"Aerobic writing" is a writing center strategy designed to keep students in writing "shape." Like aerobic exercise, aerobic writing is sustained for a certain length of time and done on a regular basis at prescribed time intervals. The program requires students to write at least two times a week for approximately an hour each time. Students write, save what they have written, date it, and submit the work when they have accumulated eight to ten pieces. The teacher does not critique the work initially, but comments only on positive aspects of the paper or asks questions about the content. The idea is not to discourage the students with citations of structural errors, but to encourage the students to continue. After the students have submitted two batches, the teacher selects one or two promising pieces for each writer to expand, revise, and polish. The practice writing sessions are suspended while the students revise. During the course of a term, each student produces 30 to 40 pieces of writing, ranging from one to three pages. The teacher will conduct three to five conferences with each student as the term progresses. This aerobic strategy works particularly well with writing apprehensive students, since it builds confidence and, like any form of exercise, produces greater proficiency. (AEW)