Category Archives: 4. Classroom Exercises

Find and Fix—Spotting Writing Errors

The Bureau of Labor Statistics lists writing as a necessary skill across occupations. In professional settings, ambiguity caused by unclear or ungrammatical writing can confuse readers, cause misunderstandings, and make the writer appear unprofessional.

In the sentences below, locate and correct the grammatical or usage error. Your instructor may request that you identify the error in addition to fixing it.[2]

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Résumé Myths: True or False?

 

Instructors: Ask students to complete this quick quiz to introduce your job search unit. You may download PDFs of the exercise and the answer key at the end of the post.

  1. Your résumé should never be longer than one page.[1]
  2. You must list every job you’ve ever had.
  3. Fancy fonts and graphics make your résumé stand out in a good way.
  4. Résumés should always be written in complete sentences.
  5. It’s okay to tailor your résumé for each job application.
  6. Including a “Summary of Qualifications” statement is not required on modern résumés.
  7. Employers only care about your work experience, not extracurricular activities.
  8. Using action verbs makes your résumé stronger.
  9. Spelling and grammar errors don’t matter much as long as the content is good.
  10. You should send your résumé as a PDF unless the employer requests another format.
  11. GPA is required on every résumé.
  12. Keywords from the job posting can help your résumé get noticed by applicant tracking systems (ATS).

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Crafting Concise, Engaging Slide Text

 

[Instructors: Check out our Teaching Tips end of this post. You may care to refer to our recent post, Creating Slides that Keep Audiences Riveted.] 

Designing slides that engage an audience takes careful crafting. When writing slide content, remember to include only the most important points you want to get across; construct an audience-centered, compelling title; create no more than six bulleted points of no more than six words per bullet point; focus on strong nouns and verbs; and express one idea per slide.

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