I have the fortunate (or unfortunate) job of teaching a "core" class that is mandatory for all of our graduates--young and old. For most of the students, I see a good level of motivation even if it is in a class that is not directly relevant to their chosen field of study. However, there always seems to be one or more students in each class that, no matter what I try, just do not care to be there and do the minimal amount of work. There is a lot of sighing and rolling of the eyes. It is a composition course. I am running out of reasons for them to understand why being able to write well and relate to an audience is important in any profession. They seem to want a formula that will tell them that this writing skill will equate to this much more money earned at their job. I am usually able to give them the opposite scenarios--situations where poor grammar and writing may hinder the acquisition of more money--but they seem to not care or believe me. Any thoughts or ideas?