To come closer to the full "face to face" expression of writing consistent with the intention of the holistic movement, a study investigated the writing attitudes of first year writing students. Subjects, 70 students in the developmental writing group, 77 in the middle ability group, and 68 in the advanced writing group enrolled in freshman writing classes at Skidmore College, completed a questionnaire consisting of three open-ended questions on writing attitudes. Results indicated that the developmental writers shared many of the writing attitudes of the most advanced writers, while the middle ability group often expressed the kind of attitudes expected from students of lower writing ability. Results also yielded five purposes for writing in college: (1) to express the self; (2) to teach students to write; (3) to evaluate students' knowledge; (4) to develop skills necessary for a future job or graduate school; and (5) to learn or discover ideas and information. (Five notes are included.) (RS)