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PREVIEW: 22 February 2007
--MINUTES.   Lee and Pat will take charge of the minutes for this evening's class.
--PRESENTATION.  Pam will address us this evening on the topic of "Composing Effective Reviews and/or Recommendation Letters for Employees."
--EDITING. We'll do one or two short exercises this evening on some of the more common editing problems in professional writing.
--RESUMES.   If your resume is fairly current, you do not have to update it before bringing it with you to this evening's class.  Not sure if it's time to update your resume? Consider Peter Newfield's "Resume Update Checklist" (Monster.com).

If you would like to use this occasion to revise your resume, here are some quick tips.   Whether or not you take time out to revise, please study these tips and follow the links.  In any case, they should prove helpful as you compose your resume-evaluation memo (which I'll be assigning in class this week).

- Be serious: no photos (unless, perhaps, you're trying out for a modeling job or a Broadway musical), no brightly colored paper (the '80s are over), no mention of hobbies or high school.  Want to check out some sample resumes?  Visit the Resume Gallery at About.com.
- Put parallel items in parallel grammatical form.  For more information on parallelism, see earlier previews and postscripts (below).  Make sure that you align bulleted items--and never bullet a solitary item.  Also, check out these Resume Guidelines.
- In itemizing your skills and achievements, use active verbs. (Use present tense to refer to your current position; past tense for past positions.)   Check out the Power Verb List.   That said, be sure that the action verbs are accompanied by specific details.
- Use lower case (not Capitals) for generic positions and titles.  See Resume Tips.  
- Format your resume clearly and consistently.  Study the sample resumes posted to our RESOURCES page--and then create an original resume that highlights your strengths.   Do not rely on a template.  Be sure to follow a consistent plan, using bold headings, subheadings, and bullets appropriately.
- Use left justification only (not center or full).
- Avoid acronyms or abbreviations (at least on first use).  
- Use a standard 12-point font (Times Roman, courier, or arial).  (If you wish to emphasize your name at the top of the resume, a slightly larger type size (14- or 15- point maximum) will do the trick just fine.  Anything larger is a waste of space--space that should be dedicated to highlighting your skills and achievements.)  Btw, the one word that doesn't need to appear on your resume is the word resume (just as the word memorandum does not need to appear at the top of a memo): the appearance of the document should immediately define what it is.
- Don't bury your address at the bottom of your resume or in a tiny type size.  Prospective employers will look for your address under your name at the top of the resume.  Do include your e-mail address.  (And if you're still using that AOL address that sounded so cool in high school--e.g., slacker123@aol.com--consider getting a new address.)
- Either provide a concise and sharply focused objective statement (maintaining a "you attitude") or else save this statement for your cover letter. 
- As a general rule, distinguish education from training.
- Handle numbers consistently--but do "Use Numbers to Highlight Your Accomplishments" (Ptere Vogt).
- Clearly identify your transferable skills.  This step is particularly important if you anticipate changing careers. 
--Either provide full contact information for references (usually on a separate reference page) or say nothing about references ("available upon request" is a fairly obvious--and unnecessary-- cliche).
- Use a "Resume Checklist."   Edit and proofread.  Then edit and proofread again.  We don't want our work to show up on "Ten Classic Resume Bloopers" or even on  "Resume Bloopers from Robert Half."  Here's "How to Avoid Resume Bloopers" (Stanley and Jonathan Wnett, 2005).
Finally, don't forget that the main purpose of your resume is to secure an interview.  We'll soon be discussing interviewing skills (from both sides of the desk).
--CAREER PLANNING (and re-PLANNING).   If this week's exercise has started you thinking about ways that you might prepare for a career change, I encourage you to make use of the "Career Development e-Manual," developed at the University of Waterloo in Canada.  Designed for both traditional and non-traditional students, this informative and sensibly designed manual has proved useful for many of my students, regardless of their age, credentials, or work experience.   Start with "Steps to Success." 

