A framework for the study of discourse, based on the analysis of three superordinate features of discourse (asymmetry, hierarchy, and continuum), is proposed in this paper. The paper begins by noting the confusion in terminology that exists in the world of composition pedagogy and theory; pointing to the need for a framework for testing, synthesizing, and organizing insights; and suggesting defects in James Kinneavy's "semiotic framework" for the study of discourse. It then discusses the three superordinate features of discourse, which have a crucial bearing upon the problems of classification: asymmetry (the condition that form is not equal to, and does not predict, meaning); hierarchy (both the hierarchy of forms and categories that constitute the system of communication, and functional hierarchies used in creating discourse); and the continuum of forms (referring to categories of form and function that extend into one another by gradual stages). Finally, the paper presents and discusses five diagrams that outline the proposed framework for the study of discourse. The first diagram illustrates the hierarchy of discourse categories, while the others elucidate the following specific categories: the aims of discourse, rhetorical genus, discourse strategies, and the modes of written discourse. (GT)