The article consists of two parts: One introduces the concept of positioning as a framework for inspecting and relating major tendencies regarding research on writing; the other gives a historic outline of how research on writing in Norway first emerged. The triadic semiotics of Bühler, Bakhtin, Habermas, and Halliday are combined, and then related to the concept of positioning, which is used as a framework for the historical part. A triadic understanding of communication and didactics is outlined for the purpose of studying positioning of research on writing. Reviews of didactics, research, and stil are presented before overall developmental patterns of general tendencies in the early research writing are described. Central parts of the framework and the historical part are finally compared to an overview offered by Nystrand, Green, and Wiemelt.