Although the majority of engineering courses do not require many writing assignments, they still exist within the department. Written communication opportunities include the use of laboratory notebooks in several courses and writing technical memoranda and formal reports. Various reporting procedures used in the engineering courses develop skills in written communication. Required at the end of each semester of the senior year is a formal written report of the work done on the senior design project.

Students must be able to communicate effectively. Communication competency is required for graduation. Engineering students must pass a comprehensive test covering the areas of comprehension of written materials, use of grammatical skills, and writing. There are courses in English grammar and speech available to those with identified deficiencies in these areas.