POSTSCRIPT: 15 February 2007
--STAFF SERVICE PROJECT.  A reminder that over the next few weeks Peggy Williams will be collecting toiletries, towels, washcloths, blankets, and sheets for the Savannah Union Mission.  If you'd care to make a donation, please use the drop box in the front of Solms 211.  Thanks!
--MONDEGREENS.  Purely optional, but you'll find a bounty of mondegreens at Jon Carroll's site. Fresh examples are welcome.
--LIBERAL STUDIES PRESENTATION.  Fine job tonight of covering a complex topic in a short period of time.  As you review the handouts and as you work to assimilate all of the information that was presented, keep this thought in mind as a point of focus: though the nature of higher education has changed radically over the centuries (in terms of what is taught, who is taught, and how subjects are taught--among other things), the underlying principles of a liberal education may be just as valid as ever.  I'll be posing a question along these lines on the final exam.

A few footnotes.  The University of Bologna was founded in 1088 as a school of law.  The University of Paris (12th century) originally had four faculties: arts, medicine, law, and theology.  In the early years theology also had the highest place at Oxford and Cambridge  (both late 11th century and early 12th), but by the end of the Middle Ages (with special thanks to Henry VIII) the curriculum had expanded broadly.  Although a few women's colleges appeared at Oxford and Cambridge in the mid-19th century, Oxford did not give degrees to women until 1920, Cambridge not until 1947.  Like Yale and Harvard in the U.S., most student places at Oxford and Cambridge were traditionally reserved for the sons of the wealthy--a tradition that only recently has been seriously challenged.

According to the most recent studies (as reported in The Chronicle of Higher Education for Jan. 26, 2007), women now make up about 57% of undergraduates in American colleges and universities. 

Handouts.  When you prepare handouts for classmates, be sure to follow the basic style and layout principles introduced in the first week of the term: bold headings and subheadings (in parallel form); bulleted lists (in parallel form), where appropriate; and accurate information (facts, not opinions), carefully edited and proofread.
--EDITING: Using Commas Correctly. If you missed any questions on this exercise, check out these Rules for Comma Usage.
--EDITING: Technical Writing Tips. The brief exercises in this handout echo points raised earlier in the term about cutting the clutter in our writing. Let me know if you have any questions or need further practice. 
--RESUMES: Recruiter Pet-Peeve Survey can also be found online, with hyperlinks to brief discussions of each of the 20 points.
--RESUMES: 25 Awful Resume Mistakes is also available online.
--RESUMES: Kenny's "RESUME" illustrates virtually every one of the 20 points listed in the pet-peeve survey.

PREVIEW: 15 February 2007
--MINUTES.   Tab and Lewis will take charge of the minutes for this evening's class.
--LIBERAL STUDIES ASSIGNMENT.  Please be prepared to give your brief report (see ASSIGNMENTS) during the first hour of class. If you need copies made of a handout that you have prepared for the rest of us, please give it to the student assistant in Solms 211 at least 15 minutes before the start of class.
--CAREER PROJECT.  This evening we'll begin our discussion of how to create an effective resume (hint: it doesn't involve using a resume template). In addition to reading the assigned pages in World of Work, you may want to check out a few of the resume resources linked to our RESOURCES page.  Next week, please bring in 11 copies of your resume for in-class reviews.
--EDITING. We'll review a few frequently abused punctuation rules this evening.
--MULTIMEDIA PRESENTATIONS.   At the risk of repetition, here are a few notes on using multimedia effectively in professional contexts. 

-Currency.  Every season brings a hot new piece of presentation hardware along with upgrades to familiar multimedia programs.  As professional communicators, that fact means at least two things:
(1) Up-to-date information about multimedia really does need to be up to date.  
(2) We need to resist the impulse to use a new device or a program simply because it is new or trendy; what we're always looking for is the most suitable tool for the subject and audience at hand. 

