A technique for teaching expository writing using a system that provides an objective reader centric microanalysis of the information a writer has conveyed to a virtual reader. The technique uses a theory of discourse analysis such as the Linguistic Discourse Model. Using the technique, a text is segmented into discrete units of meaning of the selected theoretic model. Student analysis and understanding are facilitated by the assignment of types to the discrete units of meaning and by linking the discrete units of meaning into a discourse tree under the constraints imposed by the selected theory. A virtual, or objective, reader centric summary of the information actually conveyed by the text is then compared to the writer designated important concepts and the results conveyed as feedback to the writer.