This book explores the implications and consequences, both theoretically and practically, of four propositions: (1) discourse is produced in context; (2) discourse is primarily a reaction to a precedent action; (3) social interactions in which language is used to construct reality are performed in a variety of roles; and (4) the features of discourse are shaped by the fundamental roles of the participant and the spectator. The 12 chapters are as follows: (1) Context; A Composing Class; (2) Generative Frame: Actions and Reactions; (3) Generative Frame: Varieties of Textuality; (4) Applications: Syntax as a Notch on the Evolutionary Ladder; (5) Generative Frame: The Possibilities of Narrative; (6) Generative Frame: Being a Participant, Being a Spectator; (7) Applications: Writers as Participants; (8) Applications: Writers as Spectators; (9) Generative Frame: Role; (10) Applications: Student Writers in Role; (11) Generative Frame: Familiarization and Defamiliarization; and (12) Overview: The Shape of the Semester. (RS)