WeekendWatch – Business Writing & Technical Writing https://btw-f17.tracigardner.com English 3774 and English 3764 @ Virginia Tech, Fall 2017 Wed, 29 Nov 2017 07:25:15 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=5.2 #WeekendWatch: Final Exam Resources https://btw-f17.tracigardner.com/weekendwatch-final-exam-resources/ Sat, 09 Dec 2017 05:03:17 +0000 https://btw-f17.tracigardner.com/?p=4538 Continue reading #WeekendWatch: Final Exam Resources]]>

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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.

Our #WeekendWatch is a little different this week. Specifically, it’s longer than usual, with a lot of options for you to choose among. Let me explain. Since we only have a few days left in the term, I want to share all the resources that you can use as you work on your final exam. That way, any of you with the time to work ahead can do so.

I created a playlist Final Exam Resources on Performance Reviews, comprised of three short Lynda.com courses, 31 videos total. If you watched everything, it would take 1h 21m (but I really don’t expect you to watch every minute of every video).

Here is the table of contents for each of the courses (copied directly from Lynda.com). Watch the parts that you have questions about as you work on your final.

Course: Preparing for Your Review (14m35s)

  • Introduction (1m8s)
    • Welcome (1m8s)
  • Review Preparation (11m44s)
    • Preparing for your review (2m1s)
    • Sharing your work (4m55s)
    • Self-evaluations and final preparation (4m48s)
  • Conclusion
    • Next steps (1m43s)

Course: Building Self-Confidence (21m 27s)

  • Introduction (1m0s)
    • Building Confidence (1m0s)
  • Steps to Building Your Confidence (19m14s)
    • Owning where you are and where you want to be (2m 33s)
    • Dealing with the past (2m41s)
    • Helping and volunteering (1m31s)
    • Setting achievable goals before stretch goals (2m1s)
    • Removing negativity (2m7s)
    • Visualizing success (1m57s)
    • Planning for failure (1m43s)
    • Assessing your progress (1m36s)
    • Accelerating the process (1m57s)
    • Celebrating you (1m13s)
  • Conclusion (1m13s)
    • Final Thoughts (1m13s)

Course: Enhancing Your Productivity (45m 37s)

  • Introduction (3m10s)
    • Welcome (2m28s)
    • Using the exercise files (42s)
  • Your Most Valuable Activities (14m42s)
    • What makes you irreplaceable? (2m47s)
    • Discovering your most valuable activities (4m18s)
    • Avoiding the least-valuable-activity trap (3m21s)
    • Focusing with the Order of Offloading (4m16s)
  • Building Up Coworkers (9m 31s)
    • `Offering assistance (2m 43s)
    • Identifying coworkers’ most valuable activities (3m11s)
    • Creating a plan of improvement (3m37s)
  • Having Focus (17m15s)
    • Managing your time (3m2s)
    • Eliminating external distractions (5m24s)
    • Eliminating internal distractions (5m28s)
    • Maintaining a long-term focus on your career (3m21s)
  • Conclusion (59s)
    • Final thoughts (59s)

 

Note: These videos have closed captioning, so they do not need transcript.


 

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#WeekendWatch: Characteristics of Memos https://btw-f17.tracigardner.com/weekendwatch-characteristics-of-memos/ Sat, 02 Dec 2017 05:03:23 +0000 https://btw-f17.tracigardner.com/?p=4522 Continue reading #WeekendWatch: Characteristics of Memos]]>

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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.

When you are not writing letters or email messages, you will often find yourself writing memos. Today’s #WeekendWatch reviews the characteristics of memos, which are typically internal messages sent to colleagues within your organization.

Like all correspondence, memos should be clear and well-organized with document design features that help readers find the information that is important to them. You can use headings, bulleted lists, and numbered lists to make details stand out.

In addition to general memos, you may find that you use specific memos in the workplace. For instance, you might use a memorandum of understanding (MoU) as a kind of contract, where you and other parties agree to specific terms. MoUs are often created by a lawyer or the organization’s legal department. If you write such a memo yourself, it will probably need to go through a legal review before it is sent to the recipient.

For details on the basic memos you are likely to write, watch the Lynda.com video Special Considerations for Memos (3m52s) to learn more:

Special Considerations for Memos, on Lynda.com

 

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


 

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#WeekendWatch: Video Progress Report https://btw-f17.tracigardner.com/weekendwatch-video-progress-report/ Sat, 11 Nov 2017 05:03:16 +0000 https://btw-f17.tracigardner.com/?p=4449 Continue reading #WeekendWatch: Video Progress Report]]> There may be times in your work that you will use video to share a progress report. You might record a walk-through of a space you are building, for instance, to show your stakeholders the progress you have made. A game developer might demonstrate the latest features in a game as progress report on the next version. In any career field, you might make a video of a slideshow-based progress report with audio commentary so that stakeholders can watch the show on their own time.

Since today is Veterans Day, I have a video progress report Charlie, a service dog in training to work with a U.S. veteran who has a disability. The Today Show is working with America’s VetDogs to follow the work that goes into preparing a service dog and highlight how the animals help veterans.

This Today Show video is a very informal progress report. It would not work for every audience; but it does demonstrate Charlie’s progress very well.

From The Today Show: Checking In With Charlie

 

 

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


 

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#WeekendWatch: Citations & Bibliographies in MSWord https://btw-f17.tracigardner.com/weekendwatch-citations-bibliographies-in-msword/ Sat, 04 Nov 2017 04:03:14 +0000 https://btw-f17.tracigardner.com/?p=4420 Continue reading #WeekendWatch: Citations & Bibliographies in MSWord]]>

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.

