In order to determine whether an increased amount of theme writing in freshman English composition favorably affects a student's performance on a language skills examination (the Regents' Test) administered at the end of the two-quarter composition course, the performance of first-time freshmen in the University System of Georgia was examined. From the 7,315 student sample, 418 subjects were selected from four senior colleges and three junior colleges that require more than one theme per week, forming one control group; and 250 subjects were selected from two senior colleges and four junior colleges requiring less than one theme per week, forming the other control group. Insitutions requiring exactly one theme per week were excluded from the study. After adjusting for variations by using the SAT scores of the subjects, an analysis of covariance test was conducted to determine the test score difference between the two groups. No significant difference was found to exist on either the reading or essay portions of the exam. A survey of the literature is included, and complete statistical data are tabulated. (NHM)