MIT Mechanical Engineering
Graduate Writing Survey

Designed and Compiled
by

James H. Williams, Jr.,     Liang-Wu Cai   and   James G. Paradis

The MIT Mechanical Engineering Graduate Writing Survey was conducted among the faculty, research staff, and graduate students in the ME Department from January 4 to February 7, 2001. Ninety-three (93) responses were received.

We sincerely thank everyone who took the time to assist in creating this profile of the Department's opinions on this topic, especially those who contributed comments. We also gratefully acknowledge the suggestions of several members of The MIT Program in Writing and Humanistic Studies. The results contained herein are offered to Institute and Departmental representatives who engage in future questions and issues relating to this topic.


Survey Announcement: James H. Williams, Jr. e-mail dated January 4, 2001.
Survey Questionnaire: Including direct links to the results of each question.
Comments Received: Except for minor corrections of spelling and grammar, the comments are unedited.
Detailed Survey Results: Graphical presentation of the results for each question by personnel category, with each category assigned a unique color. The faculty and non-faculty teaching/research staffs are combined into a single "Faculty and Staff" category due to the small number of staff.

Additional links to the seven survey parts are given here:

  • Part 1: About You
  • Part 2: About Your Undergraduate Writing Experience
  • Part 3: About the Writing Ability Test
  • Part 4: About the Writing Subjects
  • Part 5: Opinions on Graduate Writing Requirement and Development
  • Part 6: About Mechanical Engineering Subjects
  • Part 7: About the MIT Writing and Communication Center


Last Updated: February 28, 2001