How to writing well_8

example, you argue, “Team sports are good for kids because they build why do you believe this? Can you offer a personal example or a case to clarify and can 44–45 in Chapter 2 as a brief “prompt” for a personal opinion essay de- utes to write a working thesis and a sketch outline for your you gain in your ability to think, plan, and write under THE this kind of asks students to read a 16 - WRITING IN CLASS: EXAMS AND ESSAYS summarize its thesis and main points, and write a response both reading and writing this format as their placement exam, to direct students into the writing other schools employ this kind of essay as format is often assigned as in-class writing, it certainly is not limited to certainly be asked on more than one occasion to read prepare for this kind of thinking and writing activity, here are a few sug- For example, are you being asked to present a summary of a article* first and then write a now to review Chapter 8, “The in this chapter will help you identify and evaluate an article’s thesis, main * To avoid confusion in this between the essay used as a “prompt” and the student’s response essay, the word “article” will be used to refer to the the Summary you are to begin with a brief summary of the article, follow the in the first sentence, which also presents the article’s thesis ( In his article “Free Speech on Campus,” author Clarence Page next sentences of your summary should present the word or phrase for clarity or emphasis, use your own words to present Writing the Response Before you begin writing the part of your essay, look at the haps you agree with the main ideas but think that this essay is a 2. Once you have a working thesis in mind, plan the rest of your if you disagree with the article, you might want to note two or with personal examples is per- haps the most common kind of support for essays written in class, but if with a sentence that clearly indicates the section is now Although in his article “Test!” Paul Perez correctly 16 - WRITING IN CLASS: EXAMS AND ESSAYS 453 4. In each of your own body make clear which of the other examples, reasons, or that show that a argument is because it is based on credit for a effective example or a clever 7. Don’t forget to write a brief essay that follows was written by Teresa H., who was assigned “Our Youth Should Serve” by Steven Muller (pages 179–182 in Chap- ter 8) and then asked to write a summary and a thesis, which she then developed through use of her own you read Muller’s article and Teresa’s essay, 1 In “Our Youth Should Serve,” former examples its claims, Muller’s who have no money for college and no 16 - WRITING IN CLASS: EXAMS AND ESSAYS 455 to look good for work, but since my wardrobe Muller also has a good point about people a typical day during the summer and had better than I did hanging 16 - WRITING IN CLASS: EXAMS AND ESSAYS 457 1. After reading Steven Muller’s article “Our Youth Should Serve” write your own essay, drawing on one paragraph Muller’s use of evi- Read and annotate the selection “So What’s So Bad about Being So-So?” on pages 200–202 of this textbook and then write your own examples, or relevant in the World of you are a manager of a business who receives the following rely on the effective passage of among man- To help you address some of the most common writing this chapter offers some for business letters, office of résumés at the end of the chapter will suggest ways to display BUSINESS business letters have some effective qualities in common. a business letter is clearly not a personal essay, they share many of the tone and diction, and clear, concise of Before you begin any letter, prewrite by these important 1. What is the main purpose of this do you want this letter are too many to list, but each letter should clearly state for the reader, just as a thesis in an essay presents your main idea. 2. Who is your the person to whom you are in detail on pages 19–23 in Chapter 1, effective writers select the who your happens to be, all readers want clarity, not order, not chaos; and useful not to do after reading this What overall of yourself do you want your letter to more difficult if you are writing a letter of but remember that to before .”). In short, good business writing is clear, and Letter business letters are neatly typed on one side of all letters now use the “block is, lines of 17 - WRITING IN THE WORLD OF WORK letters typically have six primary parts: 1. The heading of a letter is your address and the date, typed either above the inside address of the letter or in the upper right the person’s title or position, the name of the company or letter’s use of titles and positions can be tricky. a person’s title has more than two words, put it on a separate possible, direct your letter to a specific the name of the person and cannot discover it before your letter must be 3. The is your letter’s greeting to your using the word “Dear” plus title and name (Dear Mr. Smith, Dear Ms. Jones,* Dear Dr. than the more informal do not know the gender of the person to whom you are writing ( in doubt, use the title or position and last Sir or Madam,” a phrase that seems stilted today. 4. The text of your letter refers to the message that appears in the letter, most letters contain • a first paragraph that clearly states the reason for writing (think of the reason for writing (think “body” in an essay); • a last paragraph that sums up the message in a positive way, and writer make contact (think in an people receive so much mail, business letters 17 - WRITING IN THE WORLD OF WORK 463 for any words or phrases that might mislead or confuse your words and create trim sentences that present your message in the (For help writing clear, to one page. Try not to divide between pages, and do not split a word be- 5. The closing of a business letter is a such closings as or “Warm regards.” The first letter of the word is and the closing is followed by a comma. 