Although many students simply do not visualize or draw very well, most students have capabilities and potentials that they, and perhaps their professors, are overlooking. Once elementary representations are mastered, it may be that drawing becomes progressively less of a learning tool as one moves through the educational system. But there is evidence to suggest that those earliest childhood experiences with drawing are better retained than is generally thought. In a formal experiment, 234 postsecondary level freshmen and sophomore students in English composition courses in a large metropolitan community college participated in a study in which they were asked to read a lengthy art history passage which was accompanied by photographs and illustrations. Students were then given time to draw what they had seen and remembered about the text and pictures. Over 90% of the subjects provided usable drawings that reflected their accurate recall of the topic. In terms of advertising, visuals have been thought to act either to retrieve memories associated with brands or as mnemonic devices. Student participation in the processing of complex symbolic visual materials requires cognitive participation and the reliance on learning. What is evident is that these students are not just seeing, but they have learned how to see and what to see to various degrees of expertise and preference. The development of perceptual and cognitive skills that enhance students' ability to critically examine visual information is a worthy goal for educators. (Contains 15 references.) (AEF)