Transcript Essays & Resume Building

Essays & Resume
Building
Dunbar Pre-Engineering High School
First Workshop
October 28, 2007
Workshop Objectives
• By the end of this presentation, you
will be able to:
– Craft an AMAZING resume
– Know how to use action verbs
– Share effective ways to enhance essays
Lets get started!
Resumes
• What is a resume?
• What do you think is in a resume?
• Why are resumes important?
Resume Details: Part 1
• OUTLINE FOR RESUME FORMAT
– HEADING
– EDUCATION
– EXPERIENCE
– LEADERSHIP
– ACTIVITIES/COMMUNITY SERVICE
– INTERESTS
– REFERENCES
Resume Tips…
•
Make a list of all of your experiences, skills, coursework, and honors.
•
Format your resume with headings and put them in bold. Use fonts like
Times New Roman or Garamond in sizes between 10 and 12.
•
Bold all headers, italicize locations, and make sure dates are on the
right-hand side.
•
Identify your accomplishments!
•
The layout of your resume is important. Make sure the way you list
information and the dates of participation is easy for readers to
follow.
•
Use action verbs to begin sentences describing your accomplishments.
•
Write a draft and then show it to someone to you trust. Ask them to
be critical.
Are your explanations clear and easy to follow?
1234 Washington Road
ALISHA K. SCRUGGS
Washington, DC 20007
(202) 246-0607
EDUCATION
Brookline High School (Brookline, MA)
Expecting high school diploma in June, 1999
Advanced Placement Courses in Comparative Government, 1999
[email protected]
GPA: 3.02/4.00
WORK EXPERIENCE
Intern, Massachusetts Attorney General's Office (Boston, MA)
Completed research on high school truancy in Massachusetts.
June-July, 1998
Sales Associate, Gap, Inc. (Brookline, MA)
June- August, 1997
Assisted customers, processed payments, greeted customers, answered phones, and cooperatively worked with other employees.
Traffic Clerk, Brookline Police Department (Brookline, MA)
June, 1993 - February, 1996
Processed payments, entered data into a database, sorted citations, filed materials, and completed special projects.
LEADERSHIP
Co-Captain, Varsity Volleyball (Brookline High School)
Help lead practices, team events, and led team to conference championship [describe what you did]
Co-Founder, R.E.A.C.H (Racism, Education, and Communication in Brookline High School)
Led student-led task force to research the tracking practices at our high school.
1998-1999
1996 - 1999
AWARDS
Most Valuable Player, Varsity Volleyball, 1999
Who's Who Among American High School Students, 1997
EXTRACURRICULAR ACTIVITIES
The Sagamore, Contributing Sports Writer, 1998
Eighth Dimension Community Service Club, 1997-1999
INTERESTS
Reading, traveling, spending time with my family, jewelry making, and photography.
REFERENCES
Available upon request
Action Verbs
Revise
Achieve
Coauthor
Eliminate
Initiate
Plan
Revitalize
Acquire
Collaborate
Employ
Innovate
Prepare
Accelerate
Clarify
Effect
Incur
Pinpoint
review
Accomplish
Close
Elect
Inform
Pioneer
Harvard University Personal Essay
This personal statement helps us become acquainted
with you in ways different from courses, grades, test
scores, and other objective data. It will demonstrate
your ability to organize your thoughts and express
yourself. We are looking for an essay that will help us
know you better as a person and as a student. Please
write an essay (250 words minimum) on a topic of your
choice or on one of the options listed below. Please
indicate your topic by check the appropriate box.
Attach your essay to the last page on a separate
sheet(s) (same size please). You must put your full name,
date of birth, and name of secondary school on each
sheet.
Possible Questions
__ 1. Evaluate a significant experience,
achievement, risk you have taken, or ethical
dilemma you have faced and its impact on you.
__ 2. Discuss some issue of personal, local,
national, or international concern and its
importance to you.
__ 3. Indicate a person who has had a
significant influence on you, and describe that
influence.
More Questions…
__ 4. Describe a character in fiction, a historical
figure, or a creative work (as in art, music,
science, etc.) that has had an influence on you,
and explain that influence.
__ 5. A range of academic interests, personal
perspectives, and life experiences adds much to
the educational mix. Given your personal
background, describe an experience that
illustrates what you would bring to the diversity in
a college community, or an encounter that
demonstrated the importance of diversity to you.
