In teaching students how to write, the utilitarian aspect does not need to be ignored, but--more important--the imaginative, expressive aspect should be emphasized. Since all writing depends on the full resources of the imagination, students need to be taught how to recreate or vivify people, objects, scenes, and feelings. A process which helps students learn to do this, TOTCOM, involves thinking, observing, and composing. Associative thinking provides students with ideas on which to focus in their writing. Another aid for students is the close observation of all their sensory perceptions, while a third is training in the importance of detail--close scrutiny of one small portion of very common things. After thinking, observing, and training, students may proceed to composing, beginning with simple basic structures and continuing on to longer pieces. This training and composing may then be used in aesthetic writings, such as limericks, lyrics, ballads, or fold songs. (JM)