Zac L's Advice on Writing Correctly

In the workplace, it is always one of your top priorities to ensure that you are “correct” in your speech as well as your writing. Whether it be an email, memo, or a report, making certain that you are writing correctly is key to maintaining a sense of professionalism. Your writing can also be a direct reflection of your character as well as your credibility.
With that being said, it is best for one to learn which genre of writing should be used in particular writing situations. Documents like emails and memos should only be used in more informal situations and at times where the contents are not meant to be private. This is because emails may not be secure. If you were to write a detailed financial statement, it would be best to write a report to harness that information.
Aside from the type of document chosen, you must always edit accordingly. Grammar, as well as spelling and mechanics must be correct or your reputation will suffer as a result. Writing correctly and precisely will also have a direct effect on others trust in you.
Of all qualities in a person, I believe the greatest is trust. You have such a larger chance of success if you are someone that everyone can trust and rely on. Therefore, from day one, you must ensure that your writing is as truthful and accurate as possible. In doing so, you must pay attention to the tone, style, clarity, and conciseness of your writing. With these in consideration, your correctness will improve significantly!

Source: cartoonstock.com/cartoonview

Danielle G. Preparing for a Job Search

I have been looking for a job for the last 2 months and have done numerous things to try and find the perfect job. The first thing I chose to do was go out and look around. I went everywhere and left no stone unturned! Since it is that time of the year when businesses need seasonal employees I decided it would be the perfect time to go and fill out applications and hand out my resume. The number one thing to keep in mind is to make sure your resume says a lot about who you are and what you plan to contribute to the company you are applying for.
While on my job hunt, I also went onto my universities website and typed in "job search" and to my surprise a bunch of opportunities came up. You never know where an opportunity can arrive. It may be something as easy as looking up a job search online, to a "help wanted" ad landing on your lap. Opportunities are all around, it's just up to you to make it happen.
After I read each of the job objectives, I decided which I felt would suit me the best and which I felt also went along with my major and career choice. I then proceeded to email each of the jobs listed and waited for a response. When writing an email, try to be as specific as possible and make sure the reader gets a full view of who you are and what exactly you are applying for. It also never hurts to attach your resume.
Besides the usual walk around and fill out applications or emailing your potential employer, you can also try going to job fairs and finding an internship. Job fairs are an excellent place for meeting company representatives from corporations of all industries and size during a small period of time. While internships provide great experience and can potentially lead to a future career.
Finding a job can be a process, but if done correctly it can be easy and surprisingly fun. Just keep in mind the things listed above and in no time flat you will have multiple jobs to chose from. Then your only problem will be which do you chose?



Source:
UGRADS@bc.Library

Aaron M's Writing Clearly Techniques

In our day and age, it is becoming more and more difficult to write, let alone write clearly. We have become more accustom to the slang and abbreviations of our text message culture. While this may be necessary or even a must when dealing with instant messaging or text’s, it is a completely different story when it comes to professional writing. In the professional world, you succeed in life by having your audience, whoever that may be, clearly understand your writing. This may be your clients, your coworkers, or even a prospective boss. Clear writing can be reached just by looking at three simple things; audience, grammar, and proofreading.

The first part of writing clearly is understanding your audience and how they will interpret things. Are you writing to doctors or to local boy scout troop? When you answer this question, you can begin to plan your writing project. You can begin to see how someone will be reading your writing and how they will be processing it.

Another part would be the cold hard truth of improving grammar. Its the case for everyone, from the plumber to the president. We all could use some improvement in that area. The most basic would be that of spelling. Of which I am very guilty of. I need a lot of practice in that area. Another would be just your normal word usage. For example, you see many people using too many words to describe something. This is what is known as pleonasm. When you say the phrases “cease and desist” or “he walked over went to that very spot right there,” these are examples of wordiness, or whats known as pleonasm. And these are just a few examples of how we can improve our grammar when its comes to writing.

Proofreading is another key when it comes to writing clearly. Rereading your material and having others reread it for you can be a great time and embarrassment saver. You never know what you might innocently miss when you are madly typing away at your keyboard. So the more eyes you have on your writing projects before you actually publish them, the better.

And these three things are only a couple of the things we need to do to be preparing ourselves to write more clearly. The better we write in every aspect of our lives; business, social, and religious, the better we will be able to communicate with every person we come in contact with.



Image Source: www.cartoonstock.com

David S. Professional Writing Humor

Humor writing requires all of the characteristics of good professional writing plus that additional X factor: being funny. Adding some wittiness into your professional business writing can help give you an advantage, but when not used correctly, can discredit your work. The following tips can help you be more effective at adding humor to your writing.

* Humor in your writing should not be the main focus, or main ingredient. Humor is used as filler, but not as the main topic. In other words, your main focus of the paper is the cake and your humor is the icing. Use it sparingly!

* When adding humor to your writing, you should write for a broader audience than you expect. Inside jokes and departmental slang will only be recognized by you and the few other people you work with on a day to day basis. If your writing is distributed to a wider audience other than the few people you work with, many people might not understand the joke, be confused, and possibly be offended.

* Don't make yourself look like a clown! You should avoid offensive language, racial slurs, and any other derogatory remarks. These jokes may be funny to you and a few co-workers, but if the writing would ever get into the hands of others, you may be looked on as immature, and not competent. You want other people to view you as a gifted writer who has the ability to add humor into your work effectively.

* Humor often comes through recognition, which is why repetition many times works. If you have a good joke or line of humor, don't be scared to use it multiple times throughout your paper.

* Avoid sarcasm at all costs. Although it may indeed be funny, it also can leave a bitter taste in the mind of the reader it if offends them.

Sources:

http://www.stevepavlina.com/blog/2005/12/humor-skills/

http://www.writingclasses.com/CourseDescriptionPages/GenrePages.php/ClassGenreCode/HU

Zac L's Tips on Writing an Effective Email

In order to write the best and most effective email, there are some rules that everyone should go by and this is what I compiled. 1. The subject line is obviously the first part of the email the receiver reads so it is imperative that you make it meaningful to the email. This may also be important as you could be sending the email to someone who receives a large number of emails daily. 2.The message itself must also be focused and readable. If the message contains more than one point, the reader may get confused. Therefore, numbering your points may make it easier to read. 3. Attachments should be avoided as the reader may not be prone to upload the link and read it. It would be more effective to copy and paste the most important text into the body of the email. 4.Identifying yourself with a signature line is significantly more professional than saying“Sincerely”. 5. As we all know, emails are not always private or secure so you should be cautious of what you say as you could even be fired as a result. 6. Lastly, you should always distinguish between formal and informal emails. Writing “LOL” or “BTW” when the email is formal can cause you to lose your credibility and professionalism. If all of these tips are considered when writing and email, the effectiveness will rise drastically!

Sources:
http://jerz.setonhill.edu/writing/e-text/e-mail.htm