Discusses the problems found in the writing of advanced writing students, speculates on why such students often write badly, offers ways to get them to break away from old writing formulas, and suggests techniques for producing improvement in their writing. (FL)

Reflects over the changing status of college writing instructors and their relationship with those that teach literature in the English department. (HOD)

Argues that the romantic and classical theories about writing are not necessarily contradictory and proposes a larger view of the writing process that would accommodate both theories. Notes that problems in choosing composition instruction approaches stem from teachers' failure to distinguish between two of three categories of nonfiction writing.…

Uses Thomas Kuhn's hypothesis on paradigm shifts--changes in a discipline from established models to newer ones--to examine the developing shift in writing instruction from the product-oriented to the process-oriented model. (RL)

Warns against the new model emerging for first-year writing programs that puts dogma before diversity, politics before craft, ideology before critical thinking, and the social goals of the teacher before the educational needs of the student. Discusses how this model came about, the threat it poses to first-year courses, and new possibilities for…