Renewing some previous considerations on the "manufactured" split between literature and composition instruction that is currently dividing many professionals in higher education today, this paper discusses the economic and political reasons for the initial separation of composition and literature in the classroom. The paper argues that to help make graduates more employable in the face of the rise of service industries, the university abandoned literature study for a more skills-oriented approach to English and writing instruction. Following a review of the literature for and against the skills-oriented classroom, the paper argues for the imparting of new skills such as critical thinking, in addition to the basic skills now being taught in composition classes. The paper then presents the following suggestions for improving the composition classroom: (1) bring literature back into the composition classroom; (2) use a reader that offers complex ideas in composition classes; (3) emphasize the argument paper; (4) help students feel the "slow pace" of critical thought; and (5) look critically at how economies are structuring society. (NKA)