Should writing courses by required for STEM majors ?
Most college undergraduates focus entirely on their major requirements over their four years of study, determined to be as prepared as possible for the demands of their major by the time they graduate, and to ease into their careers once they join the workforce, while writing courses can be a fundamental for most, if not all, majors and careers, college students ignore them if they are not required, which creates a blind spot in their skillset. In STEM majors, which stands for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Maths, classes are more based upon research and theorems, students may not take any writing classes, which therefore affects their success not only in a school setting but also in their careers thereafter. This paper is going to discuss why should writing courses be required as a part of STEM majors.
Although STEM careers are not based on writing as a profession, it’s an inherent part of any technical job. STEM jobs and even classes require a lot of writing including lab reports, research papers, and more. There’s no point in a really good and informative research paper that’s unorganized or full of grammatical mistakes. Writing classes teach how to plan, edit and revise a technical document.
Many scientific articles that people find on the web or in journals are usually informative but less interesting especially for people who are not a part of STEM majors or those who have less knowledge about a specific field. Writing courses teach a number of strategies on how to target a specific group of audience and how to organize documents in a way that can be appealing and yet still informative. As they both go hand in hand, an informative paper can be more appealing and vice versa.
The United States includes a number of undergraduate students whose first language is not English. While STEM courses don’t focus on English, a strong understanding of the English language is a must, and those students usually struggle with, is especially if they do not take any communication or writing courses. These courses do not only help them improve their language skills, but they help students cope with the new society and environment that they live in, which reflects on their jobs and careers later on. One example of this can be ,,myself; I came from another country in 2014, knowing just minimal English, which made it hard to communicate with people and even harder to be on top of my course work. I found English classes in highschool really helpful with my writing. I learned how to improve my use of vocabulary, grammar, and also it taught me how to accept constructive criticism. This experience made more confident to talk to people and engage with them both socially and academically.
Writing courses also focus on presentation skills and public speaking which goes hand in hand with any career or profession, including STEM careers. How can an Engineer or Technologist be successful in their field if they cannot present their ideas and projects in front of people? Communication also plays a big part in any any job, as students who communicate effectively with their peers will probably learn more information and skills from their peers during discussions and peer reviews, which can make them more productive. In the same view, people who communicate with their colleagues at work can be produce more ideas and working in a team will generate more productive work than working alone. Again taking example of myself, discussions and peer reviews helped me alot communicate better with my colleagues not only making my writings better, but also making friendships on the long run.
These days, we are definitely in need for Engineers and Technicians who can create projects that make our lives easier and more productive, but we also need them to communicate with us and understand our needs. Writing classes provide the knowledge and skills that are required in school but also help workers in almost every job and profession, that’s why they should be required as a part of the STEM majors and careers.
