<p>You’d be surprised how much writing there is in Engineering. Is it a lot? Not really. Not compared to majors like Philosophy or History. But it’s certainly not negligible.</p>
<ol>
<li>time management</li>
<li>communication skills: reading, listening, writing, speaking.</li>
<li> critical thinking </li>
</ol>
<p>not necessarily in that order and not always on the same day or in the same class.</p>
<p>If you can’t think, you can’t write. If you can’t write, nobody will ever know you can think. So both are necessary for a truly successful intellectual career. </p>
<p>In the late 70s, I worked for a short while in a big company’s personnel office, screening resumes. You would have been appalled at the writing skills of some recent college graduates, including some from high-prestige colleges. I doubt the situation has changed much.</p>
<p>I am interested in comparing my son’s college essay when he applied to Hamilton with his senior thesis he is writing this semester. </p>
<p>This college focuses on writing intensive courses in various disciplines. Whether or not I understand his thesis is an entirely different matter. ;-)</p>
<p>ucbalumnus,</p>
<p>"Actually, engineering students and engineers have to do plenty of writing in the context of lab reports, project plans and documentation, research papers, PhD theses, etc…</p>
<p>However, writing about technical subjects is somewhat different from writing about humanities subjects, and writing for others in your field is different from writing for those with no special knowledge of your field."</p>
<p>Right, those take a different type of skill - more in organization and presentation of thought. it’s different. I know a LOT of engineers in real life that cannot “write”.</p>
<p>Mizzbee,</p>
<p>"I bote for analytical skills and reading comprehension. I would put writing skills directly beneath that. </p>
<p>Writing skills are something that can be learned but if you can’t keep up with the reading or understand the material, you are more likely to fail."</p>
<p>Oooohh, good one. I think I agree with you.</p>
<p>Yep, Reading is more import.</p>
<p>I guess I’m biased because I work with a lot of people that can’t “write”. However, it is not a skill that is prominent in their responsibilities and they are VERY good at what they do.</p>
<p>It would be BETTER if they could write well. Sometimes it is FRUSTRATING that they don’t - but they don’t have to be a master at that skill to be very successful in their work and in life.</p>
<p>Basic skill in that area is enough. However, being able to PRESENT ideas and thoughts in a flowing, coherent way is absolutely key - but we have other tools besides long narratives to accomplish that - drawings, spreadsheets, powerpoints, etc.</p>
<p>The original question was, “Is writing THE MOST IMPORTANT skill for COLLEGE SUCCESS”. I have to say no, because these people graduated from college with honors, are successful in the workplace and have minimal writing skill.</p>
<p>I, PERSONALLY, think writing is important - but when I look at the evidence objectively, I have to answer the original question, “NO.”</p>
<p>Back when I was in college in almost every class we wrote 2 papers and were graded on a mid-term and a final, both of which were heavy on the essays. Considering those 4 grades made up your entire grade, yes, writing is the most important skill to have in college. :D.</p>
<p>But SteveMA, what was your major - if you care to share?</p>
<p>D2 has some major writing to do and I would say writing is tied with her other important skill (actual voice).</p>
<p>D3 will have some writing - but mostly will be math and science and labs - again, not really a lot of narratives.</p>
<p>Biology/Social Science with secondary education. I tested out of my math requirements but even in my science classes (had to take 4 semesters of Chem too) it was 2 papers, 2 tests. The labs were graded separately but those involved a LOT of writing too.</p>
<p>SteveMA - Not surprised. The science that D will be taking is mostly Physics related/Lab result related. However, I’m sure there will be enough writing there to satisfy her ;)</p>
<p>Fortunately, it won’t be too bad. She’s a great writer. I’m more concerned with time management and the excruciatingly tough (IMO) math. ;)</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Writing about any subject requires organizations and presentation of your thoughts. By “write” do you mean specifically for those outside the subject (e.g. writing about engineering for a non-engineering reader), or writing about humanities or social studies subjects?</p>
<p>ucbalumnus,</p>
<p>“Writing about any subject requires organizations and presentation of your thoughts. By “write” do you mean specifically for those outside the subject (e.g. writing about engineering for a non-engineering reader), or writing about humanities or social studies subjects?”</p>
<p>Of course, writing requires those things - but those things do not necessarily require WRITING.</p>
<p>We have other primary avenues for presentation of thought than narratives such as what you would typically think of as a “paper”, or an “essay” or similar. Most of the “writing” is brief and technical consisting of a few sentences followed by a chart, a diagram, a list of standards, etc. It doesn’t really REQUIRE the skill that most think of as “writing”.</p>
<p>It’s REALLY REALLY advantageous and wonderful if one HAS that skill, but moderate skills in that area are all that are necessary to succeed in some more technical fields.</p>
<p>As M’s Mom said in #7, I agree that it is critical/analytical reasoning. The basis of language and writing, mathematical skills, and any of the practitioner-procedural skill, are the cognitive operations exercised in analytical reasoning.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>It is still not clear why you think that a multi-page document (which is not mostly charts, diagrams, or lists) on an engineering subject is not “writing”. An engineer who has to explain an idea to either other engineers or non-engineers has to write down the explanation in a way that is clear and easy to read by the intended audience.</p>
<p>Yes, the type of writing in the above cases may be somewhat different from how one would write about English literature, but how is it not “writing”?</p>
<p>(That said, there are plenty of people in all areas who have poor writing skills.)</p>
<p>"It is still not clear why you think that a multi-page document (which is not mostly charts, diagrams, or lists) on an engineering subject is not “writing”. An engineer who has to explain an idea to either other engineers or non-engineers has to write down the explanation in a way that is clear and easy to read by the intended audience.</p>
<p>Yes, the type of writing in the above cases may be somewhat different from how one would write about English literature, but how is it not “writing”?"</p>
<p>OK, it’s writing, If you like.</p>
<p>I was just pointing out the difference. There IS a difference. The amount and level of prose needed is not comparable to many other areas.</p>