- Formalist: “emphasizing the traits internal to the work” (343). “Adherence to formalist theories judge students work primarily by whether it shows certain internal forms…Indeed, the most common type of formalist value theory is a grammatical one” (344).
- Expressionist: “philosophies of composition emphasizing the writer” (343). “Expressivist value writing that is about personal subjects, and journal-keeping is an absolute essential. Another keynote for expressivists is the desire to have writing contain an interesting, credible, honest, and personal voice” (345).
- Memetic: “philosophies emphasizing correspondence with ‘reality’” (343). Memetic theorists argue “that a clear connection exists between good writing and good thinking. The major problem with student writing is that it is not solidly thought out. Hence, we should either teach students how to think [i.e. emphasize logic and reasoning] or help them learn enough about varies topics to have something worth saying, or we should to both” (345).
- Rhetorical: “emphasizes the effect on the reader” (343). “[G]ood writing is writing adapted to achieve the desired effect on the desired audience” (346).
He asserts that our teachings theories should match our evaluative theories. He states, “My research has convinced me that in many cases composition teachers either fail to have a consistent value theory or fail to let that philosophy shape pedagogy” (347). In other words, we need to be more mindful about our pedagogical theories and practice, ensuring that they match.