2. How do we become writers?
We all have the ability to write, but to write well and with clarity take skill and practice. Bad writing or writing that is not clear can lead to miscommunication. How many times have you sent a text message and had to think about “how it will come off?” And if it sounds bad you add a smiley face. Or why it’s not okay to send an e-mail in all capital letters like this: HELLO I SENT YOU THE COPY OF MY PAPER. HAVE A GREAT DAY.
Today, texting and e-mail dominate our culture, it is a new form of writing and expression. The phone is becoming obsolete in the business world. More often you will hear, “send me an e-mail, rather than call me.” How about finding out the guy or girl you are seeing has a significant other on facebook? You can send them an e-mail! So the first way we learn how to become writers is through our culture. Culture enables us to know appropriate ways of expression. Would you write to a potential job interviewer; “You should hire me jackass!” Most likely, no. You would write; “I am writing in reference to a potential job opportunity. I have attached my resume, and I would like to meet with you to discuss future options. Think about how you write to your friends? Parents? Professors? We all play roles based on our environment; writing must also assume the same persona.
The second way we learn to be a good writer is through reading. You cannot write, if you cannot read. But there is much debate on what is deemed “good writing.” Well, I would like to eliminate the words good and bad. Even Hemingway had his haters. When reading you should ask yourselves these questions:
1.) Why do I like this?
2.) What is the subject of what I am reading?
3.) Is this significant?
Essentially to be a strong writer is to analyze what you are reading and be able to decipher your interpretation of it. Writing is perspective and interpretation. If an argument or comparison is strongly supported that is cannot be wrong or bad.
The third way we become writers is through skill and practice. I have discussed why writing cannot be good or bad in interpretation, but it can be good or bad if it is badly supported or badly expressed. That is where skill and practice comes into it. This blog is dedicated to giving students a brief rundown of tips and skills so that as you are writing you can be conscious of these points. Sometimes, just omitting words or adding a coma can create a much cleaner and expressive paper.
So far let's summarize what we have just learned:
How do we become good writers?
1. Culture
2. Reading
3. Skill
4. Practice
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RESUME WRITING EXAMPLE
Writing a Resume can be tricky. There are many different templates out there one can use, and it becomes a matter of blending personal preference with the apropriate guidelines. First, you need to establish a cover letter. I make an individual cover letter for every job I apply for. I think by tailoring every letter, it forces you to learn about to company, or person you are writing to. Thus, this can make you stand out from all the others. Again, writing is about stimulating interest subject matter. If you are not interested and passionate, neither will your paper be.
First you find out HOW you are applying to the job. Is it through e-mail or fax? If there is an e-mail, always send an introductory note before just sending off attachments. In the subject box write: "In reference to (fill in blank)". Then in the body of the letter, address the person directly OR "To whom it may concern:" After, use a colon ( : ). Be brief and state that you are attaching your resume with cover letter. I always like to add, "I look forward to hearing for you," or, "Thank you for this opportunity." When it comes to applying for a job, this is the one time where it's okay to be needy and follow-up constantly. Here is a copy of my resume that I used to apply for a TA position: Note***I didn't write it in blue, it's just so it's easier to spot.
Alicia Lauren Brienza
Address
phone number
E-mail
Objective: (Stated Purpose)
Education:
The State University of New York at New Paltz
Master of Arts in Teaching for Adolescent Education: English
Master of Arts: English
Currently enrolled
The State University of New York at New Paltz
Bachelor Degree of Liberal Arts
Major: English
Minor: Psychology
Graduated: December 2009
Work Experience:
Circle of Friends Preschool
Preschool Teaching Assistant
-Responsible for executing lesson plans
-Work collaboratively with head teacher to develop new ideas
-Bring preschool age children to each social milestone successfully
-Prepare students for kindergarten by working on fine motor skill and social interaction
-Teach poetry using rhythmic beats to emphasize syllables
-Relate children’s concepts in books to larger ideas
-Foster communication between students, as well as between myself and students
-Coach on correct use of language
-Create emphasis on the arts, specifically reading, writing, and art projects
-Help instill responsibility, dedication, individuality, and a love for school beginning at the preschool level
Related Work Experience:
Mohonk Preserve Education Volunteer Member
Present-Fall 2011
*Responsible for organizing students on field trips
*Assist Head educator with programs
*Knowledge of Mohonk Preserve and the New Paltz community
Special Awards:
*Sparrow Memorial Award received at the Elizabeth Madox Roberts Conference
Computer Skills:
• Proficient in PowerPoint, Microsoft Word, Excel, and Blackboard
• Proficient in creating Wiki-sites for student help and research.
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That is one example of a resume template. If you go to the Career Resource Center, there is an entire informational booklet on all the different resume templates:
Monday - Friday, 8:30 a.m.- 5 p.m.
Drop-in advising hours
Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday 1:30 p.m.- 4:30 p.m.
Friday 10 a.m.- Noon
The Career Resource Center has moved!
