This paper explains how first-year composition students wrote business sales letters about short fiction and then revised those letters into full-fledged literary essays that analyzed the stories. By completing these two writings back-to-back (that is, experiencing the metagenres between business writing and literary analysis), students not only…

Argues that students can be made more aware of language used in the "real" world by introducing them to figures of speech. (MS)

Argues that textbooks give little specific advice on the role of figures in discourse, while theorists extol their virtues, leaving instructors torn. Claims that, by examining students' writing, teachers can discover how students employ figures and how figures can be taught. Illustrates with examples of students' writing. (RS)