The rise of the writing class: The need for written communication skills has given rise to an effort to give EEs better training as students or to send them back to school on the job

Rick Thornberg is a young engineering graduate recently hired by an electronics firm in Richmond, Va. His first job evaluation was positive in every area but communication skills, in which his supervisor rated him poor and recommended an in-plant writing course. “I'm not surprised,” Rick says. “I avoided writing all my life and now, ironically, I spend a good third of my work week, and a part of every weekend, composing reports. Each one takes me a long time because I barely know the basics of composition. When I'm done, the writing is still dreadful.”