Writing Effective Application Letters

• Application letters are cover letters providing additional skills and experience information to an employer, aiming to secure an interview.

Classes of Application Letters

• Solicited letters are written in response to an advertisement.
• Unsolicited letters are written based someone's suggestion or a belief in a vacancy.

Parts of an Application Letter

• Letterhead includes contact information (name, address, phone number) at the top left.
• Dateline spells out the date.
• Inside address contains contact person's name, title, employer, and address.
• Salutation addresses the receiver formally (e.g., "Dear Ms. Mendoza:") using a colon.
• Introduction introduces yourself, states your information source, and expresses enthusiasm.
• Body contains work experiences, academic qualifications, training, and personal qualities organized into paragraphs.
• Conclusion expresses interest in an interview, indicates how to be contacted, and thanks the employer.
• Complimentary closing is a formal closing (e.g., "Sincerely,") followed by a comma.
• Signature block includes the signature and typed name of the sender.

Office Correspondence

• Office correspondence are written exchanges supporting business processes, encompassing internal and external communication.
• Internal correspondence is within the same company's departments and branches.
• External correspondence is between the company and other organizations. Correspondence aims to communicate information clearly and professionally.

Major Forms of Correspondence

• Business letters are used for external communication between companies.
• Business memos are for internal communication within a company.
• Business emails are for both internal and external communication, maintaining a professional tone.

Types of Correspondence

• Internal correspondence occurs between individuals, departments, and branches within the same organization.
• External correspondence is with entities outside the organization.
• Routine correspondence handles inquiries, acknowledgements, replies, orders, invitations, and appointments.

Format Styles of Business Letters

• Block format has all elements aligned to the left margin.
• Modified block format aligns the date, sign-off, and signature lines to the center, with indented paragraphs.
• Semi-block format aligns the letterhead, dateline, complimentary close, and signature block to the right margin.

Application for College Admission

• Applications for college admission are one-page letters of intent.
• The heading, date and inside address, should be at the top left with the receivers details.
• Greeting or salutation starts with "Dear" followed by the receiver's last name, ending with a colon.
• Complimentary close ends with a comma.
• Sign above your name and title.

Resume

• A resume is a one- to two-page document summarizing job qualifications.
• Includes contact information (name, address, phone numbers, email).
• Objective or summary of qualifications highlights relevant skills.
• Work history lists employment, dates, companies, job titles, and accomplishments.
• Education lists the highest level of education completed.
• Resumes are needed when applying for jobs not using standard application forms, with the purpose to secure an interview.

When Writing a Good Resume

• When writing a resume, assert your talents and skills, projects and activities.
• Pick relevant info, and keep it brief and concise.

Types of Resumes

• Chronological resumes focuses on work history with the most recent listed first.
• Functional resumes focuses on skills and abilities, not employment history.
• Combination resumes uses both work history and skills.

Literature Review

• A literature review is an account of established research on a topic.
• Includes searching for relevant literature, evaluating sources, identifying themes, create an outline, and write the review.

Position Paper

• A position paper presents a viewpoint on an issue, intending to generate support.
• Choose a relevant topic, conduct research, take a position and challenge your topic.
• Collect supporting evidence, create an outline, and refute counter-arguments.
• Include data and evidence, cite sources, and proofread.
• A position paper includes an introduction, body (arguments and counterarguments with evidence), and conclusion (restating position, suggesting action, and a closing statement).

Project Proposal

• Project Proposals address an issue, and try to create a project for a group or individual.

Research Report

• Research reports record data prepared by researchers after analyzing information.

Book Review and Article Critique

• Book review involves thorough description, critical analysis, and evaluation of a book's quality and significance.
• Article critique provides critical evaluation and intensive analysis of an article.

Types of Book Reviews

• Descriptive reviews objectively describe a book's events, purpose, key elements, and details.
• Critical reviews describe, evaluate, and analyze a book using text evidence.

Structure of a Book Review or Article Critique

• Introduction identifies the book/article title, writer's name, and thesis statement (5% of the paper).
• Summary outlines the writer’s objective, methods, and major findings (10% of the paper).
• Review/Critique assesses methodology, theoretical soundness, explanation, perspectives, and coherence (75% of the paper).
• Conclusion states the overall impression, scholarly value, benefits, and suggestions (10% of the paper).

Critical Reading as Reasoning

• Critical reading involves examining what you see, feel, and read to make good judgments.
• Critical reading is expressing ideas, opinions, and justifying a stand based on knowledge and experiences.

Techniques for Critical Reading

• Read everyday and focus on the main ideas, examine pros and cons, organize thoughts, and note points for improvement.

Evaluation Guide for Critical Reading

• Content refers to the substance, comprehensibility, and appeal of the text.
• Objectivity refers to the author's position and facts presented.
• Significance refers to the intention, meaning, and value of the issue.

Evaluative Statement

• Evaluative statements give a better explanation by showing strengths and weaknesses in writing.

Assertion

• An assertion convinces readers to accept the writer's claim, stating something as true.

Types of Assertion

• Fact:* can be proven objectively through direct experience.
• Convention:* are customs, laws, rules and even common usage.
• Opinion:* based on facts, but hard to verify objectively.
• Preference:* personal choice.

Counterclaim

• The opposite of a claim, is a statement answering anothers statements.

Textual Evidence

• Textual evidence supports an argument and is derived from other texts.

Hypertext and Intertext

• Text is the written story, context is the circumstances that form the setting around it.

Types of Context

• Cultural refers to a way of life, involving religion, race, nationality, food, dress code, and manners.
• Historical refers to how time affects the importance of a topic.
• Personal refers to the author's and reader's background knowledge.
• Ideology refers to a system of beliefs and ideas.
• Social refers to how surroundings affect interpretation.

Hypertextuality

• Hypertextuality is a non-linear way of reading using "links" to further information.

Intertextuality

• Intertextuality models a text's meaning by another text.
• Intertextuality focuses on connections between language, images, characters, or themes.

Types of Intertextuality

• Obligatory intertextuality involves deliberate comparisons between texts.
• Optional intertextuality pays homage to original writers.
• Accidental intertextuality connects a text with other texts, practices, or experiences without a tangible anchor.
• An example include Hermione Granger from Harry Potter.