4.22 Presentations on cover letters and personal statements

Resumes.  At the beginning of class we looked at some resumes - to get a feel for how visual presentation can get the attention of the reader.  We noted the importance of (subtle) use of color, of identifying sections with headings that are in contrast to the information beneath them - through the use of bold, font size, lines etc, - and how breaking the information under each heading into "bites" of information with bullets or some other succinct statement that won't lose the reader in too much text.  We then talked about how tesumes that have been posted so far could make better use of these visual elements.

Cover letters+ personal statements.  During the rest of the class you presented and gave feedback on cover letters and personal statements.  I gave lots of comments - take what is useful and disregard what is not.  You are the best judge of your audience, and there are lots of successful approaches to creating these documents.  At the same time, it is  essential to think about who your readers are and how they will receive your documents.  In light of this:

• write your cover letter so that it appeals to the interests of your specfic audience
• make sure your personal statement  represents who you are AND is a good match for your employer's expectations

For next class:
Come to class prepared to give a presentations on your resumes + the gap paragraph.  In your presentation you will cover the following.

1. Describe the career you intend to enter.
2. Present your current resume and state how you would use it (=> give a specific description of its audience + purpose) - and ask the class for feedback on any issues you are struggling with
3. Present the dream resume , state how you expect to use it, and ask for any feedback you think might help strengthen this document
4. Discuss your plan for moving from the current to the dream resumes (gap paragraph).

For the last part of class, will also work on developing a rubric for evaluating the portfolios

4.15 Resume workshop + introduction to cover letters and personal statements

We have arrived at the point in the semester where most of class will be spent as either a workshop or a presentation on some part of your portfolio.

 Resumes.
During the first part of class, you worked on your resumes.  We reviewed both the elements of rhetorical analysis and design analysis as a way to assess how the resume was working (see last post). Audience issues are key for resumes; the resume is your effort to get the attention of your potential employer.  Design choices for your resume (like the idea to feature the shark on the sample resume) could make the difference between an interview and being passed over.  As discussed in class, when you write your actual resume to submit for a particular job - you may want to start with a template (where you have all your information listed) and revise (create a specific resume) for each particular job.

While you worked on your resumes, I had one-on-one conferences with each of you to talk through your choice of career and the materials you plan to use for writing samples in your portfolio.  So far, so good.

I will provide you with general comments on any resumes which are posted by next week.


Cover letters and personal statements. 
I fixed the links to the readings on cover letters and personal statements - so they should all work now.
The purpose of a cover letter is to introduce yourself, direct the attention of the reader to any information on the resume or enclosed documents that you feel is particular important to his/her assessment of you; provide any information or rhetorical moves which did not fit into the materials the letter introduces - and which you feel will help your chances for selection.

The  readings on personal statements available at the links are general; the form and content of your personal statement will depend on your particular career.  In general, personal statements position your beliefs, values and abilities with respect to the field you hope to enter.  Personal statements for graduate school applications sound slightly different from personal statements (often teaching philosophies) for teaching postions.  Cruise the internet for samples of the "genre" for your profession.


For next class:
Come to class prepared to give a presentation on your cover letter and personal statement.  Also, come to class prepared to give your classmates feedback on their cover letters and personal statements.

For your presentation, begin by giving the class detailed information about your chosen profession, and the particular employer to whom this letter is directed (you will want to include a link to the employer's web site, and to be able to talk a little bit about what this site shows about your possible employer's values, beliefs, and preferences regarding its employees skills, behaviors + identities).   To this end, at the top of the  cover letter posted to your portfolio, include tsome writing to answer the following questions.

• who is my audience (include a link to the potential employer's web site)  
• what are the audience's values (as evidenced by what you have read about them & the way they represent their business/institution?)
• how an I a match for this employer?
• what will be the context for where my materials are read? portal?  print document? interview? web site? . . .?)
• what do I want to emphasize in order to be a top choice by this employer?

Also - get started on your writing samples, and if you have questions let me know.

4.8 Multimodal composing, rhetorical analysis and creating a writing portfolio

I will be reading our process narratives and should have them back to you next week.

Today's class marks our move to the last unit for the course: the creation of your writing portfolios for an "imagined" future vocation.    We spent the first part of class talking about multimodality and its relevance to the composing processes you will do as you work on this portfolio, and the second part of class was devoted to the introduction of this final assignment.

