De WenXuan bevat 761 stukken proza en poezie van 130 sschrijvers. De meest gebruikte versie verdeeld het werk in 37 genres:

賦 fu - exposition, or rhapsody
詩 shi -lyric poetry
騷 sao - elegy
七 qi - sevens
詔 zhao - edict
冊 ce - patent of enfeoffment
令 ling - command
叙 jiao - instruction
策文cewen - examination question
表 biao - petition
上書 shangshu - letter presented to a superior
啟 qi communication
彈事 tanshi accusation
箋 jian - memorandum
奏記 zouji - note
書shu - letter
檄 xi - proclamation
對文 duiwen - dialogue
設論 shelun - hypothetical discourse
辭 ci - song, or rhapsody
序 xu - preface
頌 song - eulogy
贊 zan - encomium
符命 fuming - mandate to rule based on prophetic signs
史論 shilun - disquisition from the histories
史述贊 shi shu zan - evaluation and judgment from the histories
論 lun - disquisition
連珠 lianzhu - epigram
箴 zhen - admonition
銘 ming - inscription
諌 lei - dirge
哀 ai - lament
碑文beiwen - epitaph, stele inscription
墓志 muzhi - grave memoir
行狀 xingzhuang - conduct description
弔文 diaowen - condolence
祭文jiwen - offering.

Sommige versies van de Wen xuan hebben achtendertig categorieën met de toevoeging van yi 移 (dispatch) tussen shu en xi. In de houtblokdruk editie van Chen Balang 陳八郎 uit de Zuidelijke Song, is een negenendertigste categorie, de nan 難 (refutation), toegevoegd.

De fu- en shi-secties, die zijn onderverdeeld in subcategorieën, bevatten de meeste stukken.

The fu section has fifteen subcategories, such as
"Jingdu"京都 (Metropolises and capitals),
"Jiao si"郊祀 (Sacrifices), and
"Tianlie"田獵 (Hunting).

De fu-sectie heeft vijftien subcategorieën, zoals
京都 Jingdu - Metropolen en hoofdsteden
郊祀 Jiao si - Offergaven en
田獵 Tianlie - Jacht.

The shi section has twenty-three subcategories, among which those containing more than twenty pieces are
"Yong shi"詠史 (Poems on historical themes),
"You lan"游覽 (Sightseeing),
"Zengda" 贈答 (Exchangepoems),
"Xinglti" 行旅 (Travel),
"Yuefu" 樂 (Ballads),
"Za shi"雜詩 (Unclassified lyric poems), and
"Zani" 雜擬(Diverse imitations).

Works in each genre are arranged chronologically.

Xiao Tong explains in his preface the principles of compilation and the standards of selection. Four kinds of writing were excluded:
(1) works traditionally attributed to the Duke of Zhou and Confucius, that is, works that are usually included in the jing, or "classics" category;
(2) the writings of Laozi, Zhuangzi, Guanzi, and Mencius, meaning the works of the zi 子, or "masters" group;
(3) the speeches of worthy men, loyal officials, political strategists, and sophists, which are found in such works as the Guo yu 國語 and Zhanguo ce 戰國策; and
(4) historical narratives and chronicles.

The last two types belong to the shi 史, or "history" category.
Xiao makes a clear distinction between what he called wen 文, or "literary" works, and nonliterary works. By literary, he meant writing that displays "verbal coloration intricately arranged" and "literary ornament carefully organized” or works "whose matter is the product of profound thought, and whose principles belong to the realm of literary elegance."

He considered the style of the classics, histories, and masters plain and simple, and their function primarily practical. Some later scholars faulted Xiao for much too narrow a definition of literature. The Wen xuan in fact does contain some pieces that belong to the excluded categories. For example, such works as "Preface to the Shang shu”, "Preface to the Mao Version of the Classic of Songs," and the "Preface to the Zuo shi Chunqiu” by Du Yu 杜預 (222-284) all are from the standard version of the classics.