Writing for Professional Communication Presented by: J. Alan Kendrick, Ph.D. Director, Minority Recruitment and Retention

Why is writing important? Your writing is what represents you when you are not present to speak for yourself. How would you like to best represent yourself?

Writing/Communicating in Three Areas: The CV or Resume The personal statement

CV or Resume – What’s the Difference? A curriculum vitae or CV, meaning “course of one’s life,” is a document that gives much more detail than does a resume about your academic and professional accomplishments. A curriculum vitae is most often used by academics to obtain academic or research positions. A resume is a brief written account of personal, educational, and professional qualifications and experience.

The CV or The Resume Curricula vitae are most often used for academic or research positions. Resumes are the preferred documents in business and industry. Note: CVs are usually two pages at the shortest and can be many pages in length. Resumes should usually be kept to one page.

Resume Types Chronological format - lists your education and experience in reverse chronological order (most recent item first). Skills format - lists the skills that you have from a variety of experiences (paid, volunteer, student activities, projects). You can group your skills by category.

Common Mistakes to Avoid: CV or Resume Lying or making up information The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Or UNC-Chapel Hill NOT-The University of North Carolina Polytechnical and State University Listing a personal website that contains inappropriate content. Using very small font sizes (Times New Roman is standard). Using really wide margins with content squeezed in the middle. Using wordy descriptions in your objective and elsewhere. TYPOS (proofread, proofread, proofread) Being so creative that your resume loses focus. Using a creative layout to “stand out” from the crowd. (The best way to stand out is with high quality content and a clearly written, neat, error-free document.

CV/RESUME TIPS Start resume building early. Get involved. Do well academically. Have someone to critique your CV or resume. Visit the Career Services Center for guidance. Look for templates, samples, examples.

The Personal Statement for the graduate school application Do you find it difficult writing about yourself? Here’s your chance to shine! FOUR BASIC ELEMENTS: 1. Length 2. Writing style 3. Tone 4. Feedback and Revision

What is evaluated during the application process? Undergraduate grades (GPA) GRE Scores Letters of recommendation (3) Statement of Purpose An individual statement describing the student’s scholarly focus, future plans and relevant skills. Describe your research experiences, articulate your future goals, explain why you are choosing the particular program.

More about the Personal Statement Length – a good personal statement will be approximately two to three double-spaced, typed pages. (Pay attention to guidelines) Writing style –No one is impressed by careless grammatical and typographical errors. Pay attention to detail. Refer to Strunk and White’s, The Elements of Style as a resource. Tone – Think of the “personal” statement as “professional” statement. Write about activities that led you to graduate study and provide concrete examples. This is not the time for you to espouse your personal philosophy of life, for example.

Personal Statement continued Feedback and Revision – ask for a critique of your statement after you have completed a draft. Incorporate the feedback that you feel is useful/helpful. Do not procrastinate! Start writing early. Seek help early! Proofread!

Remember to highlight… Your previous research experiences Current research interests Other relevant experience Career goals (where appropriate) -The clearer you are about your goals and interests, the more clearly you can articulate these goals in writing in your personal statement.

“Don’ts” for the Statement of Purpose Don’t start the essay with “I was born in…,” or “My parents came from…” Don’t write an autobiography or convert your resume into prose. Don’t be a comedian. Gentle humor is fine. Don’t try to impress your reader with fancy vocabulary.

“Don’ts” continued Don’t rely exclusively on your computer to check your spelling. Don’t give weak excuses for your GPA or test scores. Don’t make things up. Don’t be afraid to receive criticism and start the essay from scratch.

“Do’s” for the Statement of Purpose Do make your essay cohesive, give it direction with a theme or thesis. Do write with an outline. Before you begin writing, choose what you want to discuss and the order that you want to discuss it. Do use concrete examples from your life experiences to support your thesis.

“Do’s” continued Do revise and rewrite your essay. 3 times? Do ask someone to critique your statement. Do proofread. Do read it out loud. Do write clearly and succinctly. Do end your essay with a conclusion that refers to your main idea/thesis.

Final Tips Writing matters! Be honest. Be professional. Be self- confident Represent yourself accurately and fairly through your writing and you can rest assured that you can maximize your potential fit with programs to which you apply.

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