This article reports on a challenging and effective assignment on thinking in a discipline that the author gave during fall 2006 in his sophomore-level "Critical Reading, Thinking, and Writing" (CRTW) course at Winthrop University. Required of all students, the course follows Writing 101: Composition; and a multi-disciplinary course about the self entitled "The Human Experience: Who Am I?," which is taught by faculty from a variety of departments and billed as "a course requiring a significant amount of writing." With a big time gap after the former and uneven writing instruction in the latter, CRTW students' writing skills range from remedial to highly advanced. The challenge for the instructor is obvious: how to create assignments that challenge and engage the best students without losing those who need basic-level writing instruction.
