Faculty

Why Use Writing in Your Classes?

  1. Writing promotes learning: As students write, they use a recursive process that involves planning, organizing, analyzing, evaluating, collaborating, and revising. This active and critical engagement with ideas deepens students’ understanding of course material and promotes the synthesis of new ideas.

  2. Writing promotes creative thinking: The more students practice their writing skills, the more adept they become at using language, voice, and mechanics to cultivate style and express themselves as individuals.

  3. Writing is vital for STEM majors: Whether it relates to the routine, day-to-day tasks within a tech company such writing reports or composing inter-office messages, or whether it involves collaboration on large group projects, strong written communication skills within STEM fields are vital. “No matter how brilliant you are or how well you can code, if you can't communicate your ideas, you're not a good hire,” says Samantha Kleinberg of the Stevens Institute of Technology. Susan Ramlo, professor of Engineering and Science Technology at the University of Akron, agrees: “If you cannot communicate with a diverse set of people, there is no point in having good ideas, because you will have no way to share them with others.”1 Kristin Sainani, a health policy professor at Stanford University who teaches courses on writing in the sciences, says, "In science, research is king, and it's important," but she points out that over the past ten years or so, many colleges have begun to acknowledge the importance of the "soft skills," such as writing and interpersonal communication, within various scientific fields.2

  4. Employers want candidates with strong writing skills: Despite which major or career path a student chooses, there is a sizable body of research that shows just how important written communication skills are for most prospective employers. A 2014 online survey of 400 employers conducted on behalf of the Association of American Colleges & Universities by Hart Research Associates found that “employers say that when hiring, they place the greatest value on demonstrated proficiency in skills and knowledge that cut across all majors. The learning outcomes they rate as most important include written and oral communication skills, teamwork skills, ethical decision-making, critical thinking, and the ability to apply knowledge in real-world settings. Indeed, most employers say that these cross-cutting skills are more important to an individual’s success at their company than his or her undergraduate major.”3 The National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) found in its Job Outlook 2019 survey that 82% of respondents indicated that strong written communication skills were amongst the most desirable skills employers look for on resumes.4


  1. Study International Staff. "Why STEM Students Should Learn How to Write." Study International, 13 Feb.2019, www.studyinternational.com/news/why-stem-students-should-learn-how-to-write/.

  2. Ossola, Alexandra. "How Scientists Are Learning to Write." The Atlantic, 12 Dec. 2014, www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2014/12/how-scientists-are-learning-to-write/383685/.

  3. Hart Research Associates. "Falling Short? College Learning and Career Success." Association of American Colleges & Universities, 2015, www.aacu.org/leap/public-opinion-research/2015-survey-falling-short.

  4. NACE Staff. "Employers Want to See These Attributes on Students' Resumes." National Association of Colleges and Employers, 12 Dec. 2018, www.naceweb.org/talent-acquisition/candidate-selection/employers-want-to-see-these-attributes-on-students-resumes/