The genre-based approach to pedagogy focuses on a particular set of school genres. The teachers work with their students through a sequence of five steps in the teaching-and-learning cycle (c.f., Rose & Martin 2012). These steps are:

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1. Developing the students' basic understanding of their subject and of the social context in which the genre operates

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2. Carefully analysing sample texts as a way of developing the students' comprehension of the communicative purposes that the texts serve, and understanding the language choices used to serve those purposes

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3. Constructing texts jointly, with the teachers acting as disciplined language guides

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4. Constructing texts individually, with each student demonstrating his or her capability

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5. Reviewing the students' texts to provide input for subsequent teaching and learning cycles