Research on how students in a university composition class generate and use ideas not only yielded data on the process of invention, but also altered the structure of the course and the teacher-researcher's attitudes toward teaching writing. To facilitate the study of invention, researchers instituted several changes in the course format. They asked students to select their own topics for papers and to keep a detailed record of their writing sessions. To avoid pressuring students to revise, they gave no grades but scheduled conferences on each paper and revision. Devoting class time to writing, evaluating, and editing instead of to formal instruction, the researchers gave the course a workshop atmosphere. While not all students took their writing seriously, many responded well to these changes. Choosing their own topics seemed to give students a greater sense of personal commitment, keeping a log promoted their insight into the writing process, and attending frequent conferences gave them needed feedback. Positive effects for the teacher-researcher included an increased involvement in teaching and a willingness to reevaluate and change courses, a greater appreciation of the complexity of the writing process, and a deeper sense of professionalism, born of the commitment to continue study of how people write. (MM)