason, the fecs, he basi).
wTced terween
phases. A historical account kind is of this exemplified in VeTbs (his meani, form Ihe baru, atvess
328 bitwwt seting n ume underiined and causaj reiations in bokd adocrv 1onsquri,
pplscs caulai pmatRs ate rade reponsibie for) aid psepostaons (in pie of rauince, jor the szme reuson
explicn a parentheses) due o a combinationj.
Alungside the cazai meatng f bece, 10, t, he lo.
consequeni. reasons, efects, we siso find mexang ealisnd by conganctixus
Like tn spue of. bui and
however ht arerte-caai
rtead a
happenang, b happeraa. Thene relations ure knran zs toacessive Maria 1992,
Martn and Rose 2003/2007)

3.43 Factors and coseaenmes

Explaitnung wy way voive more thaa a umpit aieetfost w
reiatisoza
Gse cvEBt folarw itg ce as the t t of ssthes Thee an bu conplen. caes s
complex eflects n thas case he chronoiopcal nadoidmg of a tex: has t g
106 LEARNENG TO WATE, SEADENG TO UEARN WRITE IT RIGHTITHE P T TO WPITE 1

39 below, two actors affecting America's invoivementin Vietnarn are

reviewed Tbe factors and their outcome are labelled bere. A r a a Dernen ard Trcn 20 428

329] Fatorisl expianation Relations of causes to effers n [3 29) and (3 30} 1re dazgamzes in Fgre 12.

nerci Amence's sorse to deveiaoments in Vetan a s drematcaly irtenced

by eres
utoe actor actan

Americds Caina e l to
in 1943. Che el to te communiss This irtensised the fears af a dobs
r2sponse ommunists Korean Wa
communist eversion ad led te icism of he Democat Presidet Truman
sam menbendte e Regubican Party n he US.
Repbicans blamed
Trumen fo osing Cna
1950. Presidert Truman te outbreak d the Korsan War as
cr2 - saw a ause consequencei
deliterste chsenge to wenc pesce and his poicy af cortainmert The ViEtToT risis af corfidence oial nsion cnd

cantainmern ocic had been put m pace n march 1947 as ne Tasman in the USA GtrT of govermen

Docrine, t n ne ntenton ot haing he gicbel spread of communisn by

scoring an-comunist egimes (Dernea and Doron 2003: 435). Figure 3.8: Factoriaí and consequentíal erpianatiors

We refer to this type of text as a factorial explanatioa. Conversely in [3.30j, wWhile the factors in (3 29) arepot form tte cocsequencs n
presented a

wo of the effects of the Vietnam War are presented in a consequential expla introduced of the of the Coid wz, ad the
defiang moments
(330) are as oae

aadon, inchuding a cause and its multipie consequences, labelled here as cons . each introduced with a topic sestence and then elaboraued. The hythm by wtich
the information flows is illustrated through indenation below.
cos 2 etc

(3.301 formation low in a consequential explanstion

330] Consequential expianation

te r t e
Peroenon. Te Vietram w , which s he main opic d nis chepter, also hed a major The Veram war, ichs e man icoic
Tis craoer, aiso ad a maicr e t
and w s ane d e cefinng of Te Cod wa.
p c an he twenteth century national histony d t e USA and was
one of centary naiora hstory ct the USA everta

events of the Cold Wer. Prctessor Dae Kencedy o Sardord univerzy nas sued e r e cost and a d *
detning
Viatam War proauced a crisis df snidence in e USA
Eara sDity old
that the aost Urei ne Vieram War, Amercas nad generaly fes contdert a her t
Prokessor Dave Kennedy of Santord University has argued
v e r s rougn a rercse o ther rgeruty, energy anc vasi c c n c m
m a d t e Vieram War produced a
cnsis of coficence' in the USA
ad
fel corfidentin heir eblihy vietnam prcved to ce a probiem Ta hey couldn't managa
Urti e Vietram War Amerncans had generaly
The Vetram coict gave se to cca dvaon and dseu d ovemeri n he US
m o d evenis hrough he exercise o heir ingeruty. energy and vast
coukant ended e poincas career t Presderd Lynoon chnson ard i s seams maor socia
economic r e s o u c e s Vietnam proved to be a problem del hey
reform so produced, in
he case d Rice Ni»ns prescency. 3 sege enaity 2
erege n

