Assessment Of Workplace Writing And Incorporation Into Curriculum

Employers expect entry-level employees in technical fields to possess excellent communication skills. The authors reviewed relevant literature and conducted a survey of technical Bachelor of Science degree graduates who had taken technical writing, in order to determine the usefulness of various course topics to their employment and the types of writing skills needed in the workplace. Memos and business letters were written by 83.7% and 80.0% of the graduates respectively, proposals by 62.1%, progress reports by 57.3%, and procedural manuals by 48.9%. Executive summaries were written more often (35.1% of the time) than abstracts (21.9%). The course was rated as very useful to employment by 89.4%. The authors summarize topics that an English composition course may not include but which were desired to meet workplace needs. Recommendations are given for incorporating these topics into existing curriculum.