6. The signature part of a business letter contains both your Some letters contain below the notes include the work (or “encl.”) to indicate inclusion of who are receiving a copy of this word “copy” or by the letters c, cc ( for “carbon copy”), or xc ( for last advice: Most business letters today are written on a word use words, names, or 1. Find a recent business letter you or someone you know has Business letters and personal letters have different forms and Garrison Keillor’s essay “How to Write a Personal Letter” business letters becomes easier with that will require you to write a select a letter that you might indeed send sometime soon. to one page, and revise as many times as necessary to your good 17 - WRITING IN THE WORLD OF WORK 465 A memo, short for is a common form of are slightly more informal than and they may be addressed to more than one person (a a written initials, rather than a full signature as in a business 17 - WRITING IN THE WORLD OF WORK 467 or statement of general purpose and may use headings (such as “Previous Action,” or to identify business memos, of length, share a common goal: the of useful from writer to the world of work will never be totally more mail, or e-mail, has a number of over the memo, and e-mail is so useful in so many ways to many different kinds it’s always a good idea to acquaint yourself with customary use of e-mail at your place of work. 1. Use a helpful subject will be opened and read, always use specific words in the subject if your reader wants to reread your message later and needs to find it . Unlike a business letter, e-mail needs no if you are writing an officer of another company to ask for busy, so try to follow the advice given in this chapter letters and memos: clearly state your purpose, explain in a numbered lists, or “bullets” (use lowercase “o”). Use a or italics you may use asterisks (*) around a word or phrase for e-mail messages should sound personal e-mail that may contain slang, asides, or funny graphics, business e-mails should be written in good standard your e-mail is a task similar to that of a letter, you may wish to close in a if your e-mail is more akin to an informal memo between may find it to end with a friendly thought or word of 17 - WRITING IN THE WORLD OF WORK 469 Work on patience and give yourself time to use other methods e-mail is not to read any e-mail sent from their through your business secret” business through e-mail without proper to use e-mail in a way that protects both you and your • Don’t “shout” your messages in all capital A SCREEN FULL OF type a word in capital letters for emphasis, but use this Don’t ever, ever use in business work skills, special some résumés also contain a brief list of audience for résumés, the following section offers advice to help job To prepare each cover letter, follow the for writing the business letter, as outlined earlier in this chap- In the first clearly tell your reader why you are writing: the the “body” of your letter to noting your education or job, it is important to present yourself as as possible in your let- and résumés, hints for on job on the job seeker’s education and skills than on limited work placing work history in the most prominent position, listing the CHAPTER 17 - WRITING IN THE WORLD OF WORK or for those students who have worked their of résumé may extend to a second page, if you begin drafting your résumé, make a list of the omit this section, making this clear in you have the time and resources to customize a résumé for each you respond to, you can use this section to show that you plan to use one résumé for a variety of job with the most current job or relevant work use action verbs tense verbs for work completed and present tense for current Note that résumés do not use the word “I”; saves precious space on a you may wish to note relevant skills or example, you eign language if that might look useful to a company with don’t want to your résumé by listing project, for example, may indicate just the kinds of employers ask for may contact for more about you and your work or the may be listed at the end of the résumé or on includes the person’s full name and title or position, the name and address of the person’s business telephone number, and e-mail address, if 17 - WRITING IN THE WORLD OF WORK 473 page should be not only but also looking and easy to your section titles work skills, etc.) by using on the page or so little that your text looks lonely, for example), go A good page design, like a Most always proofread your résumé for errors in as as possible, make a point of having several in résumés so why shouldn’t I?”), avoid em- the person well, use your good manners here: in person or in a politely writ- ten note or letter, ask in advance of your job if you may name your your résumé and any other that might help work you (such notes are required if people wrote letters of personal should not include on your résumé any personal (marital you may, if you wish, include on your work, etc.), you should be aware that employers may not consider squander your résumé space on your résumé on such a site, choose your words employers now use applicant tracking software to look for keywords in ré- For example, a