confict gave nse to soaal division and dstrst

of govemmer comenbied arecsy t e n a o s Watergats Scartai (1973-74) and e sigraror
Th aetrem
Niaan Becase d n e Vigtren war. as cat of e ws rdia n
Johnson and ris isgrace. f
t e poiical carear d Prasiden Lynóon
he LIS n nded indocnine, a generaion Arencans cened » ansersogicn s c w a r
drsans d TaT SOciel r e t o
t e w c a and xoice ateca end n e S we a
poiest m o e m e r s Many
Hans presideney,a siege
rudues, n e case d Rcat presen n AusTzie
he tamous Waergate Scanda (1S73
m y s conentuted drecsy t

diograca. of Nxon
74) n d cegration n
azd etTect reladoas. factona! and con-
Vatnam Viar s pa1 of he mder cordici n ndochna.8 Because hey deal with compiex cause
Eeasec rather thaa chrono-
erionAmencars derttierd with arnd-consonon and ane-w sequennal explanaticas have to be organised rhetoncally
from recouat genres. Tte nanre oi
logically. soneihing which sets tbem apar the way the wriung
ditferect dermands o0
the know ledge, ia other wordsi, makes
110 EARNING TO WRITE READNG TO LEARN
WRITE IT RIGHTITHE RIGHT TO WRITE 111

(and its resiing) unfokts We wil take up the question ef bow causality is
maraged ammstcaly in explsnattons in $36 below Ater hearing this accourt I coulan't qute sccept t. Sornmehow i just ouldnt beieret t rot oy
As with science, bistory bas evolvei a range of genres for consobdating nad so may young American men perticpeed n sch am act d b e r n , but het ter oicars
different kinds of knowiedge for detailed sequences of events, his
ecounts had ordered t
tonical eaonts sor phases of for foregTOUnding causal connec
trne, accounts
tOLS beraeen event and phases, and ectorial and consequentiai expanations for This accout of Sergeant Le Croirs conimed te namors ha Grver, Tery and Doheny nad
pbnomens wit ulipe causes and effects. Much more explicithy than in previcusiy rcid me about Letenent Kaliy. t ssc comvinced me het e s a rery sibstsn
sCience genres. whose main concern is consensus sbout the best available under- amaut o uh to ne stores het ai
of hese men d toid
eeded more caincng
S n n g of the physicai and bioiogicai worid history genres deal with values abcut o e e e t
sn wcd consensus akes a kot more effort to sustain. We turn to history's
axsoiogacai perspetive os the pest in 35 below Exacy whst dic in c ocin ne vege Prvle in March 1968
1o n t eno
en.
ut i em caemees nat t was someting ny blec ndeed i a c a c N perssde
rCu and o rdy befeve n e principies
3.5 Expressing opinions: knowledge and values humble before he aw. tet fom he ery eckbone fat this c o y bunded
s an ten mss
pes fonwerd s wdesoead and uik mesigsion d is
macer o u r comoined sors.
Se t capter we bave focused on the nanure of the uncommonsense t h t w s s Winston Chrcil w ance
seid Acuryot a a s d e s y
a actvius sudens encounter un secondary scbool In doing so we bave t a soul and a a r y a a u i s sa coury he
S i e d our foc to he umcoemonsense 'facts ofthe matter, setting aside
ins *
somepose n
e vais susents also bave to iearn We will tura briefly to these axioiogical
n nis m t . I
hop n ou
a an nestigaor mmedsney and
keeo me rfomed of our orogrsss. yau s n o t hen i dont ko si a h c o r a t
d e a d n p bere, begrnng with history, where the eeed to take up a position aka

