Improving The Writing Skills Of Accounting Students: An Experiment

Abstract

This paper reports the results a writing improvement initiative in an accounting department at a small western university.  Numerous surveys of accounting professionals have established the importance of writing skills for accounting graduates, and challenge business schools to revise curricula accordingly. To determine if a writing initiative in an accounting department could improve the writing skills of accounting students, a series of one-page essays were given to students in four accounting classes during the fall semester. The essays were evaluated on six writing skills recently judged by accounting professionals to be most important for new hires to possess. Feedback was provided after each essay. Results showed that the writing skills improved significantly after each essay.  Accounting students can improve their writing skills if the accounting faculty is committed to providing timely feedback.