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- Identify your audience, then choose an appropriate
tone for your letter.
- Use an outline, it can help you realize what you want
to accomplish in a piece of writing.
- Analyze the sentences in each paragraph of the writing--what
does each sentence do, and what does it say? In other
words, what is its purpose and what does it accomplish? Write with crystal clear clarity.
- Read your finished piece of writing aloud
to yourself slowly, this way you can hear mistakes in the
writing. Put the letter away for an evening before you do this.
The further away you are from reading it, the better you will
be at catching typos and grammatical mistakes.
- When writing a memo, be careful about using the word "you"
when "one" is meant. e.g.) Informal: The restaurant was
so good that it made you want to eat all the food! Formal:
The restaurant was so good that it made the patron (or) one
want to eat all the food!
- Do not use "their" or "they" for gender-neutral, singular
pronouns. e.g.) Incorrect: The winner may claim their
prize at the ticket booth. They are lucky! Correct:
The winner may claim his or her prize at the ticket booth.
He or she is lucky! * Passive voice can also be used
to get around this: The prize may be picked up at the ticket
booth by the lucky winner.
- Do not use "myself" in place of "me" or "I"; don't' use"I"
where "me" should be. e.g Incorrect: Dan met with myself
and Ally. Dan met with Ally and I. Correct:
Dan met with Ally and me. *How can you check to make
sure you've chosen correctly? Take the other person's name out
of the sentence. e.g.) Which is correct? Dan met with I or
Dan met with me?
- Punctuation always goes INSIDE quotation marks.
e.g.) The magazine was called "People."
- Plural possessive: Where does the punctuation goes in each
sentence below?
- My two brothers dog is red.
- My two brothers dogs are red
- My only brothers dog is red.
- The womens gift is nice.
- Cover Letter Tips: The cover letter should highlight
your resume by identifying how you are qualified for the position
and reasons why it will be to the employer's advantage to hire
you. There should be at least 3 paragraphs. See the Career
Service Placement Manual 2001-02 on pages 28-29 for more
detailed explanations.
- Go to the Writing Center in 219 Boucke for FREE writing
tutoring. Go to the Career Service office in 413 Boucke for
FREE resume, cover letter, interview and job search advice and
a FREE copy of the Career Service Placement Manual 2001-02.
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