peopie und ther actrvtes is relstively ciear (Cotfin 1997, 2000, 2003, 2006).
Tde historncal recounts which do the bulk af the
chronicling work in secoodary
Evaan sources also include evaluation, altbough his tends to come he
end of phases of actviy (Coffio 1997, 2003) For
or beginnng
c e p T sndury schooi bstory, a lot of emphasis is put on exampie, the bisaorical reconu
e p souroes Aad sourcs oñer nciude judgements that students
3.27) above presents itseif as an objective record of whet aent oa until it seches
e a d and aadecane Rudenhour's ietter, for example, from wbich we
a Rurming point in the Amencan invoivemeni in Vietnam The chronicie coonnues
as follows3
e t sc cours (326, above, does tathfully docuent what bappened at

My ia, based on sn mrviews t b soidiers who were there and experienced it

tamst and Bt t aiso e u the veracsty of his sccoust, and incihudes Ridenbour's 3.27 contnued
S o t , t c o be enpicitiy characienses s dark, bloody
when c i o a wre e i vieeam a 8 . canunisz e n t a a c t n m e n c a
Sar d
biacà par st apprelng lo he goveraent officials and
congress
Sur jantuce íanily ooe
w oe i wte
of who Moms Udal. acted on the
iarastoo od kstemihors iener i presented as326) bekow,
wt key
as n em m he Lned saras xerx 300 aiaersto ouh V n

eueA

Tbas pbase expicity juiges Doem a egime as 'oerupt d asprecaits the

sgtuticaKCee its tesatzce

othe comnasts 'eiiective". Explasadons
Peguhuiy ude expbrt avahiaioa of thas kand, as a Toxzs3 29} md 330)
22 ARNNS T0 WRIE READING 7O LEATN WeTE T EHTITHE RIGT TO WEITE 113

above Some e epicnly evalustive comments from these tezts are high each upporting argument a a phase

higteri i boié nere

[332) Expositien as a presidentlat addrass

n ev s n tnam w ametesly inuencd by t p avents

Thei ver ihie r d A a e deepening thekcwo hi
1 i the m m e s Te t e r de t e s o a glcbsi comenure epareio
ders in Heni arge y s The egme i e
10 mman u o the Marean War s a delitberste chaenge t wodd
h s pokey comair
i n Körea a en chh t os
p f tmis chaster. a had a merimpac on he rendiet
m seoo B end e one the defirtng everts df the Coid Var W n Seuth
ggresaie mnese y e s e eibes e r coer a e

e d y o t o d inivey he gued tha re cos ard t r u e te

w orommta
* of eoenosin the USA
Arguments
we are there bece w heve pmmise n 4 Aeiio
men
in apre of te reiativeiy opaionated nature of such evaluations, in historical
acooun and expianatvons they are presented as unconlested. Students
recunt
t a s ponitooed to scoep
the rodgements ofthe historian in question A1 the a rnatol eige hep Snah vae cie emdenc i ot

sa u szudents re sometmen cautuoned to be very careful about passing

agezRs t e a r gwa a e exhortation from a secondary school history
sexfck 3 31)beiow
wgme
231) monakoy anpoetio

