In written compositions, authority derives from the dynamic interchange among author, text, and reader. English majors at The Chinese University of Hong Kong, after competing rigorously for their place in the university, adhere to received opinions rather than writing originally or authoritatively. From their very first assignment, the students are expected to write authoritatively, but the competitive culture of their secondary education has made their feelings taboo. They are then taught to increase their authority by gathering fresh evidence for research based papers. The students have special problems when they try to write authoritatively about literature because their writing lacks the voice of a real person speaking from experience. Students must be allowed to write badly, yet originally and creatively, before they can be expected to write well and authoritatively. For their senior theses, the students could write an original piece of literary analysis, but some made no attempt to distinguish between their own authority and that of their sources. As a result, they were taught about plagiarism and the difference between borrowing from sources to reinforce their authority and borrowing to usurp the authority of others. (SRT)