ABOUT THIS COMPILATION:
This, the fourth edition, replaces four  essays with a handful or so of additional writing guides.  The conception for this collection of student writing began with one central question: How can we as teachers of diverse disciplines drive home the unwavering necessity for our students to develop sound writing skills, especially as they face a work force that increasingly places a premium on effective communication skills? 

the write stuff,  an anthology of across-the-curriculum writing assignments submitted by Collin College students, attempts in part to answer this question.  By showcasing our students' compositions instead of those from professional writers, the write stuff aims to inspire as well as to challenge students to perfect their own writing skills.  It also points to the chief benefits of holding students accountable for their written work. 

Moreover, because this collection consists of real work from real students, it provides immediate access to a variety of representative writing assignments students can expect to encounter here.  As might be expected from a varied body of students, the entries range from good to excellent; once students gain confidence in their writing skills, they will be able to judge for themselves the merits of the writing examples.  The point is that students learn writing from that of others.  They can view two paragraphs, for example, one using meaningful transitions and active verbs, the other not, and readily recognize the better.  In turn, they will begin to include these characteristics in their own work. 

Then too, depending on the discipline, students may at the least find an applicable model to clarify their understanding of class instruction and assignments, just as instructors can simplify their instruction by pointing to a model's most salient characteristics.  Some essays, for instance, offer excellent examples of analysis in contrast to summary while others illustrate the power and effectiveness of supporting details. 

Most important, however, each of the compositions challenges students to explore the complex relationship between thinking and the conversion of that thinking into writing.  Indeed, through writing, students in all disciplines can relish that common denominator of human activities, namely, the delight in solving problems.  Finally, along with their peers' writing, students will find a variety of writing guides in the Appendix (Practical Hints for Better Writing).  Examples include a list of transitions-the "stuff" that glues one thought 

smoothly to another-and a list of the most common writing errors to avoid.  Observation, experience, and pragmatism informed both my composition and subsequent inclusion of the other guides, each one calculated to improve fundamental writing skills. 

SELECTION AND EDITING PROCESS:
Regretfully, in a journal as brief as this, I could not include all the meritorious work I received.  As a general rule, I selected only one representative example per course number in a discipline, making exceptions only when a work was brief enough not to compromise space constraints or when papers offered dissimilar and thereby instructive perspectives on (or approaches to) one subject (e.g., biology and chemistry).  In addition, I used excerpts to replace lengthy wholes to conserve space.  (Students should note further that the write stuff's format is not intended to supplant their classroom formatting instructions.)

All writing faces boundless refinement.  Keeping this observation in mind guided my editorial judgment and refrained my editing hand.  Not unexpectedly, some entries required greater editorial attention than others.  The ultimate decision to select one work over another, however, rested not on its degree of style or grammatical correctness or subject matter as much as on its degree of authenticity.  In the academic world of necessarily contrived topics, finding the authentic voice-even if the writing is somewhat awkward, somewhat unorganized, somewhat unpolished, is a joy unrestrained. 

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS:
the write stuff owes its initial completion (1997) to the willing contributions from a generous faculty and student body, whether or not their submissions are included here.  Without their uncommon good will and cooperation, this project would still be in the planning stages.  To the 1997 sabbatical committee, the president, and the board of directors, thank you for giving me the opportunity to fulfill a long-held dream in producing this journal.   To Judy Angele, thank you for your conscientious efforts over the years in directing all earnings from the write stuff  to the Student Activities Fund.  Finally, I wish to thank my friends, colleagues, and family for their support and encouragement.  Their faith in my abilities and in the worthiness of this project sustained me more than they will ever know.

                                                                Joyce Marie Miller
First Edition, 1997
          Fourth Edition, August 2006