The purpose of this study was to use Q methodology to understand the subjective views of faculty, students and administrators about the perspectives of writing related to critical thinking and knowledge creation in the social sciences of agriculture. Writing as content development guided by feedback and the knowledge of society, writing as an application and a development of thought and writing as an advanced skill guided by complex reasoning emerged as perspectives of writing and the writing factors that augment critical thinking and create knowledge in the social sciences of agriculture. Writing is complex, but learning how to write and teaching someone how to write is even more complex. Using the three perspectives of writing to guide classroom instruction will help instructors teach students how to write and help students learn how to write. The statements that defined each perspective could be used as guides in developing writing assignments and assessments, initiating course discussion, establishing guidelines for peer review and developing supplemental course curriculum. The three perspectives of writing, backed by the statements that support them, provide faculty with a starting point for teaching writing because unprepared faculty produce unprepared college graduates.