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Posts authored by tengrrl

#FridayFact: Typos Can Ruin Your Credibility

#FridayFact: Typos Can Ruin Your Credibility published on

The covfefe tweet by Per-Olof Forsberg on Flickr, used under a CC-BY 2.0 licenseYou already know that your job application materials should be error free. Misspell words, misname the university, or mistype the date? Your application will likely be rejected immediately. What you may not realize is that even a small error in other documents you write in the workplace can decrease your credibility.

Why does error-free writing matter? Lennox Morrison explains:

The humble typo not only has the power to make us appear less intelligent than we are. Poor spelling can also create confusion, a loss of clarity and meaning and in extreme cases it can cost millions in missed sales and job opportunities. It has the potential to wreck customer relationships and even ruin your chance of finding love online.

So the lesson here? Be sure that you proofread your writing carefully before sending it out to coworkers or clients. Even a typo in a Tweet can cause trouble. After all, you don’t want to make the covfefe error of your workplace. At the best, you may only be laughed at. At worst, well, let’s not think about that. Instead, double and triple check your writing every time!

To learn more about today’s #FridayFact, read the BBC article The true importance of good spelling.

 

Screenshot credit: The covfefe tweet by Per-Olof Forsberg on Flickr, used under a CC-BY 2.0 license.

 


 
Last updated on Sunday, October 22, 2017

#InfographicInspiration: Overused Words

#InfographicInspiration: Overused Words published on

If you’re like me, you have a few words or phrases that you find yourself using too much. When I make my final passes through anything I write, I watch for these overused words and rephrase whenever possible.

I’ve become pretty good at finding my overused phrases. If you have difficulty finding them in your documents, try pasting the entire text of your document into a word cloud app like Wordle. The words that you overuse will be a larger size. Be smart about your word clouds however. It’s normal for words like the topic of your document to be repeated frequently. Suppose you’re writing a proposal for a new way to manufacture widgets. In that case, you’d expect the word widgets to be used frequently. There would be no need to change it.

What kinds of words are you likely to want to change? That’s where today’s #InfographicInspiration comes in. The image shows 44 Overused Words and Phrases to Be Aware Of and suggests alternative words to use instead. One more tip: You want to have variety in your documents, but don’t let this list of overused words and phrases block your writing. Go ahead and use whatever comes to mind in your first draft. Use the list when you are revising and editing.

44 Overused Words & Phrases To Be Aware Of (Infographic)
Source: www.grammarcheck.net

 

Note: This infographic needs a text-based transcript. See the Optional Accessibility Transcript Activity for more details.

 


 
Last updated on Saturday, October 21, 2017

Grades on the Analysis Project

Grades on the Analysis Project published on
Text Alignment in Web Design

I have graded all of the Analysis of Writing in Your Field projects. In this post, I’ll comment on how you all did and what you can do if you are not happy with your grade. Please read the information carefully and note the related dates.

Overall Feedback for the Class

  • Meet the requirements of the assignment. Some folks either failed to read the assignment or didn’t pay attention to the details. Their projects typically failed to include 10 kinds of writing, so they need to revise. Please pay attention to the details and requirements of assignments.
  • Pay attention to parallel grammatical structure. Remember that the text in all cells of a column needs to be grammatically parallel. They need to match in their structure. Read more about parallelism on the Purdue OWL for help and examples, and revisit the course post from 9/19.
  • Avoid centered text. Remember that the best design for text is flush left, ragged right. Centered text is harder to read. See the #TuesdayTutorial on the problems with centered text on the course website.
  • Work on document design: Many projects could be improved with more attention to document design. The posts on Improving A Table’s Appearance  and explaining why Tables Can Be Boring provide tips.
  • Help from the Writing Center: As a reminder, anyone can visit the Writing Center in the library for help with projects for the course. Writing Center tutors can help you strengthen your content as well as work on document design and issues with phrasing, grammar, or punctuation. You can read more about the Writing Center and make an appointment on the Writing Center’s webpage.

