Writing
Writing
I. Business Writing
Whether you are trying to land a job, keep a job, or improve the skills you have in order to get a better job, you will need to understand the various types of
business writing. Business writing, in general, is writing that has a job to do- it should be brief, to the point, and clear. Let’s focus on a resume.
Your resume is basically an advertisement for you and your skills. It displays a summary of your education, your previous experience,
and your accomplishments. The quality of your resume can determine whether you get the job you want or the internship you apply for.
The information below will help you prepare your resume.
Resumes At a Glance GUIDELINES
|
Personal Data Job Objective _________ _________ Skills _________ _________ Education _________ _________ Achievements _________ _________ Activities _________ (optional) _________ References _________ |
|
A successful resume should → state your name, address, and telephone number →give a clear statement of your employment objective →present details about your work experience or skills →list your educational background →provide information about special skills and activities →present your abilities in a positive light →Be well organized, attractive, and correct |
See How It’s Done: GUIDELINES
Student Model
Rahel Eshetu
Andnet International School
Rahel Eshetu 1. Includes name,
Addis Ababa Ethiopia address,
(254) 011435678 phone
e-mail Rahel @.com e-mail
Job Objective 2. States
Fulltime employment as an assistant chef employment objective
Experience
Cooking 3. This writer gives primary
student chef at Andnet International School, two years is emphasis to skills.
cook at a fast-food restaurant, three summers
Another option:
Management Give primary emphasis
currently student manager at Andnet International School’s to work experience.
Eat Here restaurant program; handled several kitchen crises
(small fire, help shortages)
Education and Honors
Andnet International School, Class of 2018 4. Lists educational
Honor Roll background and
Outstanding Member Award, Food Science Club achievements
Activities and Interests
Food Science Club, president and secretary
Chocolate Lovers Dining Club, member 5. Indicates special
Habitat for Humanity, volunteer interests
References
Available upon request
How We Do It ?
Writing Prompt Prepare your own resume.
Purpose To interest a potential employer
Audience Prospective employers
Prewriting
Identify your employment goal. Decide what kind of position you want. Consider your qualifications for that job. If your skills and interests
fit the job requirements, consider the following questions to help you focus your resume.
What do you want to emphasize? Decide whether you want your skills, education, or experience.
What are your most important qualifications? Whatever makes you most qualified for the job you are seeking should appear near the top of your resume,
immediately after your job objective.
How will you format your resume? Will you use bullets, boldface or italic type, or columns? Will you use complete sentences or phrases?
Use word processing or publishing software to try out different formats. You can always change your mind during the editing phase,
but you will find it easier to write your draft if you have a format in mind.
II. Proposal
You may have observed a problem in your school, in your work place or a need in your neighborhood. You may be concerned about a situation
that you think you can improve. When you write an editorial, a letter to the editor, or a speech that identifies a problem or need and also offers
a plan of action to solve the problem or meet the need, you create a proposal. You can write a proposal about an issue that affects your family, school, or community.
|
Basics in a Box |
|
PROPOSAL AT A GLANCE Summary of Proposal Need Proposed Solution Briefly states Defines the problem Present a detailed solution the purpose → or need → Explain its benefits of the proposal States why addressing Restates the problem or need and it is important the benefits of the solution RUBRIC Standards for Writing A Successful proposal should target a specific audience show how the plan will be implemented clearly define a problem or state and what resources will be required a need present a clear solution, using demonstrate clearly that the benefits of Evidence to demonstrate that the plan outweigh possible objections to it the plan is workable |
See How it’s Done: Proposal
Student Model
More Help Needed: A Proposal to Increase Individual Counseling 1. Target a specific
For College-Bounded Seniors Summary. audience
The suggestions will help students make good college choices andwill reduce the pressure on counselors.
Need
It’s crunch time. Approximately 450 panicked seniors are trying to beat their
quickly approaching college application deadlines and need individualized help.
Eight guidance counselors at Niles North are each assigned 280 students from
all grade levels. On top of all the counselors’ important responsibilities of attending
faculty meetings or serving cafeteria duty, how can they possibly devote the necessary
time for the individual college- bound student?
During the college application season, counselors must be available to guide 2. Clearly defines
students through the confusing process. All counselors do their best to meet the problem
the students’ individual needs quickly and efficiently. However, these extremely
qualified staff members can’t possibly give students the individual attention students
seek when they have hundreds of students to help.
Proposed Solution
The obvious solution is to hire more staff members, but that process is not 3.This writer
cheap. Hiring college interns studying in this field is an efficient way to provide the presents more
councilors and the college counselor with assistance in interesting with students on than one
a personal level. possible solution
For more one-to-one interaction, more flexible hours can be set up. Schedules could
Be arranged to call out students periodically, in order to meet with guidance 4. Shows how it
counselors. If this arrangement upsets teachers who do not appreciate their implemented
classes being interrupted, perhaps the school should have some counselors work a 3:30P.M.-8P.M.
It may not be possible to hire enough full-time councilors to give college- bound 5. Summarizes a
students the individual help they need, but there are other possible solutions. No combination
doubts there are other solutions. The school needs to realize the importance of the of workable solutions
individual attention needed during the college application process and do everything
possible to make it easier on the students.
Do It Yourself
Writing prompt Write a proposal in which you recommend a solution to a problem or identify a need to be filled.
Purpose To persuade your audience to put your plan into action.
Audience Those who are in a position to act on your proposal
Identify a problem or a need. You may already know what you want to write about. But if you don’t, here are some techniques to get your ideas flowing.
Newspaper search Look through several issues of a local news-paper for news items, editorials, political cartoons, and letters to the editor that alert you to a problem or a need in your community.
Conduct Interviews Talk with neighbors or your classmates about things that bother them. Brainstorm possible solutions to the problems they raise.