-Clarity.  Do we need evidence that a poorly executed multimedia presentation may be more confusing than it is illuminating?   Check out this absurdly cluttered home page from a company that claims to provide "everything you always wanted to know about multimedia, video, and the web."  One thing the folks at Rossiter & Co. apparently still need to learn is that a busy web site such as theirs is a barrier to effective communication (and, at best, an annoyance to potential customers).  (For an example of another over-worked page, check out DWS-Scudder.)

-Consideration.  PowerPoint has emerged as a dominant medium for student presentations, class lectures and professional presentations. It's a useful tool, but not without flaws, biases, and major limitations--all of which have invited a backlash against the program in recent years.  Here are a few problems.  
(1) The first problem, of course, is abuse of the program by inexperienced presenters--those who show too much, show too little, show the wrong thing, and/or end up reading aloud the slides as if the audience consisted of extremely slow children. 
(2)  Another problem is the persistent notion that PowerPoint slides should consist of nothing but bulleted lists.  Cognitive scientists have disproved the myth.  Read Cliff Atkinson's short piece on "The Science of PowerPoint Overload" (June 2004).  In addition, Atkinson's article "Read My Lips" (Jan. 2005) provides a useful reminder that the human face is one of the most important presentation tools that we possess.  An amusing parody that makes a serious point is Peter Norvig's "Gettysburg PowerPoint Presentation."
(3)  A third problem associated with excessive reliance on multimedia in general and on PowerPoint in particular is that the high-tech presentation may reduce the role of the audience to passive spectators.  Generally speaking, people learn best when they're involved in a presentation--not just entertained by it.  The buzzword here is interactivity. 

-Completeness.  Related to all three of the above concerns is the temptation to oversimplify complex ideas when relying on a sequence of images or slides.  In August 2003, the Columbia Accident Investigation Board at NASA released its report on why the space shuttle crashed, and among its conclusions was that NASA had become too reliant on presenting complex information via PowerPoint instead of through more detailed  technical reports.  

Conclusion.  Multimedia can (and often should) serve as a useful supplement to a presentation; rarely should multimedia function as the entire presentation.  In most cases, to paraphrase Shakespeare, the fundamental fault in an ineffective multimedia presentation lies not in the stars (or the soft- or hardware), but in ourselves, dear Brutus, as communicators.  Contrary to another myth, clever graphics, bulleted lists, and cool sound effects do not turn a poor presenter into a competent one. At best, they may provide distractions (perhaps welcome distractions) from a poor presentation; at worst, they magnify the weaknesses of a poor presentation. 

