This study compares the effectiveness of two approaches to teaching advanced English writing: the productive writing approach, in which comprehension before production is emphasized, and the traditional grammar-based syllabus method. Five classes of English as a second language in a U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) language training program at the American University in Cairo participated. The students, assigned to treatment group by class, were evaluated for improvement in English usage and listening comprehension. The results show both approaches to be effective in terms of mean achievement gains. However, the range of scores became narrower in the productive writing groups, and the percentage of those students meeting the minimum achievement level set by USAID was noticeably higher, supporting the use of the productive writing approach. (MSE)