Many college students who have been labeled semi-literate because of their excessively poor writing ability in fact possess a neurological dysfunction known as dysgraphia. The symptoms of this disorder range from a consistent but minor inability to spell to a major disarrangement of letters and syntax. The best way to identify dysgraphic students is to acquaint composition teachers with the writing peculiarities that distinguish them from students with more traditional deficiencies. Unfortunately, even when such students have been identified treatment is not easy. In individual conferences some improvement in spelling has been produced through overlearning, a technique used for elementary school students with similar problems. Severely dsygraphic students at many universities may receive help from vocational rehabilitation programs. The most valuable help for dysgraphics, however, can be given in the classroom by composition teachers if they ignore spelling and instead stress the composing process and standard grammar. To establish the causes of deficient writing among college students in general, it is essential to isolate the specific causes as they are discovered. Identifying dysgraphia makes it possible to recognize other factors that contribute to the label of illiteracy. (Student papers are appended.) (FL)