Brainstorm Complete this sentence in as many ways as you can: This school (or this town) would be a better place if ____________.
Focus your proposal. When you have chosen your topic, use the questions below to help you shape your proposal.
Why does it matter? Evaluate the importance and the urgency of the problem. If people don’t consider your topic important, they won’t support your proposal.
How can the problem be solved? Think about whether or not your proposal will improve the situation and how difficult it might be to put your proposal in place.
The most successful proposals are those that are workable.
Evaluate your audience. Consider the people who will evaluate the proposal. What approach will work best with them?
What information do they need to know in order to decide whether or not to accept the proposal? Are they natural, or do they already have a position on your topic?
Think about the other side. Anticipate the possible arguments against your solution. Write down the reasons that a person might oppose your proposal.
Look for ways to answer those objections in your proposal.
Gather information. Make a list of the steps necessary to solve the problem and the resources needed. Find supporting information like the types listed below.
When using multiple sources, it may help to organize your information with graphic organizers or conceptual maps.
III. Research Report
A great way to explore a topic that interests you is to write a research report about it.
Researching and writing about a topic gives you an opportunity to both learn new information and share it with others.
|
Basic in a Box |
|
RESEARCH REPORT AT A GLANCE
INTRODUCTION BODY CONCLUSION WORKS CITED Presents evidence tha t Restates the Lists the sources Presents a thesis → supports the thesis → thesis → of information statement ↑ RESEARCH
|
|
RUBRIC Standards for Writing A successful research report should include a strong introduction with a display a logical pattern of organization, with clear thesis statement transitions between ideas present evidence from primary and secondary conclude with a satisfying summary of ideas Sources to develop and support ideas include a correctly formatted Works Cited credited sources of information list at the end |
Do It Yourself
Writing Prompt: Write a research report on a topic that interests you.
Purpose To share information about the topic.
Audience Your classmates, your teacher, or other people interested in the topic.
Developing a Research Plan
The amount of research you can do depends on the amount of time you have. Keep in mind that writing, editing, and proofreading
will require your time and attention, so plan ahead.
Defining Information Needs
The best research reports develop out of writers’ personal interest in their topics. Even if your topic has been assigned, you should be able to find perspective on it that is uniquely your own.
Developing Researchable Questions
As begin your basic research, you will discover preliminary answers to your initial questions. These answers may lead to additional questions that will guide your research.
What do the most recent sources have to say?
Are there any connections between people’s theories and their own biases?
Sometimes it is valuable to evaluate the usefulness of each of your questions. Try asking yourself,
Would the answer to this question interests my readers?
Is the question relevant to my topic?
Can I find a reliable source that will answer the question?
Using and Documenting Sources
Finding and Prioritizing Sources
There are two basic kinds of information sources you can use, Primary sources give firsthand information,
Secondary Sources provide interpretations of, explanations of, and comments on material from other sources.
|
Research Resources |
||
|
|
Characteristic |
Examples |
|
Primary source |
Provide direct, firsthand knowledge |
Letters, journals, diaries, original manuscripts, questionnaires, interviews |
|
Secondary sources |
Provides information gathered from primary and other secondary sources |
Encyclopedias, World Wide Web sites, textbooks, newspapers, magazines, biographies and other nonfiction books |
Evaluating Sources
Sources are not equally helpful. Ask yourself these questions to evaluate each source you consider.
Is the source up-to- date?
Is the source reliable?
What are the author’s viewpoint and biases?
Taking Notes
Take notes on index cards while you are reading. Paraphrase most of the time, but put distinctive language of an author in quotation marks. Copy long quotations only if they express important ideas that support your main points. Be sure to set them off with quotation marks on your note cards.
Paraphrasing
When you paraphrase, you restate an author’s main idea in your own words. Most of your notes will involve paraphrasing. Be sure to enclose in quotation marks any of an author’s exact words that you include in a paraphrase.
Quoting
Sometimes an author expresses an idea so well that you’ll want to quote the passage in your report. Be sure to copy the words exactly as the author wrote them and enclose them in quotation marks. Include quotations for
extremely important ideas that might be misrepresented by paraphrases
explanations those are particularly concise and easy to understand
ideas presented in unusually lively or original language
Avoiding Plagiarism
Plagiarism- presenting someone else’s work as your own- is dishonest. Obviously you have plagiarized if you have borrowed, stolen or bought a paper someone else wrote. But you can also plagiarize unintentionally. To avoid plagiarism, always give credit to your sources and enclose authors’ distinctive language in quotation marks.
Crafting a Good Thesis Statement
After you have gathered information from a variety of sources, you will have to organize it. A good way to begin is to create a thesis statement. A thesis statement expresses a central idea that can be supported by research. In addition, a thesis statement typically indicates a writer’s attitude toward his or her subject.
Thesis Statement Checklist
Is my thesis sufficiently limited and sharply focused?
Have I stated my thesis concisely in a sentence that my readers will understand?
Do I have time and resources to fully develop my thesis?
Will writing about my thesis fulfill the assignment?
Organizing and outlining
After doing your research and writing a good thesis statement, you need to choose an organizational pattern and then write preliminary outline based upon it.
Drafting
With your note cards, your outlines, and your thesis statement in front of you, begin to write. It may seem logical to write the introduction first,
but many good writers do this last. Remember to incorporate 21your own ideas, not just weave together paraphrases and quotations
Integrate Your Notes into Your Report
Sharing Your Own Ideas and Interpretations
Documenting Information
The most common method of giving credit to one’s sources of information is parenthetical documentation.
To use this method, add a detailed record of your sources in a well-crafted report. Alphabetize the checked card according to the authors’ last name.
Alphabetize anonymous work by the first words of their titles, excluding A, An, or The.