Discusses some problems of the process approach to writing instruction. Investigates the impact of productivity on student performance and attitudes; whether forcing productivity is workable in the classroom; and whether productivity shows potential for helping students develop as writers. Notes that practice is an important part of the writing…

Argues that little is known about the teaching of writing beyond what good teachers have always known: that some students learn without teachers; that some students learn if they are given simple assignments, have their papers read with respect, and are taught the few simple things that can be demonstrated simply. (RS)

Emphasizes that composition teachers can create exercises fitted to the current psychological or process perspective on learning (freewriting, drafting, revision) by adding to classical or product perspective (copying, summarizing, paraphrasing, translating, amplifying) the elements of rhetorical purpose and sense of context and community. (RS)