Thirty years later, I still remember the first time I went through a stack of student essays in preparation for paper conferences the next day. I was a first-year grad student in a writing program and completely responsible for the learning of the 22 first-year students enrolled in my course. An earnest Midwesterner, I took that responsibility very seriously. Gathering up my stack of drafts and a quiver of pens, I stretched out on the couch and went to work, reading, commenting, and then moving on to the next essay.
