Resume and Autobiography

ENGL 2311

Instructor: Jennifer Freytag Phone: 832-605-7136 E-Mail: [email protected]; [email protected]

Resume & Autobiography Project

ENGL 2311 Resume & Autobiography Project 2

Table of Contents

Final Project Deliverables ....................................................................... 3 Grading Rubric for Final Project, including Audience Profile, Resume,

and Autobiography ......................................................................................... 4

1. Preparation & Prewriting ................................................................... 5 Choosing Your Audience ............................................................................... 5 AUDIENCE PROFILE DIAGRAM ......................................................................... 7

2. Writing the Resume ........................................................................... 8 Finding a Template .......................................................................................... 8 Chronological or Skills-based? ...................................................................... 8 Other Considerations ...................................................................................... 9

CREATING THE DRAFT ................................................................................... 9

3. Writing the Autobiography ............................................................. 10

ENGL 2311 Resume & Autobiography Project 3

Purpose and Overview

For this project, we are going to focus on two

concepts: how to create job-related materials and

how to tailor materials to specific audiences. To that

end, you will create a professional resume and an

autobiography. You will begin by analyzing your

audiences. Then, you will create your resume, making

sure to organize your experience around a hook or

theme. And last, you will create an autobiography that

expands on a concept you cover in your resume, but

presents it in a way that provides a narrative account

with details.

Final Project Deliverables

Audience profile for resume and autobiography

Resume

Autobiography—250 to 400 words

ENGL 2311 Resume & Autobiography Project 4

Grading

Components with a set point value:

1. Post rough draft and audience profile 1 point

2. Feedback to peers 1 point

Grading Rubric for Final Project, including Audience

Profile, Resume, and Autobiography

Clarity

2 points

• Information is presented in a concise way.

• Sentences are grammatical, and spelling is accurate.

• Ideas are organized effectively.

Accuracy

2 points

• Information used is accurate.

• References to dates, times, and places match up.

• There are no obvious gaps in information.

Accessibility

2 points

• Information is tailored to audience.

• Information is arranged effectively.

• Jargon is used only when appropriate.

Professional Looking

2 points

• Format is neat and effective.

• Format required by assignment is followed.

• Project is complete.

Total Point Value: 10

ENGL 2311 Resume & Autobiography Project 5

1. Preparation & Prewriting

Choosing Your Audience

One of the most important aspects of creating a resume is

your attention to your audience. Most career advising sites

suggest that instead of writing one generic resume and cover

letter, you should tailor each document you write to the

particular employer and position you are applying to. To that

end, your first task is to choose a non-profit organization to which

you would like to send your resume and gather information

about that organization.

I am asking you to choose a non-profit that you can create

materials for throughout the semester. For our purposes, you will

consider them your “client.” That is, when you are doing the

major projects this semester, you will make them with this

organization in mind as your client. To be clear, though, you do

not have to actually present the materials to this organization at

the end of the semester. The organization you choose should

have something to do with your chosen field or a passion of

yours. A future engineer, for example, might choose the Society

of Women Engineers, one of the many non-profits that

encourages students to get into STEM majors, or an engineering

group at their university of choice, just to name some starting

points.

Once you have done some initial research on your non-profit

organization, use the topics in the following Audience Profile

Diagram to organize your ideas. It is not necessary to recreate

the diagram for yourself, but the goal is to write down as much

useful information as you can, even if it is a small detail or a

catch phrase you can mention. Formatting for this part of the

ENGL 2311 Resume & Autobiography Project 6

project does not matter—you can present this information

however you want. Focus on the first set of information if you are

able to locate an individual within a non-profit organization who

would be interested in your services as a technical writer. Focus

more on the second part of the diagram, information about the

non-profit, so that you can gather information that will help you

convince the non-profit to accept your services. You will turn in

your version of this diagram with your project.

ENGL 2311 Resume & Autobiography Project 7

AUDIENCE PROFILE DIAGRAM

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Their position in organization

Their Education

Their Experience/Expertise

Their relevant interests/hobbies

Characteristics in common with you

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Relevant Organizational Goals or Ideals

Relevant Organizational Information

Relevant Organizational Language

ENGL 2311 Resume & Autobiography Project 8

2. Writing the Resume

Finding a Template

Microsoft Words offers thousands of templates for

creating a resume. These templates can provide you with a

starting point for organizing your experience and ideas for

creating an appealing layout. Some even provide some

simple graphics, which are okay for this project, though I

would prefer you avoid ones that have large or distracting

graphics. Visit Microsoft.com and search for resume

templates, or follow this link Office Resume Templates.

Chronological or Skills-based?

Markel covers two main types of resumes:

chronological and skills-based (408-421). Read Markel’s

description of the components of each. Essentially, the skills-

based resume emphasizes what the person is able to do, as

opposed to their work history. For many who are changing

careers or who have some gaps in their employment, the

skills-based resume is a great way to focus the employer’s

attention on what you are able to do. Markel shows us two

versions of the same resume using these two different

organizational patterns on pages 419-420. Look carefully at

these two resumes. Which one do you think is most effective?

As you draft your resume, consider which pattern will best

highlight your strengths.

ENGL 2311 Resume & Autobiography Project 9

Other Considerations

As you are drafting your resume, also pay attention to

these ideas:

Education. Use Markel’s suggestions for elaborating on your

educational experience on page 411, especially if you are

new to a field.

Strong verbs. Use interesting, powerful verbs to describe what

you have done (Markel 412). If you are listing responsibilities

you have had in a position, begin each item on your list with

a verb.

Interests & Activities. We tend to think of the things we do for

fun as “extras.” However, these should be highlighted in your

resume, and what you think of as “extras” can set you apart

from the competition, especially when they provide

organizational, leadership, and community-building

opportunities (Markel 414).

Other elements. Be sure to look at what Markel calls “other

elements” (415). Most everyone has at least one of these

things to add to their resume, so be sure to add anything else

you think might be valuable to an employer.

CREATING THE DRAFT

As you’re drafting your resume, remember that there is

no set formula for this. How you present yourself, how you

ENGL 2311 Resume & Autobiography Project 10

organize your resume, and how you choose to describe your

experience are totally up to you. Once you have completed

a draft of your resume, post it to our course. Be sure to edit

out personal information such as addresses, dates, and

names that you are not comfortable sharing with the group.

You can simply put in dummy text (gibberish or latin) to hold

the place of that information.

3. Writing the Autobiography

A strong autobiography starts with a strong

understanding of your audience. For our purposes,

remember, your audience is a non-profit organization you

hope to do “work” for this semester. Return to your audience

profile sheet for guidance in writing this piece of your project.

You want to tell this audience about yourself in a way that

they will find persuasive and that will emphasize why you are

the best candidate to do technical writing for them.

A second piece of the autobiography is your hook or

theme. This autobiography is to be 250-400 words. You can’t

tell your whole life story in that little space. But you can

organize highlights of your life around a central theme or

hook. Consider some of the following as potential themes:

• Triumphs or tragedies in your life • Looking back to events that brought you to the

present

• Lessons learned

ENGL 2311 Resume & Autobiography Project 11

• Major changes in your life • Your interests and where they come from • Your career path and how you came upon it

Remember that all of this will be posted for the class to

read, so please share only as much as you are comfortable

with others reading.