Questions whether the benefits of separating basic writers into homogeneous classes continue to outweigh the disadvantages. Proposes that teachers gather data about success rates of current basic writing courses (using "mainstreamed" volunteer basic writers) and revise first-year composition courses to ensure they will respond to a wider range of…

Analyzes methodologies used by those embroiled in the "mainstreaming debate" (whether a basic writing curriculum is the best way to help entering college students). Finds methodological confusion leading to monologues going in circles rather than constructive dialectic. Argues that researchers ought to consider the evidence and arguments of those…

Evaluates a three-year pilot project in mainstreaming basic writers at the City University of New York. Suggests that the social and political contexts of a project need to be taken into account in the earliest stages of evaluation. Claims the empirically verifiable account that researchers sought was compromised by the socio-political forces…

This paper reports on a cross-disciplinary study by an L1 compositionist and an applied linguist investigating interrelationships among university basic writing students' responses to linguistic identity labels, their residency statuses, and their preferences for mainstream or multilingual composition. Previous L2 writing research has suggested…