Revision Activities for the Analysis Project

I have reopened the assignment so that those of you who want to revise can improve your project. Follow the guidelines below to resubmit your work.

  1. If I made a mistake
    Send me an email message or a private message on Slack with the details. I’ll fix it.
  2. If there were problems with the content or design of your analysis project
    Revise your project to improve your work, adding whatever is missing or tweaking the design. Resubmit your project, and I will regrade your work.
  3. If you did not submit your work at all
    It is too late. Be sure to turn in all the remaining projects if you want to pass the course.
  4. If something else is going on
    Send me an email message or a private message on Slack with the details. I’ll see what I can do to help you.

Suggested Revision Dates

By 11:59PM on November 10, aim to submit your revision (so that I can get it graded before Thanksgiving break).

If you need more time, that is fine. The analysis project is open until 11:59PM on Wednesday, November 29. You do not need to contact me. Just work to submit your revision by the 29th.

 

Note: This infographic needs a text-based transcript. See the Optional Accessibility Transcript Activity for more details.


 
Last updated on Wednesday, October 25, 2017

#WednesdayWrite: Proofreading Facebook vs. Proofreading Essays

#WednesdayWrite: Proofreading Facebook vs. Proofreading Essays published on

Meme: Posting on Facebook: Proofread status five to ten times. Writing an essay for school: Proofread essay exactly zero times. You know it's true.For your #WednesdayWrite, I have a meme for you, on the right side of the post. I know that you are writing proposals and reports (instead of essays), but the idea probably still applies.

So here’s the question I have for you: Why do students spend more time proofreading a post for Facebook than a document for school? What’s the difference between a status update and an essay for school?

There’s no one right answer. Think about what happens and why. You can post your own thoughts or reply to someone else. For a bigger challenge, you can also talk about how you might encourage yourself or others to invest time in proofreading a document.


 
Last updated on Saturday, October 21, 2017

#TuesdayTutorial: Using Lists to Organize Information

#TuesdayTutorial: Using Lists to Organize Information published on

Today’s #TuesdayTutorial focuses on how organizing information in your professional writing by using lists. Bullet lists and numbered lists make related information easy to read through, and because they are offset from the margins, lists stand out and catch the reader’s eye. Consider this example of a text written in a paragraph:

How To Fill Out Form I-765

Type or print legibly in black ink. If extra space is needed to complete any item, attach a continuation sheet, write your name and Alien Registration Number (A-Number) (if any), at the top of each sheet of paper, indicate the Part and item number to which your answer refers, and date and sign each sheet. Answer all questions fully and accurately. State that an item is not applicable with “N/A.” If the answer is none, write “None.”

—From Instructions for Application for Employment Authorization,
Department of Homeland Security

You can read through the information, but it could be better with the right formatting. Compare the paragraph version above to this revision, which uses numbered lists:

How To Fill Out Form I-765

  1. Type or print legibly in black ink.
  2. If extra space is needed to complete any item
    1. Attach a continuation sheet
    2. Write your name and Alien Registration Number (A-Number) (if any), at the top of each sheet of paper
    3. Indicate the Part and item number to which your answer refers,
    4. Date and sign each sheet.
  3. Answer all questions fully and accurately. State that an item is not applicable with “N/A.” If the answer is none, write “None.”

It should be immediately obvious that the version with the lists is easier to read. It provides a structure that works well with the F-shaped reading pattern.

I have two resources that you should read to learn more about using lists:

  1. Read all four pages of Grammar Girl’s Formatting Vertical Lists (or listen to the podcast). The information will tell you when to use a colon with a list, whether to capitalize list items. how to use other punctuation, and why list items should be parallel.
  2. Read Bulleted & Numbered Lists from the University of Minnesota’s Accessible U. This resource will tell you how to format your lists so that they work well with screenreaders and other assistive technologies.

 


 
Last updated on Saturday, October 21, 2017

Peer Review & Submission of Short Proposals

Peer Review & Submission of Short Proposals published on

This is the post for the week of October 23, 2017.