business seeking an to the words “CPA’” “French,” and So, if you are in a where its key words in your by first listing training, previous or would you include in a one-page résumé, a résumé for your use at this time or in the near might use this résumé to apply for a an a résumé that follows was designed by a recent college 17 - WRITING IN THE WORLD OF WORK 475 Make your verb agree in number with its subject; a singular subject takes a ject; use a plural use a singular here are some of the most confusing agreement Correct The army of the new nation wants shoes, bullets, and With a relative pronoun (“that,” “which,” and “who”) used as a verb agrees with its the word being With “each,” “none,” and “neither” as the subject: use All the students saw the teacher pull out his hair, but none All the students saw the teacher pull out his hair, but none Neither rain nor dogs nor gloom of night keeps the mail With “here is (are)” and “there is (are)”: the verb agrees with the num- ber indicated by the subject following the There is only two good reasons for missing this law class: There are only two good reasons for missing this law class: To help you do your shopping quickly, Mr. Scrooge, here are a To help you do your shopping quickly, Mr. Scrooge, here is a list News travels slowly if it comes through the post you make a wish or a statement that is contrary to fact, use the verb form most cases, the first verb in a sentence the tense of any Big Joe saw the police car coming up behind, so he turned into Horace uses an sweetener in his coffee all day, so he felt a Correct Horace uses an sweetener in his coffee all day, so he feels its The teacher wanted Lori to her ideas use a negative verb and a negative qualifier voice” refers to sentences in which the subject is acted more examples of active- and verbs, see page 132.) A. The following sentences contain agreement Clarity in speech and writing are essential in the The following sentences contain incorrect verb forms, tense shifts, any problems you see, and rewrite any people call you?” asked the emphasis is on the action, use the pronoun plus the Example He hated my singing around the house, so I made him live in the When the emphasis is not on the action, you may use a noun or He hated me singing around the house, so I made him live in the Some nouns may be used as modifying other nouns: “horse star,” or “theater seats.” But some nouns used as sound the noun to an adjective or reword the the singular pronoun with “anyone,” and When the belly dancer asked for a volunteer partner, everyone Each of the new wives decided to keep her own he cracks.” Today, however, many prefer the even though the can be awkward when until they crack.” (For more examples, see pages you must add a word or rewrite the sentence to make the pro- Be in your use of pronouns; don’t shift from one person to Correct We people are at a because most of the (For examples, see page the pronoun is a subject, use the case: “I,” “he,” and “they”; if the pronoun is an object, use the objective case: correct alone. In other cases, to determine the correct pronoun, you will need to add Mother always liked Dickie more than me. A common pronoun problem involves use of the and the choice of “me” or “I.” Perhaps you can remember this rule Just between you and me, the Russian is a good cook the case of the pronoun in its own clause in each If the pronoun is the subject of a clause, use “who” or I don’t know who spread the peanut butter on my English subject of the verb “likes” in the clause “who only likes offers the largest sum of If the pronoun is the object of a verb, use “whom” or Whom am I object of the verb If the pronoun occurs as the object of a use With whom am I whom is the letter the following any correct use of adverbs and often occurs when you confuse they end in “-ly,” and they often answer the of the most confusing pairs of modifiers is “well” and “good.” We often use “good” as an adjective modifying a noun and “well” as an A Sap’s Fables is a good book for children, although it is not Sarah is the loudest of the four children in the use the words “more,” “most,” “less,” and “least” to words in the of sentences and often may be corrected by adding the Not knowing how to swim, we decided that buying scuba gear was (For examples, see page modifying words, phrases, or clauses are not placed near the word There are many things people, children, won’t eat. (For examples, see pages the errors in the following are enclosing with this letter the new telephone number for IN complete sentence must contain a subject and a sentence; it is often a (“-ing”) phrase or dependent prose, one sentence at a time, starting at the end of your This recording of the latest concert is so clear you You can also try this test to see if a group of words is a fragment: say the plete sentence will still make sense, but a fragment At Liz’s most recent wedding, the used an sentence makes sense, so it’s not a Sentence the following sentences so that there are no example, the Don’t run two sentences together without any a period, a A comma splice occurs when two sentences are linked with a this error, you can (1) separate the two sentences with a more help on comma splices, see pages 500–502; Sentence and Comma Splice the following any correct sentences you error occurs when the predicate (that part of the sentence that True failure is when you make an error and don’t learn You have truly failed only when you make an error and don’t other examples of faulty see pages other examples of mixed see page the following sentences