To link the perspectives of Walter Ong on the history of literacy to the psychological context of college writers, this paper contrasts the mind-sets that are important to writers: the oral community of the ancient epic and the modern psychological perspective, with its emphasis on the one against the many. In the first section of the paper, Ong's work is related to the history of literacy, while the second section explains the theories and significance of ancient and modern oral formulary. The third section analyzes and then contrasts Tudor and early Renaissance rhetoric to the Romantic Movement's de-emphasis of rhetoric, and the fourth section connects historical development of rhetoric to student writers of today. The final section delineates four teaching strategies intended to address the needs of modern writing students. (CRH)