POSTSCRIPT: 8 February 2007
AMERICAN HERITAGE DICTIONARY, 4th ed.   For examples of different kinds of usage notes, see the entries for waitress (which will direct you to the note at -ess), parameter, and hopefully.  The only weakness of this invaluable tool for writers is that the search engine doesn't always take you immediately to the main entry: sometimes you have to scroll through a page or two of results before you spot it.
--SQ3R Reading System. A testimonial: I first learned the SQ3R method 30 years ago when I was teaching a study-skills class, and it has done more to improve my reading speed and comprehension than any other method I've studied since.  Here's an outline of the SQ3R System, and this Dartmouth site includes a few articles that point to the value of the system.
--PROOFREADING.  We'll return to this topic when Lee gives her presentation in a few weeks. In the meantime, here are a few "hints" from Virginia Tech and some sound advice from my favorite online Writing Lab, the OWL at Purdue University.
--NOTE-TAKING. Please check out the Cornell Note-Taking System for Seminars and Conferences--a simple but effective method for making the most of your time. (If you need help drawing lines on a page, turn to the "Cornell Method PDF Generator.")
--EDITING SKILLS: Active Voice.  If you haven't done so already, please read carefully this short article on using the active voice. Because this basic principle applies to the writing that we'll be doing throughout the term, please let me know if you have any questions--or if you'd like practice applying the strategy in an exercise or two.
--PRESENTATION SKILLS. Again, I strongly encourage you to read Robert Canady's article "Get Your Message Across!"  You'll find additional articles and tips sheets at the presentations section of our RESOURCES page.  The "Class Presentation Evaluation Form" that I distributed tonight (and which we'll begin using in two weeks) should serve as a guide when you begin planning and rehearsing your own presentations.  Remember that topics are due no later than this Sunday evening (February 11).
--ORAL PRESENTATIONS (World of Work).  In addition to knowing the material in Chapter 12 theoretically, I am, of course, expecting you to apply the advice and information in your own presentations. A few items in particular to note:
-Analyzing Audience (334-35): One of the tricks here, of course, is achieving a balance: neither boring your audience with information that they already know or baffling them with an unfamiliar vocabulary.  The problem is that your audience is diverse--and you can't and shouldn't target the lowest common denominator. Aim for the middle, but invite more-experienced members of the audience to share their ideas and encourage less-experienced members to ask questions.
-Presentation Technologies (336-346): Of the various technologies considered in the chart on page 338 (and elsewhere), the one that's sometimes overlooked as an informative tool is the easel sheet or flip chart (most often used in brainstorming sessions). Next week we'll consider how low-tech easel sheets can be used to involve the audience in a presentation. Just keep in mind the "you-attitude."
-Delivering Presentations. Use the information on pages 346-351 to guide your own presentation.  The advice in this section may seem fairly obvious--but unfortunately it's often ignored by presenters. If you're the nervous type (as I am) and especially if you've never taken any kind of speech class, let me know if you'd like additional tips on delivery methods. For the moment, you might find it helpful to check out Tom Antion's "Stage Fright Strategies" and this page on "Overcoming Stagefright."
-Questions & Answer. Keep in mind that we need to prepare for the Q&A portion of a presentation as carefully as we prepare for the talk itself.  Anticipate questions--and prepare your answers.  If you're new at this game (or even if not), don't hesitate to plant a question or two with one of your colleagues.  The Q&A is an integral part of your presentation--not just an afterthought or add-on.
--DESIGN & DEVELOPMENT OF DOCUMENTS.  We'll be returning to this chapter a few time during the term--including next week, when we begin looking at resumes, and in a few weeks, when Pat gives her presentation.

PREVIEW: 8 February 2007
--MINUTES.   Pam and Kelley will take charge of the minutes for this evening's class.
--LISTENING SKILLS. We'll begin tonight's class by responding to the communication issue raised by Karla at the end of last week's class. 
--STYLE GUIDES. Be sure to bring along your copies of The Business Style Handbook. This week (for sure) we'll examine and compare a few standard guides, and we'll put our own handbook to use.  (See ASSIGNMENTS for February 8.)
--EDITING SKILLS. We'll continue to apply the principle of "cut the clutter," with special attention to using the active voice.
--TONE IN PROFESSIONAL WRITING.  We'll return to the "you attitude" as we examine issues of tone in the context of particular kinds of workplace documents.  I encourage you to read this handout on tone from the Purdue University OWL.
--PRESENTATION SKILLS. As you read Chapter 12 in preparation for tonight's class, consider how much of the advice offered here is, at bottom, an application of the principle of the "you attitude." Though the online readings may suggest that I'm firmly opposed  to using PowerPoint, I'm not.  However, I do oppose the abuse, misuse, and over-use of PowerPoint.  Note the variety of technologies available to presenters (figure on page 338), and consider how an effective presentation calls for the careful integration of various communication strategies.  I encourage you to read Robert Canady's article "Get Your Message Across!"  You'll find additional articles and tips sheets at the presentations section of our RESOURCES page.
--DOCUMENT DESIGN.  We'll have time this evening only to begin a discussion of some of the points raised in Chapter Five of World of Work, with a focus on layout issues (headings, subheadings, margins, spacing) that contribute to readability. We'll continue the discussion next week.
__________

NOTES ARCHIVE A: previews and postscripts from January 11 to February 1, 2007.

22 February 2007