Reading literature is a fundamental element in school work. This study focuses on the problem of pupils’ declining interest in reading literature and their deteriorating reading comprehension. The study seeks the reasons for this change by examining the learning goals of assignments constructed for the teaching of literature in upper secondary school. The assignment culture is studied on the basis of the learning goal viewed from two perspectives: teaching writing and teaching literature. To reveal the assignment culture, the study uses Ivanic’s (2004) discourses of learning to write and Rosenblatt’s (2006) concept of reading stances. The link between the perspectives of teaching writing and teaching literature is also emphasized in the aim of Gy2011, the curriculum for Swedish in upper secondary school, which describes the core of the subject as consisting of Swedish language and literature. From the findings of the study and the analysis one can discern the following associations: (1) the reading stance and the discourses of learning to write are affected by the content of Swedish as a school subject; (2) the occurrence of different discourses of learning to write affects the reading stance. These associations underline the importance of the teacher’s assignment constructions and their effect on how the pupil reads and assimilates literature.