Many students view writing as limited to utilitarian ends: writing to please a teacher or to pass a composition course. They often perceive little inherent value in their writing. However, experience teaching high school and college students reveals that many students recognize some inherent value in writing when it is used as a means of understanding themselves or others, as in the writing of autobiography (portrayal of the writer in the past), memoir (portrayal of a person whom the writer knew in the past), and portrait (portrayal of a person whom the writer knows in the present). This booklet shows how such writing contributes to the understanding of self and to the development of writing skills, and it outlines classroom activities for guiding students in four areas: observing and portraying behaviors characteristic of self; choosing specific topics that best portray self; researching topics through free writing, observing, interviewing, and reminiscing; and writing preliminary and final drafts. (GW)