Why do students undertaking practice-based Art and Design (A&D) degree courses have to write? What kind of writing would support them best in their practice? How do we mark student writing that challenges our current writing criteria? The ‘Writing Purposefully in Art and Design’ (Writing PAD) project seeks to encourage debates around writing in A&D. This article details the first year of the project and lays out the various debates that have developed. The project was initiated to focus specifically on disseminating current good practice for students with visual-spatial learning styles and dyslexia, international students, and mature students. This article presents the spectrum of views that have arisen from our discussions over the year. The issues presented are followed by the implications for change that have emerged from the various Writing PAD activities.