Technical Writing Summary
When beginning your job search, consider the three Rs:
1) Research yourself
2) Research the Company
3) Research the Position
How to find job openings:
A) Visit your college or university placement centre because:
• 1-your school’s job placement service has counsellors who will counsel you regarding your skills
and job options.
• 2-your job placement centre can give you helpful hints on preparing resumes, letters of
application, and follow up letters.
• 3-The centre will be able to tell you when companies will visit campus for job recruiting.
• 4-The service might keep on file your letters of recommendation or portfolio. The job
placement centre can send these out to interested companies upon your request.
B) A Job Fair:
• A job fair will allow you to research job openings, make contacts for internships, or submit
resumes for job openings.
• If you attend a job fair, treat it like an interview
• Dress professionally and take copies of your resume and letters of recommendation.
C) Network.
• Talk to your instructors.
• Network with friends and past employers
• Smart money magazine article reported that 62% of job searchers find employment through “face-
to face networking”
D) Use social media for your Networking and job search.
• Twitter allows you to connect directly with recruiters and employees at companies you want to
work for.
• LinkedIn lets you post your own profile and find information about other professionals in your work
environment
E) Get involved in your company
• Consider volunteering for a community committee, pursuing religious affiliations, joining
community clubs, or participating in fund-raising events.
• Check your professional affiliations and publications.
• Read the Ads
• Take a temporary job
• Get an internship or Job shadow
F) Set up informational interview.
In an informational interview, you talk with people currently working in a field, asking them questions
about career opportunities and contacts. Informational interviews allow you to:
• Explore careers and clarify your career goal.
• Expand your professional network.
• Build confidence for your job interviews.
• Access the most up-to date career information.
• Identify your professional strengths and weakness
Criteria For Effective Resumes:
Resumes are the first impression you make on a prospective employer. If your resume is effective, you
have opened the door to possible employment, and have given yourself the opportunity to sell your skills
during an interview. If, in contrast, you write an ineffective resume, you have closed the door to
opportunity.
Do not try to include your entire history. Because the primary goal of your resume, together with your
letter of application, is to get an interview, you can use your interview to explain in more detail any
pertinent information that doesn’t appear on your resume.
Reverse Chronological Resume
Write a reverse chronological resume if you:
• Are a traditional job applicant (a recent high school or college graduate)
• Hope to enter the profession in which you have received college training or certification.
• Have made steady progress in one profession (promotions or salary increases)
• Plan to stay in your present profession.
Functional Resumes
Write a functional resume if you:
• Are a non-traditional job applicant (Returning to the workforce after a lengthy absence, are old, or
not a recent high school or university graduate)
• Plan to enter a profession in which you have not received formal college training or certification.
• Have changed job frequently.
• Plan to enter a new profession.
Ethical considerations when writing a resume:
Many employers use social networking sites, such as Facebook, LinkedIn, and My space, to learn details
about a job candidate.
Make sure that your resume is ethical and honest, here are examples of resume fraud that you must avoid:
• Including a degree that you have not earned.
• Listing colleges or universities that you have not attended
• Inflating your job title.
• Inflating your job responsibilities
• Inflating your job achievements
• Listing jobs that you have not held.
• Claiming technical knowledge that you do not have
• Omitting large amounts of time from your school and job histories.
• Including a military rank that you have not earned.
Key Resume Components
Whether you write a reverse chronological or a functional resume, include the following key components.
1) Identification 5) Career Objectives
2) Education 6) Professional Skills
3) Employment 7) Professional Affiliations
4) Contact Information 8) Military Experience
Identification (begin your resume with the following)
o Your name (First name, middle initial, and last name). Your name can be in boldface and
printed in a large font (14-point, 16-point).
Contact information (Phone Number and E-mail)
o Avoid using your e-mail address at your current place of employment.
o Location (Zip code, City, and country)
Career objectives
• The career objectives line is like a subject line in an e-mail or report. Your career objective informs
the reader of your resume’s focus. Be sure your career objective is precise.
Examples of a good and improved career objective:
• Career objective: seeking employment in a business environment offering an opportunity for
professional.
• Improved career objective: to market financial planning program and provide financial counselling
to ensure positive client relations.
Employment
• This information must be presented in reverse chronological order ( your current job listed first,
previous jobs listed next)
• Your job title ( if you have or had one)
• The name of the company you worked for
• The location of this company ( city and state)
• The time during which you worked at this job
• Your job duties, responsibilities, and accomplishments
Education
• Document your educational experiences in reverse chronological order, most recent education first,
previous schools, colleges, universities, military courses, and training seminars next
• Degree: tell your audience whether you’ve earned a BA. BS. MA, etc, and name the field ( Business,
Engineering, computer science, etc). If you have not yet received your degree, you can write
anticipated date of graduation June 2017
• School attended: Don’t abbreviate
• Location: include the city and state
• Year of graduation or years attended
What makes you more hireable than your colleagues?
• The only way you can differentiate yourself from other job candidates with similar degrees is by
highlighting your unique educational accomplishments.
• Grade point average (academic club membership and leadership office held)
• Unique coursework
• Special class projects
• Academic honours, scholarships, and awards
• Number of hours you worked while attending schools
• Software and hardware certifications or technical equipment you can operate.
Professional skills
If you’re changing professions or re-entering the workforce after a long absence, you will write a functional
resume. Therefore, rather than beginning with education or work experience, which won’t necessarily help
you get a job, focus your reader’s attention on your unique skills. These could include the following.
