Teaching poetry and fiction writing is most effective in classes where the student population is heterogeneous. The experienced writers help the beginners improve and the beginners provide a critical audience for the more advanced writers. Diversity in age and worldliness challenges the creative writing instructor to provide the opportunity for all the different perspectives and kinds of writing to emerge and provides a healthy, motivating atmosphere for student writers. Creative writing classes provide the real-life environment that can motivate students with writing weaknesses to practice and master the basics of grammar, spelling, and punctuation. The broader audience confronting the student whose writing will be read by a diverse class also motivates the student to write so that those with different perspectives and experiences will understand. Anthology readings successfully establish a common ground of understanding that prevents alienation of students from each other, and exposes them to different writing techniques and styles. The most successful grading policy in a diverse creative writing class is one of lengthy written comments on papers and letter grades based on consistent participation and completion of assignments. (HTH)