uy aA sais a i at &ke mun aere Fom

Tha aGegpiaes casori sorcture od eailian af tie bortaiory tpe

114 LEARNNG TO WRITE, READING TO LEARN
WRITE IT RIGHTITHE RIGHT TO WRTE 115

3.33) Student's expos/tion

went about the war using ne 'Ssarth end Destroy' method ihis m e n hey ocsad a VC
»sai e USA an ne Reudic of VMetnam ould be deteated in the Second unt, attecked and retumod to beso. This was aell-defestng as VC woud heer he feet
of
hdunia nar d 1A:9 Decause d he
ptanes from miles away and have tume to un, hde or prepare an ambush. Soldiers plodoed
efecve ststepres used by ine Narth, wih the use of
e i natae and he Ho Cin Mnh rai. The south was
through rice felds and densejungio, weakened by he heat and rain, atacked by Insecs
de/rared decause their toctics ika using
averbonsi
and leeches, misery/boring,
throat ot Vc. booby raps waitng fo be stepped on or
pond wartee ad warse and heir Pacfcstion Campaigns were totaly tiggere
The US was victorious in set barties, ike Khe Sarh in 1967-1968. The bande
hssaprise tor e wa n Vetnan was a major
attsck by the NVA, a total of 10.000 NVA kled and S00 US lkiled
But tese bertes did not
deter the North, but the US was Aurious with the amount of doaths.
As a fom of Conventionai warfare, he US used hellcopters,. jsts and bombars
The e e NA awC*es to uny Norn and Sun as one nadon by defeatng the US
an desth an V. beginning in May 1965 and contirued for three
years. s00 tons of bombs,
ckets and Tssiles on the Norh's military establsmerts. bridges, roeds mi ines. ue
a n heir ais. Ths ss decame an ad consuming one.
storehouses. A total of 7.000.000 tons was dropped Napaln.
jelied petroleum hat sscks to
skin and bums through to he bone,
was used in the
Roing Thunder raks and throughout
the South against suspected enemies or supply ines. The Americans controsed he air
spaca. but the North also passesed
St e man reason ad ms eocve part d the VCs that they had
highiy affectve air defances. SAM and MiG fghter
strategy was a ause.
planes affectively caused considerabie damage to US planes On a y cccasiors.
'arge
The US e d RoV Socs policies were bodes of NVA troops were caught betore they got into acton.
siso a taure, anda mejor part to the Inevitablity of
This objective support also includes an appeai to authority- to a famouS
historian this time, not the Bible of Johnson's oration. The
challenge of being
t n e a s e t a t the S a d RoV were o
be defexed in the Second critical yet objective is solved by composing a text which backs
indochina war. What artributed to up contestable
sexwere act enly te strergts of t e North's sratesy cf evaluations with historical 'facts, thereby
o Minh +ai in sppiyeg the troaps.
guerrila warfare and the vital success of satisfying the expository admonitions
The strategy of the US and the South in [3.31] above i.e. to contexualise
oe
was hopeless in all senses
thoroughly and sensitively, and provide
of *ar. e r se ot aonvendonai rechniques and Paciicaion
programs in the end pushed the criteria for judgements.
e
e De re n t c the enemy. The act dhat the North has an
emotdonal ause appealing to the
peapie anc e aloud napproprate soatesy 3.5.3
m m a e South wovic de oefezted.
of the suth and US i was
inevitable from the Contesting history and sdence
Our major concem to this point in this section has been to show that subjects like
As we can see, several
arguments are presented in support of the inevitability of history are not just about knowiedge of uncommonsense things and activities.
defea and support is also They are also about the specialised evaluations students learn to make about this
given for the evaluations in each of these. For
exempie, first supporting argument, the snudent does not
tn the knowledge. As part of this, students have to also leam to argue in favour of theit
just claim that US
tactacs wrong. This evahuation is backed up with rwo phases of detail about
wee judgenents of character and behaviour and appreciations of the significance of
US operations, first on the events. In general, the evaluations students learn
ground and then in the air. Both phases unfold as reflect the stance of the
relatively objective accounts of what went on, avoiding contestable evaluations. curiculum, textbooks and their teachers, who keep an eye on the kinds of
artitude hat school examinations reward. For modem
history in Australian
[3.33] Supporting argument secondary schools, this currently involves a left of centre stance, which a former
neo-con government tried to sugmatise as "black arm-band'
T aa
history because of its
were ong Figrurg a onventonal war againsi a guermilla war, the US should have tendency to side with people who suffered under colonialisn in other parts of
om e revizs iMaira War between he French and he Vietnamese. the world, alternative sensibilities are
propagated, and comparably surveilled by
risr teLas ued k corres in cycies Les3ors and refiections exist church and state.
D o r e seems o lean Amoid J
evarywhere,
Toynbee
Conlested Spaces'
Tne US arc PaV anies were
efcenty
equipped to meet conventional invasion,
w r i s orsy ssed to Cup Oear
auo dofsnsive roie, amoured Martin et al 2010 discuss this issue witd refereace to the role ofisms in history discourse aad
APCS) cod iny te edn dy weator and personnel cearers
heavy àrtillery used as detence. The US Matoa's nothoa of axiokogical cosmology; the descripaioa of Dien in Texn 3.14 above
reterenced soveral of these: commuaism, natioualism, couservaavism, aumeracy, cotoniaism.
Catholicism, Buddhisn.
 WRITE IT RIGHTITHE RIGIT TO WRITE 117

