This is actually why I became an English major in college. I wanted to learn how to write, and as a form of teaching assessment, writing allows students creative expression. Tests do not. Tests just ask students to regurgitate facts. I don't know. Reading your post now makes me fond of writing instruction, but the years I spent in america teaching it were the most miserable in my life. And now, I live in a country with a highly repressive educational system and am happy as hell. Go figure.