ABSTRACT
When I was invited to contribute to a volume devoted to “advanced literacy,” I did wonder a little at the theme: In what sense was the word “advanced” intended? Did it mean advanced in the sense that it concerned older students at advanced (i.e., tertiary) levels? Or did it mean advanced in the sense that it involved thinking about literacy at some level beyond the basics, however we conceived those? Or did it, perhaps relatedly, mean advanced in the sense that it suggested developing students who could take up challenging (i.e., advanced) positions in their writing, in which case it might suggest some interest in critical literacy, and all that that implies? It might in fact mean all these, although it will be as well if I begin by setting some constraints on what I intend in responding to the notion of the acquisition of advanced literacy.
