At the turn of the twenty-first century, researchers delineated reading, writing, creativity, and problem-solving as necessary proficiencies for high school and college students, highlighting college's role in producing such skills (Department of Labor's Secretary's Commission on Achieving the Necessary Skills, 1991; Fasko, 2001; Pascarella & Terenzini, 2005). Yet employers labeled students unprepared for workplace writing (National Association of Colleges and Employers, 2018; Hart Research Associates, 2015). Using Dewey's (1897) theory of experience, Rosenblatt's (1938) theory of reading, Bandura's (1977) theory of the affective domain, and Bandura et al.'s (2003) theory of self-efficacy, I conducted a qualitative study, asking college composition instructors to assign creative writing interventions and, through questionnaires and an asynchronous focus group, to discuss the impact on students' writings. I found after completing the interventions, students exhibited stronger academic writing and the critical analysis, problem-solving, and creativity skills employers desired (APA, 1997; Hart Research Associates, 2015; NACE, 2018; SCANS, 1991). [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com.bibliotheek.ehb.be/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]