This week, you’ll share the draft of your Short Report Proposal with your writing group and give feedback to everyone else in your group.

Readings for the Week

Review the texts below for help with your project:

Tasks for the Week

  1. By 11:59PM on Monday, October 23, submit your 10/20 Labor Log in Canvas, if you are using the grace period.
  2. Check out the previous posts that can help you improve your Short Report Proposal:
  3. By 11:59PM on Wednesday, October 25, post a draft of your project in the Group Feedback on Short Proposals Discussion in Canvas.
  4. By 11:59PM on Friday, October 27, post feedback on the drafts posted by your group members in the Group Feedback Discussion in Canvas. Be sure to use the strategies from the Peer Review: Commenting Strategies video.
  5. By 11:59PM on Monday, October 30, submit your project in the Short Proposal assignment in Canvas. If you are using the grace period, submit your project by 11:59PM on November 2.
  6. By 11:59PM on Friday, October 27, write your 10/27 Labor Log in Canvas. Specific questions for your log are included in Canvas. The grace period for your log entry ends at 11:59 PM on Monday, October 30.

 

Note: This infographic needs a text-based transcript. See the Optional Accessibility Transcript Activity for more details.


 
Last updated on Saturday, October 21, 2017

#WeekendWatch: Creating a Gantt Chart

#WeekendWatch: Creating a Gantt Chart published on

Lynda.com Login Help

Lynda.com videos are free to Virginia Tech students with your VT.EDU login. Start at the VT.EDU login page to access these resources.

On Thursday, our #InfographicInspiration explained background information on Gantt Charts, identified their basic characteristics, and outlined their strengths. As you probably recall, Gantt charts are one of the ways that you can organize the schedule for your project to make the details clear and easy to follow.

Today’s #WeekendWatch is a Lynda.com video that explains, step-by-step, how to use Excel 2016 to Create Gantt charts (7m55s). Videos are also available for these versions of Excel:

Screenshot of Create Gantt charts video from Lynda.com

After watching the video, check out the contents for Excel 2016: Charts in Depth, the course that the Gantt Charts video is part of. It includes details on several other kinds of charts and more advanced information on using Excel to create charts.

If you are curious about Gantt charts, you can also watch the Lynda.com video Learning Gantt Charts (1h17m).

 

Note: This video has closed captioning, so it does not need a transcript.

 


 
Last updated on Thursday, October 19, 2017

#FridayFact: Informative Headings Help Readers

#FridayFact: Informative Headings Help Readers published on

We’ve looked at some videos that describe how headings contribute to a document. We’ve had posts on Information-Rich Signposts and Reader-Friendly Proposals. Today’s #FridayFact continues that theme with a resource that demonstrate how specific, informative headings increase readability.

This resource from the University of Minnesota shows the differences between generic category headings, descriptive headings, and informative headings. As you examine the three kinds of headings, think about how you can apply this fact to your proposal.

Use the arrows in the upper left corner of the PDF toolbar to move from one page to another.

InformativeHeadings
 
Last updated on Wednesday, October 18, 2017

#InfographicInspiration: Scheduling with a Gantt Chart

#InfographicInspiration: Scheduling with a Gantt Chart published on

The Short Report Proposal you are working on requires a schedule for the work you propose. Document design and readability play a role in the way you communicate your schedule. Explaining the information in paragraph form makes it harder to read. Consider this example:

At least two weeks before the bowl game, decide on a time, date, and place for your party; and then send out party invitations. Two weeks before the party, focus on preparations that can be finished in advance and then pulled out quickly when game day comes. This preparation includes: Buy and/or make maroon and orange, football-themed party decorations; Find your coolers, buckets, or tubs for drinks, or borrow them from friends; Buy beverages (e.g., beer, Soda or other non-alcoholic drinks, water); Buy disposable plates, bowls, cups, cutlery, and napkins; Gather your serving platters and snack bowls; and Gather or buy bottle openers, if your beer is in bottles. If you can store ice in advance, buy ice, lots of it. The week before game day, plan food for the event, and then arrange for catering, or plan to shop for ingredients and make whatever food can be made in advance yourself. Also plan seating arrangements for the party, borrowing any additional chairs or tables needed, and gathering resources in your home. A few days before game day, do a deep clean of your party location, including cleaning furniture, ice chests, refrigerators, and so forth. The day before the game, spot clean any areas that need it. Put up decorations and set out containers (bowls, platters, ice chests, etc.) so that they are ready to fill. The day of the game, turn your attention to finishing food preparations. Be sure to keep food at a safe temperature before and during the party. If you did not buy ice in advance, buy it an hour before the party begins. Once your guests begin to arrive, relax and enjoy the game.