116 LEARNING TO WRITE, READING TO LEARN

tho tosk forto, the olher two companles, "Chario Company,

an ecological perspectivec is
In science,opinions may matter, especially where tho villag, the structuros, the inhabltants
But generally in science it is the facts thot
taken up (Veel 1998, Martin 2002a).
count. Contesting hypotheses arise, as we saw
in relation to the formation of As the attack unfolds, thesc entities participate in four events two conpanies
school science, students are not
lightning in Text [3.25] above. But in secondary cordon off the village to keep villagers from escaping while "Charlie' Conpany
are not afler all in a resenrch
expected to argue for one or another of these; they movcs in.
because science
environment where they can contribute to a resolution. This is
relevant cvidence to
resolves differences through experimentation that brings Tho othor two companios"cordonod of tho vllag
are apprenticed into this reasoned
bear, not through arguments; and students Charle' Compamy could move through
and biological world. This
perspective on evolving knowledge about the physical ('Cherfle' Company) to dostroy the stnuctures
is curently a matter of serious concern for the training
of science teachers in
inhabilants.
(Chorle' Company) kll the
education faculties in Australia and clsewhere, where a critical/constructivist
about the social processes in which
ideology has become hegemonic. Ignorance In terms of grammar, each of these entililes is rcalised
as a nominal group (a
scientists has spawned a widespread view
knowledge is negotiated by practising group of words around a noun)
the other wo companies, Charlie Company, the
-

students should learn to contest.

of science as a one-sided view of the world that the the inhabitants. Each event is realised by a verbal group
have not been trained in techniques for village, strucures,
Recent graduates report to usthat they The events are
but instead to critique scien- (one or more verbs) cordoned of. could move, destroy,
-

kill.
lding up students' knowledge of the discipline, connected to one another by purpose and addition, creating a sequence of
tific knowledge from a constructivist stance. and
activity. Each connection is realised by a conjunction s o that, to,
relating the events in the activiy sequence to one ano ther.
3.6 Bullding knowledge: grammatical metaphoor Conjuncilon nomil group verbel group nominal group
entiy enuty
that constitute
So far m thischapter have outlined the kinds of meaning
we The oher o companies cordoned o ihe ilage
we considered were
knowledge in science and history. The main meanings so thal Charie' Company could move ihrough

in aod oplnloas in $3.5. Within activity

$3.4 destroy the stuctures
things in S53.3, activity sequences
looked at both temporal and causal connections between events, and kill ne inhabitants.
sequences we
events in time (e.g. and then)
and
and made distinction between sequencing
Ridenhour's initial reaction to Gruver's natural for a fellow
setting them in time (e.g. in early October 1967). recount was a one

soldier he couldn't quite believe it:

3.6.1 Meanings and wordings
When 'Butch' told me thisI didn't quite believe that what he was teling me was rue.
how these meanings are constructed
We now need to look a little more closely at

at the level of grammar, clause by clause.

This discussion of grammar is recapitu-
His opinion here is realised grammatically as an adjective rue describing his
-

it here in order to
lated in more detail in Chapter 5 ($5.2). We will preview
school. We will start with evaluation of wbat Gruver was saying
furtber explore written ways of knowing in the
introduoed in Text The meanings of the recount match their grammatical wordings, as outlined in
examples from Ridenbour's recount of the My Lai massacre, Table 3.1 below.
above. In another of his letter, Ridenhour reports the beginning of
(3.26) part
fellow sokdier Butch Gruver's recount of the massacre as follows:

off the village so hat "Chardo'

The oner two comparies thut mode up he lask force cordored

Company coud move through lo desuoy the siructures and kill the inhabitants.

