What not to write: an intervention in written communication skills for accounting students

TY - JOUR

T1 - What not to write

T2 - an intervention in written communication skills for accounting students

AU - Graham, Alan

AU - Hampton, Martin

AU - Willett, Caroline

N1 - publisher has removed the doi link from its web site and the paper is no longer accessible online NOTICE: this is the author’s version of a work that was accepted for publication in International Journal of Management Education. Changes resulting from the publishing process, such as peer review, editing, corrections, structural formatting, and other quality control mechanisms may not be reflected in this document. Changes may have been made to this work since it was submitted for publication. A definitive version was subsequently published in International Journal of Management Education.

PY - 2010

Y1 - 2010

N2 - This study considers the evidence that many accounting students struggle to write accurately and appropriately, which has negative implications on their wider employability. Using an intervention approach, initiatives were taken to address this problem for first year accounting undergraduates at the University of Portsmouth. The results indicate that some improvements are possible and students’ self-awareness of the issue was raised, but that in order to sustain any improvements an increased focus on the teaching of writing skills would be required. This may have resource implications but the potential benefits to students in the wider realm could be significant. The initiative is targeted specifically at the enhancement of employability and, although based around extracts from the accounting literature, could readily be transferred to other subject areas.

AB - This study considers the evidence that many accounting students struggle to write accurately and appropriately, which has negative implications on their wider employability. Using an intervention approach, initiatives were taken to address this problem for first year accounting undergraduates at the University of Portsmouth. The results indicate that some improvements are possible and students’ self-awareness of the issue was raised, but that in order to sustain any improvements an increased focus on the teaching of writing skills would be required. This may have resource implications but the potential benefits to students in the wider realm could be significant. The initiative is targeted specifically at the enhancement of employability and, although based around extracts from the accounting literature, could readily be transferred to other subject areas.

M3 - Article

VL - 8

SP - 67

EP - 74

JO - International Journal of Management in Education

JF - International Journal of Management in Education

SN - 1750-385X

IS - 2

ER -