Prior to her joining the California Writing Project's (WP) Improving Students' Academic Writing (ISA) program, the author relates how she used to get frustrated when she read her students' essays. As a result of her new understanding gained from her participation at ISA, the author boldly banished traditional literary analysis papers that asked students, for example, to analyze Macbeth as a tragic hero. She also relates how she got the idea of introducing Writer's Notebooks to her creative writing students. Through the "Writer's Notebooks", the author's students are able to engage personal opinions in their literary essays. Her students write with more zeal, resulting in more enjoyable reading for their teacher.