Current writing research emphasizes the teaching of disciplinary literacy, attending to the privileged ways of writing in each subject area. However, as the traditional space for generic literacy instruction, the ELA classroom has not assimilated this shift. This study used qualitative content analysis to examine feedback on writing about literature from eight secondary teacher candidates in their online correspondences with urban, multilingual students and their written reflections. The most frequently employed strategies were direct corrections stressing grammar and five-paragraph structure, suggesting that TC's conceptions of their discipline had been influenced by narrow models for argumentation characterizing standardized writing assessment. Implications are offered for teacher educators wishing to broaden TC's awareness of discipline-specific practices in the service of meaningful writing instruction.