A developmental English program for a liberal arts college should be individualized and intellectually challenging to students entering a four-year baccalaureate program. Such a program must emphasize motivation, flexibility, and a well-conceived progression for acquiring skills. It should view writing as a holistic process and should use such techniques as group methods, individual teacher-student sessions, peer tutoring, or the "talk-write" method. An introduction to the library and to the use of library skills should be included in a developmental course. Criteria for selecting topics should include grouping assignments around a common theme and assigning topics that are in the student's previous range of experience, are worthy of college-level writing, are concrete and limited in scope, and are related to regular academic disciplines. A developmental writing course should also encourage students to view writing as a reflection of critical thinking. (TJ)