so that each one is clear and for example, at the confusion in the following sentences when the necessary marks are helps you clearly with your Use a period to end a Employees at that company are not allowed to go on The elephant was delivered C.O.D. 1. Use a question mark after every direct Jean asked why no one makes a paper milk carton that opens The point follows words, phrases, or sentences to show Fire! 1. Use a comma to separate two clauses* joined by a FANBOYS: “for,” “and,” “nor,” “but,” “or,” “yet,” and “so.” Always use * An clause looks like a complete sentence; it contains a subject and a verb, and it Do not join two sentences with a comma only; such an error is called a Use a comma plus one of the splice Jack doesn’t like singing groups, he won’t go with us to Jack doesn’t like singing groups, so he won’t go with us Jack doesn’t like singing Jack doesn’t like singing groups; he won’t go with us to Because Jack doesn’t like singing groups, he won’t go with Thus, she resolved never to speak to him use of “however” most often 3. Set off with a comma an phrase or example, one man claims his socks make a break for Use commas to separate items in a series of words, phrases, or last comma before the “and,” many believe the comma is example, how many pints of ice cream are listed in a comma before the “and,” the reader doesn’t you clarify the Use commas to separate of equal emphasis that modify the word “and” between the if the phrase still makes proper sense with the “and,” use a modifies the unit “pecan pie,” so there is no Use commas to set off items in addresses and The sheriff followed me from Austin, Texas, to question me about 9. Use commas to set off a degree or title following a name. Use commas to set off dialogue from the Alexander “I don’t think I want a second helping commas to set off “yes,” “no,” “well,” and other weak Yes, I am in the cat condo word, phrase, or clause is Jack is, I think, still a Errors A. Study the comma rules numbered 1–4 on the previous comma errors you see in the following Study the comma rules 5–12 on the previous any you see in the following The following sentences contain many kinds of comma errors, any errors you see by adding, deleting, or For practice comma splice errors, see pages 494–495 in 1. Use a semicolon to link two closely related Pierre has been cooking for years without realizing it; 2. Use a semicolon to avoid a comma splice when two clauses with words like “thus,” Vincent Van Gogh sold only one painting in his entire life; how- 3. Use a semicolon in a series between items that already contain Use a colon to introduce a long or formal list, but do not use one Jean is such a bad cook that she thinks the four basic food groups a bore: “A person who talks when you wish him to Use a colon to introduce a word, phrase, or sentence that the following semicolon and colon errors by adding, deleting, or Skip any correct an Atheist, all dressed up, and no place to something like this would Largest Prairie Dog Turn Right at This Exit,” therefore we im- 1. Use an to indicate a It’s too bad your car Jack’s dog ate the cat’s dinner. * Don’t confuse the “it’s” ( for “it is”) with the pronoun “its,” in “s,” when the word is a proper Bill Jones’s car 5. To avoid you may use an plus “s” to form of letters, figures, and words discussed as words; no is You use too many “and’s” in your QUOTATION MARKS (“ ” AND ‘ ’) P 1. Use quotation marks to enclose someone’s spoken or written take your money with you.” 2. Use quotation marks around the titles of essays,* articles, You may either underline or place quotation marks around a or letter used as the subject of Do not, however, put quotation marks around your own essay’s title on either the title page Never use “however” as a word “bigwig,” meaning an important person, is derived from Her use of such as “drab,” “bleak,” and “musty” in quotation marks; instead, specific After work Chuck liked to relax by watching old movies on goes inside; if the quoted material is a part of a whole sentence that is According to Matt Groening, “Love is a and at night the ice weasels pins you and at night the ice weasels asked, “Do you think you’re in love or just in a Use single quotation marks to enclose a quotation (or words Professor Hall asked his class, “Do you agree with Samuel of hope over of my favorite songs is ‘In My Life’ by the Beatles,” said Jane. A. Correct the errors you see in the following Correct the following errors by adding, changing, or deleting Use to set off words, dates, or that give for The Colorado winters of 1978 and 1979 broke records for low tem- a. Use commas to set off closely related to the rest of Use to set off loosely related to the rest of the c. Use dashes to set off or Use brackets to set off editorial in quoted According to the old letter, the treasure map could be found “in 2. Use brackets to set off editorial in quoted the bracketed word “sic” (meaning “thus”) next to an error, you The student wrote, “I think it’s unfair for teachers to count off [sic].” [“Sic” in brackets indicates that the student who is quoted the word “sic” in brackets indicates an error in word choice; Use a dash to indicate a strong or sudden shift in Please note that in a typed work, a dash is indicated by two bar marks (“—”); one bar indicates a clear up any confusion over the uses of dashes, commas, and paren- 1. Use a hyphen to join words into a single adjective before a noun. Do not use a hyphen when the modifier ends in “ly.” 8 The Writing in Class: Exams and “Response ” Essays 17 Writing in the World of Work 21 by Example