• Proficiency with computer hardware and software.
• Special accomplishments and awards you have earned
• On-the job training you have received
• Training you have provided
• Certifications you have earned
• Languages you speak, read, and write
Military experience
If you served for several years in the military, you might want to describe this service in a separate section.
You should state the following:
• Rank
• Service branch
• Location (city, state, country, ship)
• Years in service
Professional affiliations
If you belong to regional, national, or international clubs or have professional affiliations, you might want
to mention these.
Effective resume style
• Choose appropriate font types and sizes. Times New Roman font from 10-12, headings can be
boldface and 14-16 font size.
• Avoid sentences. I have, I graduated, I worked.
• Format your resume for reader friendly ease of access. By bulletizing your accomplishments,
awards, unique skills.
• Begin your lists with verbs. Use present tense verbs for current jobs and education; use past tense
for past jobs and education.
• Quantify your achievements
• Make it perfect. You cannot afford to make an error in your resume.
Logical Fallacies
What are fallacies?
A fallacy is the use of invalid or otherwise faulty reasoning, or "wrong moves," in the construction of an
argument, which may appear stronger than it really is if the fallacy is not spotted. They are defects which
weaken the argument and are an unrealistic/unreliable reference.
Examples of fallacies:
• Ad Hominem: Attacks the person in the ad and not the issue itself.
• Appeal to emotion: Manipulates people’s emotions in order to get their attention away from an
important issue.
• Bandwagon: Creates the impression that everybody is doing it and so should you.
• False Dilemma: Limits the possible choices to avoid considering another choice.
• Appeal to the people: uses the views of the majority as a persuasive device.
• Red herring: Presents an irrelevant topic to divert attention away from the original problem.
• Scare tactic: Creates fear in people as evidence to support a claim.
Communicating to Persuade:
You might need to write persuasively for many reasons:
• Persuading a manufacturer about product failures and requesting a refund or new product.
• Persuading a manager to adopt a new company policy.
• Persuading a boss to give you a raise or promotion.
You will communicate persuasively using many communication channels:
• Routine correspondence (memos and letters)
• Electronic communication (e-mail messages, instant and text messages, tweets, and blogs)
• Reports (proposals or oral presentations)
Traditional Methods of Argument and Persuasion
1) Ethos: translates to ethics. Arguments based on ethics depend on your character.
2) Logos: translates to logic. Arguments based on logic depend on rationality, reason, and proof.
3) Pathos: translates to emotion. Arguments based on emotion seek to change an audience’s attitude
and actions by focusing on feelings.
ARGU to Persuade
• A= Arouse reader interest • G= Give proof
• R= Refute opposing points of view • U= Urge action
Avoiding Logical Fallacies
To persuade successfully, avoid the following logical fallacies:
• Inaccurate information • Circular reasoning
• Unreliable sources • Inaccurate conclusions
• Sweeping generalizations • Red herrings
• Either / Or arguments
Sales Letters
One way to persuade an audience to purchase products and services is to write a sales letter.
In your sales letter, provide an Introduction, a Body, and a Conclusion.
1) Introduction:
A) Arouse interest by showing a reader need (or problem), using any of these options:
• Anecdotes
• Questions
• Quotes
• Data
B) Show how your product or service can solve the problem.
2) Body
• Refute opposing points of view.
• Give proof to develop your assertions:
o Provide data o Document credentials
o Give testimonies
• Itemize for easy access.
3) Conclusion
Urge the reader to act using these options:
• Give directions • Offer a discount
• Provide a tear-out for more information • Give contact information
• Supply a self-addressed stamped envelope • Incentives to encourage a sale
4) Fliers
Fliers are one-to-two-page overviews of a product or service. They provide the following benefits:
• Cost effective • Responsive to immediate needs
• Time efficient • Personalized
Criteria for writing fliers:
• Keep them short (1-2 Pages) • Increase your font size and use colours for
• Focus on one idea impact and readability
• Use a title to arouse the reader’s interest • Use graphics for visual appeal
• Limit your text to 100 words or less • Use a logo or slogan
• Avoid grammatical errors
5) Brochures
Brochures are six or more panels of information, usually printed in landscape orientation. Brochures
provide the following benefits:
• Create awareness of a product or service • Advertise new products or services
• Increase understanding of a product or
service
Criteria for Writing Brochures
• Panels and gutters
o 3 panels on the front o gutters to separate each panel
o 3 panels on the back
• Title page
o Topic o Contact Information
o Graphic
• Back panel
o Conclusion o Coupons
o Mailing information o Location
• Body panels
o Prices o Tech specs
o Options o Company history
o Maps o Delivery options
o Credentials o Bios
o Directions o Payment plans (and more)
• Headings/subheadings (parallel) • Conciseness
• Graphics • Sales tone
• Development (inform, persuade, build • Correct Grammar
rapport)
To ensure the success of your sales letter, flier, or brochure:
1) Prewrite
• Gather data, determine your audience, decide on goals, and envision layout as follows: Answer
reporter’s questions (who, what, when, why, where, and how)
• Try cubing (to look at a topic from six different perspectives)
• Use storyboarding to determine layout needs
2) Write
• Review the criteria for successful sales letters, fliers, brochures.
• Review your prewriting.
• Draft your text.
3) Re-write
• Revise the rough draft by adding detail • Move text for emphasis
for clarity • Reformat for easy access
• Delete dead words and phrases for • Enhance the tone
conciseness • Correct errors for professionalism
• Simplify terms for easy understanding