Career Resource Center
Humanities Classroom Building, Room 105
SUNY New Paltz
1 Hawk Drive
New Paltz, N.Y. 12561
Phone: (845) 257-3265
Fax: (845) 257-3674
E-mail: careers@newpaltz.edu
http://www.newpaltz.edu/careers/hours_loc.html
*********Three Different Types of Essays*********
By deciphering what kind of essay you have will determine how your thesis should read. The thesis sets the framework of the entire paper. It must be strong and clear.
Expository- Explains a topic. You would use this form for a biography, historical events, journal article, news story, and scientific explanation. Think facts and only facts. I personally think this is the hardest essay to write, because it needs to be an unbiased account. You will know if your professor wants this essay by a few keywords:
Ex: Explain the exploration of Christopher Columbus.
Words like explain and describe are indicators that it is an expository essay.
This is what your thesis would read: In 1492 Columbus sailed the ocean blue.
Analytic- The analytic essay is the most common essay form. Here, you are not arguing or explaining your thesis, rather you are interpreting the articles and facts. You would use this essay for explaining a theme in a book or showing a comparison between two subjects. This is commonly used in the liberal arts classes, analyzing data, showing how a subject and graph relate, comparing the past with the present etc. An analytic essay is asking you to draw your own conclusions and use supporting material, whereas expository is a statement of facts in your own words.
Keywords: Compare and contrast, Analyze, Interpret, What is the relation between…? How are these related…? How is this theme evident?
Your Thesis should read: In 1492 Christopher Columbus sailed the ocean blue This led to the destruction of the Native American culture in America.
(Explain why this is a strong thesis)
3.) Argumentative- Imagine a debate in a written form. This paper is arguing a stance on a controversial topic. This essay aims to provide a strong opinion, supported by evidence, and dismantles the counterpoint. Most often you will write these in reference to social or political issues that do not have a right or wrong side.
Keywords: What do you think about? Argue one side; create an argument for, etc. etc.
Your thesis should read: In 1492 Columbus sailed the ocean blue. This led to the destruction of the Native American culture in America, and therefore all positive public acknowledgment should be eliminated.
****The Writing Process****
Preliminary steps: Once you have deciphered what type of essay you are writing now it’s time to do the preliminary steps.
1. Talk about it. You get the paper assignment and ideas are starting to swim around in your head…may the best idea win, or you are drawing a blank. Either way find a friend, professor, or find me in my office and talk about it. Many times students have an easier time saying it then writing it and by verbalizing your thoughts, it helps to organize some concepts. Also, by talking about it you find what your interests are and what you keep focusing on. A big mistake is that students don’t write what they want to write about. I cannot stress this enough, WRITE WHAT YOU LIKE. If you are interested than the paper will be interesting. If you are bored writing, the paper will scream “this sucks and I would rather be lying on a bed of nails.”
Outsourcing
2. Here is my topic that I want to do. But outsourcing encompasses a lot of material. I’ve talked about and I am interested in Outsourcing primarily in India.
Outsourcing
India
Okay, but still that encompasses a lot of material. I need a more narrow search. So I start asking questions and the first one should be: What is outsourcing? This is the beginning of your paper. A paper is essentially the answer to questions, it’s your answer and your interpretation.
What is outsourcing? What are the types?
Ex: Information Technology
Why do companies outsource in India?
-Cheap labor
What companies use Indian labor?
Ex: AT&T
How are the economic markets in India affected? ******* Here is going to be the key to developing my thesis. Now I want to find resources that will help me to analyze and form an interpretation.
Citation Guide
So one way to do this is to use one of the library databases such as Jstor or Ebsco host. But even better is Google Scholar. You can type anything into Google Scholar and it can find the article in the New Paltz database. Click on a few articles and peruse some to get an idea of what you want. I want to show how outsourcing is bad for the economy being sourced. I want to show how Indian labor is exploited by American corporations. Here is my thesis:
Outsourcing of information technology in India occurs because of the access to cheap labor. American corporations are not responsible for providing health benefits, equitable wages, a retirement plan, or other rights to Indian workers. This inequality has caused India’s inner market economy to be completely dependent on foreign influence, and in ten years India’s poverty level will double and the rise of crime will quadruple.
After establishing a thesis and an explanation, now it’s time to narrow the resources. Since I am writing about India and social change I need to find books or articles on this topic. DO NOT USE WIKIPEDIA. Use the library catalogue, world cat, Google Scholar or article databases. What articles am I looking for? I want evidence that links crime and poverty and compare it to India. I want to show the education level in India, is it declining or inclining due to American influence? Do the people benefit at all from American influence? What is their economy report? These are questions I ask while reading through the articles and making notes. After that is done, write a rough outline. For every number or dash put the article name and page number that supports the idea.
Example:
1.) Introduction
2.) India’s freedom from the British Empire
3.) History of Indian relations and America
4.) Information outsourcing
-What is it?
- When did it start?
- Why India?
5.) The effects of outsourcing on Indian culture
-Decline in education
-Exploitation of resources
-Rise in crime
-Cultural miscommunications
- Exploitation of labor
6.) The future of Indian inner economy
7.) Concluding thoughts
-Is America the new British Empire?
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