This paper explores and analyzes what has been recently termed a “writing crisis” among this country's youth. The author rejects the notion that the writing crisis is merely a pedagogical problem in need of simple and recycled solutions such as the back-to-basics proposal. Instead, the writing crisis is viewed as part of a much larger social crisis in thinking itself. The paper points out that while a new pedagogy of writing, one that links writing to learning and critical thinking, will not solve the larger crisis in literacy, the development of such a pedagogy will be useful in helping students to understand and to take action against the social and economic basis for the new illiteracy. Consequently, the main thrust of the paper centers around examining some of the major traditional assumptions that have shaped the pedagogy of writing. In addition, the paper redefines the nature of writing instruction and provides a theoretical foundation for using writing in the classroom as a learning tool to promote critical thinking and social awareness among students.