Learning to write the right learning The ideological function of copies in writing instruction in 19th-century Sweden

While previous research has acknowledged the ideological function of reading lessons, writing instruction has primarily been viewed from the perspective of qualification. The ideological content of writing instruction has attracted only limited scholarly attention. This article analyses the contents of copybooks used in writing instruction in Sweden, ca 1800-1850. Copybooks provided three kinds of examples of writing to be copied by the students: 1) Separate letters, syllables and individual words; 2) Collections of short maxims; 3) Complete guides to letter-writing. Focus is placed on the contents of categories 2) and 3), and special attention is paid to the ideology of the category 2) copies. Finally, the article discusses the ideological function of writing instruction with reference to the contents of the copies. The article also raises the question whether citations in commonplace books and peasant diaries can be linked to the method of copying the right learning applied by students learning to write.