assignments ENGL202 Business Writing: Resume & Cover Letter
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The first assignment of the semester is remarkably straightforward. Further, it is a set of documents that I hope you will take with you beyond this class--the basic resume and cover letter. We start here because this document, about as important a piece of professional writing as you can get, does three things:
1) It introduces you to the world of professional writing;
2) It introduces you to the idea of document design;
3) It introduces you to the kinds of writing practices (like working collaboratively and editing and revising) that is important to professional writing.
Thus, this document will serve, in its first iteration, as an introduction to the main concerns of this course. What is more, it will become a touchstone document in our classroom. We will return to this document at middle of the semester and, finally, if need be, again at the end of the semester. You'll be able to identify the ways your document has changed and, while you do that, you'll be able to demonstrate to me what you've learned as a document designer and professional writer.
As an aside to this assignment, there will also be opportunities to learn about ways to build your resume before you graduate--no matter when you are graduating. This is not strictly about professional writing, but it is meant to help you as you transition from student to professional.
Resume: You will develop a resume through a combination of brainstorming things that can go on your resume, and the information about developing and designing a resume. You'll workshop the document in class. I will collect it (see the syllabus link on this site for deadlines), give you feedback, and you will revise it for your midterm portfolio. If you need to or want to, you'll have one more chance to revise it in the final portfolio.
Cover letter: This document should be in response to an actual job or internship that you might apply for now or in the near future. You should consider the guidelines found in our class reading. And you should consider the discussion we will have in class. We'll workshop this as well, and, like your resume, you'll have one, two if needed, chances to revise it.
How I will evaluate your Resume & Cover Letter
This assignment is worth 10% of your grade. In order to earn a "B" for your ten percent you need to:
In order to earn an "A" for this assignment you need to:
In order to earn a "C" for this assignment you need to:
If you do not meet the requirements of the "C" for the assignment, you will fail that 10% of the total class grade.
1) It introduces you to the world of professional writing;
2) It introduces you to the idea of document design;
3) It introduces you to the kinds of writing practices (like working collaboratively and editing and revising) that is important to professional writing.
Thus, this document will serve, in its first iteration, as an introduction to the main concerns of this course. What is more, it will become a touchstone document in our classroom. We will return to this document at middle of the semester and, finally, if need be, again at the end of the semester. You'll be able to identify the ways your document has changed and, while you do that, you'll be able to demonstrate to me what you've learned as a document designer and professional writer.
As an aside to this assignment, there will also be opportunities to learn about ways to build your resume before you graduate--no matter when you are graduating. This is not strictly about professional writing, but it is meant to help you as you transition from student to professional.
Resume: You will develop a resume through a combination of brainstorming things that can go on your resume, and the information about developing and designing a resume. You'll workshop the document in class. I will collect it (see the syllabus link on this site for deadlines), give you feedback, and you will revise it for your midterm portfolio. If you need to or want to, you'll have one more chance to revise it in the final portfolio.
Cover letter: This document should be in response to an actual job or internship that you might apply for now or in the near future. You should consider the guidelines found in our class reading. And you should consider the discussion we will have in class. We'll workshop this as well, and, like your resume, you'll have one, two if needed, chances to revise it.
How I will evaluate your Resume & Cover Letter
This assignment is worth 10% of your grade. In order to earn a "B" for your ten percent you need to:
- Participate in the resume and cover-letter workshop
- Give feedback to your workshop partners
- Respond in writing to the feedback you receive from workshop by talking about how it will affect the revision of your resume and cover letter
- Turn in the revised resume and cover letter along with your drafts, worskhop feedback, and reflection on the success of your work.
In order to earn an "A" for this assignment you need to:
- Do everything you need to do for a "B"
- Turn in a resume and cover letter that reflects the thoughtful use of ideas about design, audience, and purpose that we've been talking about in class.
In order to earn a "C" for this assignment you need to:
- Turn in your resume and cover letter, along with drafts, with a reflection of your work.
If you do not meet the requirements of the "C" for the assignment, you will fail that 10% of the total class grade.