ABSTRACT
From then on our paths began to diverge. The student writer is writing under different constraints than I. Before her is the prospect of formal assessment; her work, in the average academic course, is only likely to be read by her course tutors and/or examiners-one or two readers, at most. The critics I face are also formidable: but they do not have the power to close the gates and ‘fail’ me in quite as direct a manner. And, as protection, I have editors who, between first draft and public performance, have an investment in helping me produce readable, and even coherent writing.
