This article is devoted to the consideration of approaches to teaching writing on a discursive basis, which is increasingly used in teaching both foreigners learning the Russian language and native speakers. Reference to the interpretation of the text as an element of the discursive formation (type of text/discourse) allows us to observe the typical structure of the text as a basis for the selection of language means and ways of their organization. The variety of techniques used here contributes to the choice of structural models and language tools manifestation of individualization of the narrative. The article uses the texts included in the memoir discourse as the observation material.