The theory and criticism of genres of writing was once a stable, staid area of English studies, based largely on a fixed taxonomy of formalism. But with the rise of different postmodern theories, work in sociolinguistics, and the influence of contemporary research, these notions are now under dispute. This book takes a broad look at the concepts and applications of "genre", presenting several theoretical, critical and pedagogical perspectives. This collection includes many essays that concern and/or take into account student writing, including essays exploring links between "process" pedagogy and genre, and between social-epistemic pedagogy and genre. Other essays explore the acquisition of genre familiarity; still others, the several possible social functions of genre. By design, these pieces often echo one another, or argue dialectically, in effect collaborating to pursue arguments and lines of inquiry about textual forms and functions.