The Labor of Writing: Early Career Returns to Writing Coursework Using Administrative Data and Syllabi

• In Event: Saturday Roundtable Session 9:45 am
  In Roundtable Session: Equity Unveiled: Innovations in Higher Education Policy and Access (Table 35)

Abstract

Writing is a core learning outcome in postsecondary education. Advocates for liberal arts education argue that writing is valued in the workforce and employers claim that writing skills are very important to potential employees. Linking a large scale dataset of syllabi with administrative transcripts at six public four-year institutions in Texas, we develop measures of writing coursework at scale, using natural language processing and machine learning, then examine the relationship between enrolling in writing coursework and early career labor market returns drawn from administrative Unemployment Insurance data. We find that increases in writing coursework are associated with economically meaningful decreases in early career labor market outcomes, challenging claims that writing is a valuable skill in the labor market.

Authors

• Annaliese Paulson, University of Michigan

• Jason Godfrey, Harvard University