Insofar as students gain clarity by writing statements of belief and meaning, the expressive mode is a vehicle for learning. By expressing in writing their reaction to a bewildering experience, a current dilemma, or a troublesome conflict, for example, they are better able to broaden their views on this personal predicament. The expressive mode fits not only into the expression stage of a writer's process, but also into almost every other stage. As a writer confronts a topic, collects and recollects material, puts material into incipient forms, recognizes patterns of ideas and details, and reworks the material in various ways, the writer's expository modes are complemented and invigorated by the expressive mode, like a linguistic ebb and flow of creative power. The teacher who guides students through the recursive stages of writing with the use of expressive-writing activities should remember three general principles. First, the teacher should allow the student choice of topic. A focus question for journal writing, for example, follows this principle insofar as it both allows choice and offers direction. Second, a teacher should require students to articulate their rhetorical purposes so that they write purposefully and use language effectively. For instance, a written description of audience and purpose might be required for a journal selection. Third, a teacher should establish an "expressive relationship" with students through, for instance, informal student-teacher dialogue in the journal. (TB)