Imagine you are the inspector appointed to review the proposed route of a new road and you have invited written evidence. You receive a great many letters from the general public, all wishing to put forward arguments in favour of or against the road. Some letters make their case clearly -- arguing a point, elaborating on it before moving onto another point, and ending with a summary. Others, although obviously deeply felt, are rambling, move randomly from point to point, are at times incoherent, and leave you with no clear idea of the arguments being expressed or the evidence to support them. Which letters are you more likely to consider when making your decision?

This imaginary situation is just one example of how important being competent in the use of nonfiction written genres is in our society. Persuasion, explanation, report, and discussion are powerful forms of language that we use to get things done. These forms have been called the language of power, and it can be argued that students who leave our classrooms unable to operate successfully within these powerful genres are denied access to becoming fully functioning members of society. This fact suggests that it is not sufficient for us simply to accept the overwhelming dominance of recounts in our students' nonfiction writing. We have to do something about broadening their range.

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