1. Why Is Writing So Important? College, life, career—writing skills are essential.

2. Is Writing Important for College? “One’s ability to compose an extended text is the single best predictor of success in course work during the freshman year” (Geiser 2001). “As a college student, you can count on having to write papers. That's a fact of academic life, regardless of your major.”

3. Quotes from College Handbooks “College courses demand many different kinds of writing that employ a variety of strategies for different audiences.” “You may be required to write long essays or short answers in response to examination questions.” “You may be asked to keep a journal, write a lab report, and document the process you use to perform research.” “You may be called upon to create a design document, write a business report or plan, and report on the results of research.”

4. U.S. News & World Report: Education “For the college-bound individual, few skills are more important than writing. Writing, of course, extends beyond words on a page – it is the effective communication of complex ideas.” “Students must practice producing writing that is concise, well-planned and grammatically correct in high school.” “Writing well becomes increasingly important as students transition from high school to college.”

5. Is College Necessary?

6. How will College Affect My Life? http://www.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.t0 4.htm http://www.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.t0 4.htm

7. Are Writing Skills Important Beyond College? “Increased competition among business organizations has created a more competitive environment for job seekers and employees. At one time, 5% was considered the "normal" unemployment rate in the United States. However, […] researchers at the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco suggested 6.7% may be the new normal unemployment rate in the United States -an increase of 34% (Chen, 2007). This means people must work harder to qualify for jobs, get hired, and remain employed. Therefore, students should expect a more challenging employment environment, and they should know that succeeding in this environment will depend upon their ability to understand complex problems, persuasively communicate orally and in writing, and use mathematics and information systems.”

8. Are Writing Skills Necessary? According to a 2011 article in the Washington Post, when asked about writing skills, executives, consultants and business leaders from various disciplines “emphasized the criticality of good writing skills and said that writing is even more important than in previous years. Professionals spend more time each day writing and are inundated with written communications (e-mails, reports, memos and such), so it is imperative that employees be able to write succinctly and write well.”

9. Is Writing Important? A recent Wall Street Journal article focused on “Must-Have Job Skills for 2013” and identified clear communication, which includes writing, as the #1 skill necessary for success in the current job market.

10. The National Commission on Writing Survey The study of 120 major American corporations employing nearly eight million people concluded that writing is a “threshold skill” for hiring and promotion among professional employees. Correspondingly, poorly written job applications are a “kiss of death.” People who cannot write and communicate clearly will not be hired and are unlikely to last long enough to be considered for promotion. Eighty percent or more of the companies in the service, finance, insurance, and real estate sectors— the corporations with the greatest employment growth potential—assess writing during hiring.