Developing Competent Civil Engineering Writers

Proficiency in written communication has become increasingly important for civil engineers. Employers, accreditation, and licensing organizations often criticize engineering curricula for the incompetency and poor writing skills of graduates. Recognizing this, an individualized writing instruction program was made available to a group of engineering students enrolled in a laboratory class. They were challenged to assess, address, and improve their writing skills by focusing on the abstract, discussion, and conclusion sections of the weekly laboratory reports. Evaluation of the program was then conducted in two ways. First, students were given an attitude survey at the beginning and end of the program to assess pre‐and postprogram attitudes about writing. Second, an independent panel of three technical writers rated preprogram and postprogram laboratory reports, assessing the quality of the student's writing skills. The results of the research confirmed that individualized writing instruction significantly improved student writing skills, but did little to change student attitudes about the importance of good writing and its impact on job success.