Teacher-student writing conferences should provide students in composition classes with concentrated attention to their writing consonant with the teacher's in-class persona and instructional objectives. Some alternatives available to the instructor and the conferee include watching the teacher compose, sharing and revising journal entries, revising one another's writing, talk-writing (using a tape recorder), values clarification, analysis of a writing model, and one-to-two conferencing (two students meeting with the teacher). For college composition teachers, office hours provide time for conferencing, but secondary teachers have more difficulty scheduling time. Free periods, study halls, special class sessions, and time between classes can be utilized for five- to ten-minute conferences employing these strategies. Although it is assumed that writing conferences are helpful in improving student writing, there is little empirical evidence that this is true. Further research in this area is needed. (TJ)