ABSTRACT
We direct and teach in the writing program at a private university in the District of Columbia with an enrollment of 6,500 students, of which undergraduates comprise slightly less than half. At present, at-risk writers are mainstreamed into the first-year composition course in a format similar to the Writing Studio
described by Rhonda Grego and Nancy Thompson. We place students in separate sections of the course, which have a weekly small group revision workshop attached, led by a second instructor who also tutors students as needed. This configuration grew out of an experimental content composition course we taught for two summers and two semesters for a heterogeneous group of writers who were all identified as at-risk of making a successful transition to college. Although our current program permits our at-risk writers to complete the required course in rhetoric and composition in the usual one semester, in our experimental program, student success in college coursework and in writing development was evaluated as superior. Despite the high level of difficulty and the clear success in terms of student learning, the experimental course retained the labeling of an at-risk program. The label could not be entirely countered by our efforts, and the program was eliminated as a result.
