ABSTRACT
A common complaint among college and university faculty is that entering freshmen generally are poorly prepared for the standards and expectations of undergraduate writing, and with good reason. After years of instruction, most students entering college seem unable to write a successful academic paper—as noted in Chapter Two, a large majority of matriculated students test remedial in writing. Moreover, even those who consistently received high grades on their high school essays often struggle with college writing assignments. Given that writing instruction begins in middle school and extends through high school, college faculty are puzzled: Why is it that students cannot write an academic paper after so many years of instruction?
