Your editorial about ISUComm on Oct. 29 echoes the sentiments of a great many people at Iowa State. In fact, in a survey conducted in fall 2000, more than 1,200 ISU teachers and more than 100 employers of our graduates agreed that ISU students need stronger writing skills. They also agreed that changes in information technology have transformed the nature of communication practice and expanded the range of abilities we all need to communicate successfully.

ISUComm is a direct result of this sense that we need to strengthen communication instruction at Iowa State; and, as you point out, the hallmark of ISUComm is the integration of Written, Oral, Visual and Electronic communication (WOVE).

We want to make clear that writing is the first priority in WOVE instruction. As a result, students in pilot sections of ISUComm are writing more than students in standard sections of English 104/105. They are doing more work overall because they also study and practice oral, visual and electronic communication, but writing remains their principal focus.

Consequently, if you are asking us to maintain this focus on writing as ISUComm develops, we will. If you are asking us to add credit hours or new courses to the communication curriculum, you raise a subject that merits further discussion. Of course, such a discussion would undoubtedly engage all our WOVE skills and not just the ability to craft clear prose.

Ultimately, we agree that if you can’t write a clear sentence, you are less likely to deliver a persuasive speech or create an impressive Web page. So, writing is the first and foremost priority in WOVE instruction. In turn, WOVE is the principal means for achieving the fundamental goal of ISUComm: strengthening the communication abilities of ISU students.

Donna Niday

Director

First-Year Composition

Charlie Kostelnick

Chair

Department of English

Michael Mendelson

Acting Director

ISUComm