If you use Microsoft Word, you can take advantage of the program’s built-in tools for managing your citations and bibliography. Tools are available in both the Mac and Windows versions. There are some slight differences between the two platforms, but the basic capabilities are the same.

Our #WeekendWatch is a series of Lynda.com videos that demonstrates how the tools work in Word 2013. The series “Including Citations and Bibliographies” will take 16m28s overall to view. It includes

Watch any or all of the videos. You might watch the first three now, and then come back later in the month to focus on the last video.

Screenshot from the Lynda.com video Including Citations and Bibliographies

If you prefer reading your instructions to watching videos, the support page Add a citation and create a bibliography on the Office website tells you how to complete all the steps. These instructions apply to Word 2016, 2013, 2010. and 2007.

 

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


 

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#WeekendWatch: Comma Splices https://btw-f17.tracigardner.com/weekendwatch-comma-splices/ Sat, 28 Oct 2017 04:03:47 +0000 https://btw-f17.tracigardner.com/?p=4388 Continue reading #WeekendWatch: Comma Splices]]> At one point or another, you are bound to make a comma splice. We all have. I make them most often when I’m texting and not paying attention to what I’m doing. It’s not the worst error you could make, but it is one you should avoid in professional writing.

So you know comma splices are a problem to avoid, but do you know what they are? Watch this tutorial video from Texas A&M (2m14s) to find out!

 


 

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#WeekendWatch: Creating a Gantt Chart https://btw-f17.tracigardner.com/weekendwatch-creating-a-gantt-chart/ Sat, 21 Oct 2017 04:03:54 +0000 https://btw-f17.tracigardner.com/?p=4362 Continue reading #WeekendWatch: Creating a Gantt Chart]]>

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.

 


 

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#WeekendWatch: Reader-Friendly Proposals https://btw-f17.tracigardner.com/weekendwatch-reader-friendly-proposals/ Sat, 14 Oct 2017 04:03:30 +0000 https://btw-f17.tracigardner.com/?p=4336 Continue reading #WeekendWatch: Reader-Friendly Proposals]]>

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.

Today’s #WeekendWatch demonstrates how Reader-Friendly Design (4m40s) can improve a proposal, making it more likely that readers will consider the document fully.

The video shows a before and after version of a chunk of text from a proposal and walks through the changes that make the original document easier to read. The video shows why it’s important to pay attention to paragraphing, headings, and document structures like bullet lists for a reader-friendly design.

Watch the video for more information on strategies that you can apply in your short proposal.

Screenshot of the opening image from the Lynda.com video on Reader-Friendly Design in Proposals

 

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


 

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#WeekendWatch: Control Page Breaks in Tables https://btw-f17.tracigardner.com/weekendwatch-control-page-breaks-in-tables/ Sat, 07 Oct 2017 04:03:41 +0000 https://btw-f17.tracigardner.com/?p=4292 Continue reading #WeekendWatch: Control Page Breaks in Tables]]> As you are working on your table for the Analysis project, you may find yourself in the situation where a row of information breaks onto two pages. Our #WeekendWatch takes care of that problem. All you need to do is change a checkbox in Word to keep rows of information together.

This Auburn University Writing Center video demonstrates how to change that setting in Microsoft Word for Mac. The process for Windows is similar, so it’s still worth watching the video if you’re a Windows person.

If you use Windows, use the instructions from Microsoft to make the change.

 

 

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


 

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#WeekendWatch: Accessibility in Word https://btw-f17.tracigardner.com/weekendwatch-accessibility-in-word/ Sat, 30 Sep 2017 04:03:51 +0000 https://btw-f17.tracigardner.com/?p=4247 Continue reading #WeekendWatch: Accessibility in Word]]>

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.

Our #WeekendWatch shares one more way that you can improve your table for the Analysis project: Spend some time making your table accessible to people who use magnification or screen readers.

Here’s an example of why accessibility matters in a table. If a table is not set up properly, the screen reader will read the information as if the columns follow one another like sentences in a paragraph. The reader moves through the document from left to right and top to bottom. To make a table more accessible, you need to identify table headers. Once you do, the screen reader will read the column header and then the content of the cell.

The Lynda.com video below demonstrates how the process of Using the Accessibility Checker, which is built into Microsoft Word. The simple tool will suggest ways that you can change your document to make it more accessible.

Screenshot of Lynda.com lesson on checking accessibility in Microsoft Word

You can learn more about accessibility in Word by watching all of Chapter 2: Creating Accessible Word Documents on Lynda.com. In addition to the Lynda.com videos, you can find more information in the resources linked below:

 

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

 


 

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#WeekendWatch: Using Strong Verbs https://btw-f17.tracigardner.com/weekendwatch-using-strong-verbs/ Sat, 23 Sep 2017 07:42:59 +0000 https://btw-f17.tracigardner.com/?p=4214 Continue reading #WeekendWatch: Using Strong Verbs]]> This week’s #WeekendWatch focuses on revision strategies that will strengthen your writing. Strong verbs can improve everything that you write. They are particularly helpful in your job application documents, since those strong verbs show off your capabilities.

I’m sharing this video today because you can apply these ideas to your Analysis project. In some of the columns of your table, you will most likely use fragments. Here’s an example for the kinds of writing I do:

Kind of Writing Description
Syllabus
  • Explains course goals and requirements.
  • Outlines the policies for the course.

The verbs in the Description column strengthen the document. Just as a reminder: Your tables should include more information than just description.

Find out more about how to revise for strong verbs by watching the video (2m10s).

 

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


 

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