Business Schools Put More Emphasis on Writing. . . Should You?

The Wall Street Journal ran an article about the shift in business schools to emphasize business writing.  Career-ology couldn’t agree more!  Thank you WSJ.  Email and text messaging is chipping away at of the the pillars of human communication– writing.  The article includes some examples of how business schools are responding to this challenge.

• The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania plans to double its communication coursework to 12 classes starting in 2012. Last fall, all first-year students competed in a mandatory writing competition, which asked students to write short pieces in response to prompts. It will become a fixture in the new curriculum.
• The University of Rochester‘s Simon Graduate School of Business hired two writing coaches last fall after employers complained about graduates’ writing skills, says dean Mark Zupan.
• Northeastern University‘s College of Business Administration also ramped up its focus on writing instruction last fall: Many students’ papers are now double-graded by the professor and the writing coach.

What does it matter what these b-schools are doing?  The primary goal of these schools is to gradate the most prepared students.  And business writing is important.  Effective written communication is important whether you graduate with a degree in business, nursing or zoology.

Here is the good news.  Writing courses are widely available including community colleges, continuing education programs and of course, online.