__ 6. Topic of your choice
From the time I was able to realize what a
university was, all I heard from my mother's
side of the family was about the University of
Michigan and the great heritage it has. Many a
Saturday afternoon my grandfather would
devote to me, by sitting me down in front of
the television and reminiscing about the
University of Michigan while halftime occurred
during a Michigan Wolverines football game.
Later, as I grew older and universities took on
greater meaning, my mother and uncle, both
alumni of the University of Michigan, took me
to see their old stamping grounds. From first
sight, the university looked frightening
because of its size, but with such a large
school comes diversity of people and of
academic and non-academic events.
Critique…
There is a lack of focus. Where is
the author going with this?
The
author also needs to tighten up
some of the phrasing. For example,
instead of “from first sight” it
should state “immediately.”
In Springfield High School, non-academic clubs
such as the Future Physicians and the Pylon,
both of which I have belonged to for two
years, give me an opportunity to see both the
business world and the medical world.
These two clubs have given me a greater sense
of what these careers may be like. In Future
Physicians, I participated in field trips to
children's hospitals and also participated in
two bloodbanks.
Critique…
Abrupt transition into the 2nd
paragraph.
Currently I hold a job at Maas
Brothers. This lets me interact with
people outside my own immediate
environment. I meet different kinds
of people, in different moods, with
different attitudes, and with
different values. This job teaches
me to be patient with people, to have
responsibility, and to appreciate
people for what they are.
Critique…
What does the author do at
Mass Brothers exactly?
The past three years of my life have given me
greater visions of my future. I see the University
of Michigan as holding a large book with many
unread chapters and myself as an eager child who
has just learned to read. I intend to read and
probe into all the chapters. The University of
Michigan offers me more than the great
reputation of this fine school, but a large student
body with diverse likes and dislikes, and many
activities, both academic and non-academic, to
participate in. With the help of the University of
Michigan, I will be successful after college and be
able to make a name and place for myself in our
society.
Critique…
Overall, the essay lacks focus and
proof. A lot of information
repeats itself.
In the community I am active in my church Youth
Group. As a high school sophomore, I was our
church's representative to the Diocesan Youth
Fellowship. I helped organize youth group events,
the largest being "The Bishop's Ball," a state-wide
event for 300 young people. I also played high
school junior varsity soccer for two years. As a
senior I will be playing varsity soccer, but in the
off-season. As a junior I coached a girls' soccer
team for the town. This gave me a great deal of
responsibility because the care of twenty-four
girls was put into my custody. It felt very
satisfying to pass on the knowledge of soccer to
another generation. The girls played teams from
other parts of Florida. Though their record was
3-8, the girls enjoyed their season. This is what I
taught them was the greatest joy of soccer.
Critique…
Information in this period has
already appeared elsewhere in
the essay.
Essay Tips
A great application essay will present a vivid,
personal, and compelling view of you to the
admissions staff. It will round out the rest of
your application and help you stand out from the
other applicants. The essay is one of the only
parts of your application over which you have
complete control, so take the time to do a good
job on it. Check out these tips before you begin.
• Keep Your Focus Narrow and Personal
Tips Continued…
• Prove It
Develop your main idea with vivid and specific
facts, events, quotations, examples, and reasons.
There's a big difference between simply stating a
point of view and letting an idea unfold in the
details:
• Be Specific
Avoid clichéd, generic, and predictable writing by
using vivid and specific details.
Things to Avoid in
Writing an Essay
Don'ts
– Don't Tell Them What You Think They Want
to Hear
Don't Write a Resume
– Don't include information that is found
elsewhere in the application. Your essay will
end up sounding like an autobiography,
travelogue, or laundry list. Yawn.
Things NOT to Do Cont’d
Don't Use 50 Words When Five Will Do
Eliminate unnecessary words.
Don't Forget to Proofread
– Typos and spelling or grammatical errors can
be interpreted as carelessness or just bad
writing.
Quick Review
1.
2.
3.
4.
What are resumes used for?
What are the components of a resume?
What do essay questions ask?
What are some do’s and don’ts of essay writing?
Good Luck!!!
I know you can do it!!!
[email protected]
202-246-0607