In short ...

I do not deny the need for modules such as "Varieties of speaking and writing" developed at Anglia Polytechnic University ("Teach students how to communicate", THES, September 18), but I doubt they can be exported to science and technology degrees. If such a module is included at level 1 then something else has to go and it is too easy for departments to cut mathematics, a subject these students need and without which many courses will fall apart. Science and technology students often do lack communication skills, but, rather than a bolt-on module, an integrated approach is needed. My efforts in this direction have resulted in an on-line guide at http://www.brunel.ac.uk/mastmmg/ssguide/sshome.htm that might prove useful.

Martin Greenhow

Lecturer in mathematics Brunel University