NEW YORK - It's not just students who need to brush up on their writing. A majority of U.S. employers say about one-third of workers do not meet the writing requirements of their positions, according to a survey by the College Board's National Commission on Writing.
 
"Businesses are really crying out -- they need to have people who write better," College Board President Gaston Caperton said.
 
With e-mail and PowerPoint displays often supplanting phone calls and oral presentations in the workplace, writing skills are in demand. Although writing has always held a spot in American education as one of the three R's, many say writing clearly and accurately is more important than ever -- and not all workers are up to the task.
 
In a fast-paced workplace, precision and brevity are essential. For e-mails, reports and presentations, the commission found that accuracy, clarity, spelling, punctuation, grammar and conciseness ranked among the most sought-after skills.
 
"There's no way to say that writing has gotten worse," said Susan Traiman, director of the education initiative for the Business Roundtable. Rather, "the demand has gotten greater." The commission surveyed Business Roundtable members in six sectors: mining; construction; manufacturing; transportation and utilities; services; and finance, insurance and real estate. Two-thirds of salaried workers in large U.S. companies have jobs that require some writing, and this includes some of the most technical occupations.
 
"Writing skills tend to be critical more on the salaried side of things, but even for our hourly jobs, to be able to communicate shift to shift," said Thomas Siegele, a human resources manager for paint and glass maker PPG Industries, based in Pittsburgh.
 
William Raney, president of the industry group West Virginia Coal Association, said writing skills are necessary for electricians, engineers and foremen, who often draft proposals for government agencies and regulatory bodies.
 
"There's a great need to translate the technical to the practical," Raney said. A majority of survey respondents said about two-thirds of employees -- current workers and new hires -- meet writing requirements. However, about one-third of respondents said one- third or fewer of current and new employees met those requirements. Although lackluster A marketable skill