What is multimodality
multimodality: the ways we communication through multiple modes

modes (as categorized by the New London Group): linguistic, visual, aural, spatial, gestural

As we discussed this classification of modes, we noted that some of the categories overlap (in some ways linguistic modes seem like they are inherently multimodal!), but we recognized that this classification does allow us to think about the different ways different modes convey meanings.  The features of a mode which allow it to convey meanings (listed under each mode in Arola et al's text) are that modes affordances.

We also pointed out that modes are different from media.  Modes are the ways we communicate, and media are what we use or the vehicles for communication.

Rhetoric and multimodality
elements for rhetoricl anlaysis (p. 21):  audience, purpose, context, author, genre (form)

elements for design choices (p. 31): emphasis, contrast, organization, alignment, and proximity

After a very brief consideration of the features of rhetorical and design analysis, you applied these approaches to three sample teaching portfolios.  As you did your anlysis, you responded to the following questions:

How does each portfolio make respond to/make use of:
the rhetorical elements?
multiple modes?
design elements?

Rank the portfolios in terms of what you see as their effectiveness + state your reasons for the ranking


Presentation on Portfolio project (see assignment sheet posted to the right)
We talked through the assignment sheet, and then you did some writing to identify - as specifically as you could - the job you would be applying for and the writing samples to include in your portfolio that would help you get that job

We then spent the rest of the class talking about resumes.

Some useful links:
Introductions + expectations for resumes: https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/719/1/
Discussion of sample resumes (see links to right)

For next class:

Read:  Cover Letters (Youtube video from Purdue OWL) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uSLGa2bRU-g   
Personal Statements (UNC-CH Writing Center)   http://writingcenter.unc.edu/handouts/application-essays/
Examples of Successful Statements (Purdue OWL) https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/642/02/

and Personal Statements: Top Ten Risks and Pitfalls (Purdue OWL) 
https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/642/04/

Write: identify the focus for portfolio + genres for writing samples
resumes (general, "dream" + gap statement)

Sample teaching portfolios

https://depaul.digication.com/mark_lazio_teaching_portfolio/Welcome/published

http://www.rebeccaandersonphd.com/uploads/2/8/7/8/28780855/teaching_portfolio_-_overview.weebly.pdf

https://sites.google.com/site/murdocksengl540site/teaching-philosophy

4.1 Rigid rules-inflexible plans, and workshop on process narrative

Guidelines for feedback to process narrative (based on assignment sheet):
1. What focus is set up in the introduction?  Does this focus accurately forecast the "findings" with some specificity?
2. Where /how does the essay meet each criteiron on the assignment sheet?
3. What makes the findings non-trivial?   (richness contributed by the personal experience; specific observations coupled with logical explanations/interpretations for what those specific observations mean)
4. How/where does the essay use detailed particular expereinces?  Where would it benefit from more development?
5. What do the experiences illustrate with respect to the focus?

In your groups, you took turns reading your essays to each other.  Then you discussed the above to ensure that the draft essay met the requirements for the assignment.

Discussion of Rose:
Introduction is a model for an academic research essay!  introduces the problem, states (clearly and with some particularity) what his essay adds to the discussion.

Focus of essay: Stated at the end of the third paragraph.

Terms to define:
Rules, algorithms, heuristics, plans, set

Overview of findings:
Algorithms rather than heuristics
Questionable heuristics made algorithmic
Set
The plan that is not a plan
Feedback
Too many rules resulting in conceptual conflict

Write: do you have any - conscious or not so conscious- rules or plans in your writing process?  How do they work for you?

For next week:
Read: Selections from Arola, Sheppard and Ball: Writer/Designer: A Guide to Making Multimodal Projects
Write: Post the revised (final) Process Narrative, your summary of the peer review from your group for your essay (the comments from your group); and all assignments for the unit to your portfolio

What is due for the process narrative:

writing on invention 1,28

writing on drafting 2.11

writing on revision 2.25

draft process narrative 3.24

peer comments  4.8

due with final draft 4.8

Sample first paragraph

It was after moving to the USA and studying English as second language that I started to notice my writing process. I used to think of writing as something that flows naturally, more naturally for some people then to others. Before learning a second language, I thought the things I am used to do before and while I am writing were just habits and not a process that I have developed throughout the years as my writing faced different environments, audiences and purposes. Learning a second language forced me to pay more attention to these “habits” in order to improve my writing skill. Writing in English then became a huge challenge of recognizing my writing process, something that I never thought about it before. Therefore, I noticed that a few aspects like the environment I feel comfortable writing, the technologies I use and my invention process did not altered as I faced the task of writing in a second language. However, other aspects involving drafting, revising and control changed as I was adapting to write in English.