In this sentence, Gruver introduces six 'entities' (people or things) that belong to
clided here sunce its hinction is not to
The onbedded clause that mude up the hask force is
two groups - the American task force and their Vietnanmese target. the conpunitioa of the task force.
Adyance the achviry sequence but to clariy
118 LEARNING TO WRITE, READING TO LEARN
WRITE IT
RIGHTITHE RIGHT TO WRITE 119

Tabie 3.1: Neaning matching wording9 (congruent reallsatlons)

3.6.2 Meanings mismatching wordings
een wording ecamplesS Ridenhour, however, is a mature speaker, crafting the most
ernuy people tH°gs minal group
important letter of bis
The oher Avo copenies life. And for various reasons his meanings do not
verta group cordoned of
always match his wordings.
u e (eveN - entbes)
Taking attitude, for example, at one point he wants to qualify how strongly he
cause The other ho compsnies cordoned of the was coming to believe in what he was
hearnng about My Lai. So instesd of sry-
village "
ing it was true, he writes that be was convinced that there was a very suóstan-
actv secuence Cause compiex so thet Cernie Company could move tial amoumt of ruth to it. By expressing his
through to destroy thee structuros and kil opinion as a noun in a nominal group
instead of an adjective, he opens up the possibility of
the inhabiants quantifying it, and thus
coinior (tue adettve bue fine-uning his degree of conviction at this penultimate pont in his investigabon.
It aiso convinced
Tbese congnuent reiations betueen meanings and wordings are me that here was a Vey subetnTmal amoun r u n o he siores tho of
mapped onto the
hese men had toid.
Caoxii of langage strata we ntroduced in
Chapter 1, as Figure 3.9
This contrasts with his initial reaction, in which he
qualifies the degree to whicb
he believed Butch's story, not bow true it was.
ctviry
3eguence
When Butch' tod me his I didn1 quite believe thal what he was teilng mewas v e
e
Clause assurad me that it was and went an to desuribe wnar had napcaned.
erce dause
TOUp complex In fact, a close
reading of Ridenhour' s letter (aiong with a spoken recount of
cvents wbich be gave at Tulane University in December 1994) reveals that
group when Ridenhour departs from the congruent
meaning/wordung reiations in Tuble
3.I he is usually expressing alt1tude. The activity
adjecove sequence Gruver recouns, forT
exampie, is referred to nominally as an act of barbarism

(Gner esTsuA)
Figre 3$: Mesning matching wording (congruent realisations)
ANer heanng us acEoumI coudáni quite accept . SomehoN i s t conidnt bnñevw h l nt only
Sicanty. r reiatons are he knd that Nigel, Hal and Siephen depended U a l y rouny Amercan me parucpaaj sui m x t Darbuarisam, Dui ham itak ofcers
oD w a are iarnug anguag D their omes Hcte as for them,
people and had grdered t
Ea at Peaiauod bry omnaggups, aId ctons d reiationships are realised
y veragp,2latiy 1ciatuons betwcen evenis are
teaus
signalled by conjunc Anud he also evaluates event sequcnces nominaly as slaughter and murde
betaw cinias, and apatcms are realsed s
adjectives that characierise
tu veti aad ctval. ite stiatsonstup betwocn mcaning and wording is
as&daect ot, va youg uatignge jeariuea, uioLg with te caregivers
uie
actngw12 them, ucr wa y ay ud say what thry uean Ths relationsbip
betweeu n g incknucally discourar antics) and wurdng (te hnicaly
kzcogrunar x etered t s tutctons. inguists As B cony urat on Fm nt l i n x.ut amaining eutanarguave m akiy abod imwde, Fm akury a c t

umpa ta w be Randenh.ur waata ta be nore u l ihan ts, vd t i

6 w u las ist2 nhu acwily prayersta iaiayias/iyt thers hfmirHLN