University and college English departments, preoccupied with literary study, have long neglected their role in teacher preparation, especially the training of college composition teachers. Grammar, rhetoric, and logic are studies more valuable to the composition teacher than courses in imaginative literature. The weighting of curriculum in favor of literature and literary analysis is reflected not only in the general unpreparedness of newly graduated composition teachers, but in textbooks, anthologies, and doctoral programs as well. Recent studies suggest that momentum is gathering for changes toward a more communications-based curriculum. (KS)