UGH! You don’t need to read through that oversized paragraph to recognize that the details of the schedule are hard to follow. Document design can improve that information. You can revise the information in many, more readable ways, such as

  • a table that lists dates and deliverables or tasks completed.
  • a calendar with deliverables and tasked completedwritten on the planned dates.
  • a workflow diagram that lists expected dates along with the tasks.

Another popular option is using a Gantt chart, and that is the topic of today’s #InfographicInspiration. The information below from Wrike Project Management Software gives you background and general information on how Gantt charts work. Come back on Saturday for the #WeekendWatch, which will demonstrate how to create a Gantt chart in Excel.

What is a Gantt Chart? #infographic

 

Note: This infographic needs a text-based transcript. See the Optional Accessibility Transcript Activity for more details.


 
Last updated on Wednesday, October 18, 2017

#WednesdayWrite: Review a WikiBooks Page

#WednesdayWrite: Review a WikiBooks Page published on

Adapted from an assignment by Jim Collier’s on his Technical Writing course site.

proposal by Helen Cook on Flickr, used under a CC-BY-SA 2.0 license
You have read several resources on writing business and technical writing proposals. For today’s #WednesdayWrite, you will compare what you have read to a new resource and draw conclusions about the characteristics of and strategies for writing a proposal. I have broken today’s activity in several steps to structure the task for you.

Step 1: Review Previous Readings on Proposals

By now, you have read or viewed several resources on writing proposals. Review these resources to remind yourself of the characteristics of and strategies for writing proposals:

Step 2: Read a New Resource on Proposals

Read the WikiBooks page on Proposals from the Professional and Technical Writing text. Like entries on Wikipedia, this page is an open, collaboratively-edited text. It has been written by professional writing teachers and students. Unlike a textbook from a publisher like Bedford/St. Martin’s, this online text may not be polished, accurate, or well supported by outside resources. You have to determine the trustworthiness of this kind of text.

Step 3: Compare the Resources on Proposals

Compare the characteristics of and strategies for writing proposals that are presented in your previous readings and the new WikiBooks page.

  • Look for places that the texts agree or seem similar.
  • Note the places that the texts disagree.
  • Identify any information that is only included on the WikiBooks page.
  • Record any information that is missing from the WikiBooks page.

Step 4: Evaluate the WikiBooks Page on Proposals

Use the information you gathered in Step 3 to evaluate the Proposals page on the WikiBooks site. Determine its strengths and weaknesses, and then decide whether it is a trustworthy resource. Recognize that it’s possible for the text to include both strong, accurate information and weak, inaccurate information.

Step 5: Write Your Comment & Reply to Your Classmates

Write a comment on today’s post that reviews the Proposals page on the WikiBooks site. Think of your comment as something similar to a comment on a Amazon product or a YouTube video (but leave out the mean, inflammatory stuff). Tell us what you think about the WikiBooks page on Proposals and provide some details to back up your evaluation. Once you have posted your comment, read through the comments by your classmates and reply to their ideas as you like.

Step 6: Apply What You Have Learned About Proposals

Now that you have read and compared these resources on proposals, synthesize the information to create your own list of the characteristics of and strategies for writing proposals. Apply your observations on how to write proposals to your Short Report Proposal Project.

 

Photo credit: proposal by Helen Cook on Flickr, used under a CC-BY-SA 2.0 license.

 


 
Last updated on Wednesday, October 18, 2017

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