English 353 Blog

  Summary: Chapter 13 covers job searching, resumes, and cover letters in the digital age. It is important to utilize technology when searching for a job because employers are using the digital world too. The resume is still an important part of job hunting, but remember that the employer may be looking for other aspects of your life before looking at the resume. When looking for a job a self-analysis is recommended because it gets the applicant thinking about what they might be interested in. Some questions to consider when looking for a job are "what are you passionate about? can you turn this passion into a career? do you enjoy working with people, data, or things? how important are salary, benefits, technology support, and job stimulation?" (400). In addition to this evaluating your qualifications will help you see if the job is right for you personally and if it matches your skillset. Job hunting is not easy, but utilize the resources at your disposal to find one; for i...

  Summary: Chapter 8 focuses on how persuasion has influenced and altered the digital world. The volume and reach of persuasive messages have expanded, typically in the form of ads. These persuasive messages are delivered fast across multiple channels and to multiple people. Every organization and business has deployed persuasive techniques at some time or another; their delivery can be subtle, but at times also misleading. Persuasion is a complex and impersonal art; impersonal in the sense that there is a wider audience and not each message is going to be 100% tailored to its recipient. The chapter also discusses and provides examples for how to plan and write persuasive requests and claims and complaints. The key is to be logical and watch the tone of the piece, basically, try and tailor your writing to who your audience is. In addition to this Chapter 8 gives advice and examples on how to send persuasive emails. The key to persuading any boss or higher up is to pay attention to...

  Summary: Even though most forms of communications have become digital, letters are still beneficial and necessary in certain situations. Letters provide a permanent record, safeguard confidentiality, covey formality and sensitivity, and delivers persuasive, well-considered messages. The chapter also gives an example of how to format a business letter. The chapter discusses how to write a request message and how the response should be crafted. There are also instruction messages that lay out how a task is to be completed. There is even a section for direct claims and complaints and how that e-mail or letter should be drafted. In any case, it is important to be concise, direct, and to watch your tone. There is also a need for adjustment messages; basically, if something was sent out wrong it is proper etiquette to go back and fix the mistake. Being upfront and honest is the key to any message. Confidence is also key, but more importantly, the person who is on the receiving end of ...

Summary: Chapter 4 states how a writer must reduce the use of unnecessary words for more concise ones, which is done during the revision process. The goal is to be concise and not have too many wordy sentences, as they take away from the actual meaning of the piece. Removing u nnecessary there is/are and it is/was filler words. Eliminate redundant and empty words is necessary as well. These techniques can also be applied to social media posts. The chapter highlights how it is important for the message to be clear. Clarity can happen by keeping it simple, dumping trite business phrases, scrapping cliches, not using slang or buzzwords, rescuing buried verbs, and restraining exuberance. The document design can also help with its readability. This can be done by optimizing the white/empty space, determining the size of the margins, text alignment, appropriate fonts, capitalizing or bolding of words, underlining specific words, numbered or bulleted lists, and the proper headers. The chapte...

  Summary: Chapter 3 begins with discussing the writing process, and how there is a 3-x-3 method. This method is rewriting, drafting, and finally revising. It also mentions formal and informal research methods. After this, the chapter mentions the strategy an author should take when reaching their audience. It is important to be considerate of the audience and to eliminate and frustrations by being clear and concise. The chapter also highlights that strong sentence structure is going to elevate the author's writing, and it is alright if it is messy in the first draft since it can be revised later on. Following this section of the chapter comes the part where creating emphasis in your writing is important. Methods such as underlining, italics, font changes, all caps, dashes, and tabulations. Emphasis can also be achieved through style by using vivid words, labeling the main idea, place important ideas at the beginning or end, or give the important ideas the spotlight. The chapter e...

  Summary: The start of Chapter 9 begins with an introduction to reports in the digital age, and the overall consensus about reports is that they "convey information, answer questions, and solve problems" (253). The chapter goes into detail that there are two functions of reports to be informational, which are reports with data but no analysis, and analytical, which are the reports that consist of data and analyses. Once this has been established then there are different organizational strategies; direct and indirect, and these are dependent on the knowledge or position on the subject by the audience. The chapter also highlights informal and formal writing styles and when they are appropriate to be used and what their effects are. Following this, the chapter discusses the types of formats a report can come in and how effective headers can be essential for a good report. There was also mention of how a report should be constructed and what it should include since its purpose ...

  Summary: The beginning of the chapter focused on the communication process. It went into detail about what the receiver and sender should be doing during a conversation, which is geared to perfecting their ability to communicate and listen. Following this, the chapter discussed the writing process, and how a writer can establish goals for themselves and their writing. It gave steps and a timeline for how a writer should go about tackling their piece, which works to promote time management skills. The chapter then discusses what purpose the writer may have for writing their piece. It could be professional or business, but either way, the author has to anticipate their audience and figure out how they can best tailor their message to them. The person has to figure out the best way to convey their message, which takes into consideration both cost and their audience. With all that in mind the chapter highlights how important it is to adapt to the audience because each person is diffe...

    When it comes to writing I would like to consider myself as someone who fills her page with passion. For me, writing is an intimate art, and once I start releasing my feelings onto the page I do not stop until I have thoroughly expressed myself. I am strong in the sense that I give a lot of detail in my pieces, but am weak when it comes to my word choice. When the topic is something I love the paper will write itself, but I struggle with topics I have no interest in and trying to find the motivation to write. I want to improve my word choice and become more concise with how I relay my message. There are a lot of little errors I know I can work on and I am all for constructive criticism. I plan to go to law school after graduating, so I know I need to master the art of being concise, but above all else, I need to be fluent in different areas of writing styles. Reading through the lines and seeing the bigger picture is where I will also need to improve on, and trying to put ...

Summary: In Chapter 1 it was discussed that superior communication skills will give people an edge over others in job hunting. It was mentioned that high communication is key and that employers want people who have a wide range of skills and higher levels of knowledge. Overall, being able to write is key in any profession. The chapter discussed soft skills, which are getting along with coworkers, solve problems, and take initiative. The main point of Chapter 1 was highlighting the importance of communication in the workforce, which deals not just with verbal communication, but also with nonverbal communication and branching outside of one's own culture and comfort zone. In Chapter 5 the importance of e-mails in the workforce was discussed and how they should be composed and not be overwhelmed by them. Comment: Both chapters discussed professionalism and how it is important in the workforce. There is a correlation between appearance and professionalism. That if a person has their a...