Questions

Give me detail. I am doing this for hw and I need the difference. Don’t give definitions, I already have them. I need about a paragraph of the difference between a fantasy and a science fiction genre.
- BeastlyChicaa

One of the main questions asked about resumes is, “Do I have to include everything on one page?” The most common misconception of resume writing is that your entire professional history has to fit within one A4 page of white paper.

The truth is, the resume should be well written and concise, and should promote your qualifications in the best possible light. This is sometimes impossible to do in one page. Thus, a resume can extend to multiple pages, with some consideration depending on your career level.

1.Be concise.

This is critical. Do not use lengthy sentences and paragraph forms to disclose your experience and your education. Employers want straight forward statements that highlight your qualifications. A resume is not a place to show your creative writing skills.

2.Perfect your resume.

You have second to catch your potential employer’s attention. Make sure that your resume is properly formatted, and you are not trying to fit too much copy on a single page of paper. Create appropriate and professional sections for your resume. Your potential employer is more concerned with the look and content of your resume than with its length.

3.Keep it short and focus

Longer is not better when you don’t have the experience to meet your career objective. If you are new to the job market, are changing careers, or you’ve only had one job, stick to a one page resume.

If you don’t have the experience to meet your career objective, no matter the reason, do not apologize for it. Don’t try to fill up your resume with irrelevant content; instead do your best to highlight your transferable skills, and stick to the short and sweet.

3.Do not exceed two pages

Unless you are applying for an executive-level job, or are composing curriculum vitae, your resume should not exceed two pages.

The purpose of a well-written resume is to sell you as the best candidate for the job with a confident and a straight-forward approach. Do not oversell your skills. Do not list more than three to five previous positions you’ve help.

Stick to those skills and experiences that best meet the job requirements and your career objective. The most relevant information has to be included on the first page.

The second page should be numbered, with your contact information included as well (just in case the pages are separated when printed, you don’t want your potential employer to discard the second page of your resume completely).

If you find yourself going over two pages, review your resume and make sure that you are not incorporating information that is irrelevant to your goals or to the position you are seeking.

4.Statements should be applicable to the job

Make sure that your professional history warrants a resume that is three pages or longer. As mentioned above, unless you are a senior- or executive-level professional, or you are composing curriculum vitae, your resume should not extend to over two pages.

If you have a longer resume, you will have to make sure that every statement on the resume is applicable to your career goals.

If you have had decades of leadership experience for example, demonstrate that using the reverse chronological resume style and only list those jobs that best qualify you for the position you are seeking. If you need to include an extensive list of publications or certifications, your resume can take up more than three pages.

Make sure that the important information is still listed on the first page. This includes your career objective and professional profile, and your current or most recent professional experience. All subsequent pages need to be numbered, and include your contact information in the heading.


- Paul Hata

I haven’t written any lyrics in a while. I have, I guess, an extreme case of writers block. I wrote a short cross poem, but that’s about it. I can’t write a paragraph; all my creativity is gone, sadly. Can someone give me a line, or an idea to get me started. I’m afraid that I’m a lost case, that even though I love writing and drawing that I’m going to lose my talent, and fall into a black and white world. Thanks in advance.
Cross Poem might not be the right term….
ex)
Luciuos
Even
After
Falling
thanks everyone! and the poem can be about anything.
- Sky C

Im in year 9 and I need to write a story for creative writing. Im not very good at coming up with ideas and starting the first paragraph of the story. Any ideas. By the way it has to be in 3rd person
- Heart

Is your book introduction designed to seal the sale? Probably not; many open a book to read, see an introduction, yawn, think boring and turn the page. Why, because authors, including myself, have treated the introduction as only a ‘why I wrote the book’ page.

Most people don’t care as much ‘why you wrote the book’ as they do about how your book can help them. Here’s a refreshing twist to the old boring book introduction. Write your next book introduction as a sales tool. Include all the same elements but add benefits that engage your reader.

Think about it; people want to know most how your book will help them, teach them and inspire them. Continue to hook your potential readers with a sizzling title and back cover. Now take the next step to seal the sale with your book introduction. Write it as a short note to your readers engaging them with the benefits they will receive. To write your book introduction as a sizzling sales tool, it must include the following:

1. Hook. Use the same element journalist and professional writers use, the hook. Develop your hook from a shocking fact, statistic or relevant quote. Even better, solve your audience’s top challenge. Answer their top question, “Why should I buy your book?” Make your opening statements short but enticing.

2. Connection. Seek to connect with your audience in your introduction. Describe your audience’s challenge. Describe where they are now and why they haven’t succeeded yet. Mention why you wrote the book. End the paragraph with a general statement about how your book will benefit them (thesis statement).

3. Benefits. In the following paragraphs, keep answering the foremost question in your potential readers’ mind, “Why should I buy your book?” Continue to engage them with the overall benefits of increased communication, good fortune, finances or health. Sprinkle in some specific benefits. For example, an author friend of mine writes in, “‘Article Speedway’ Discover how to write short easy articles fast and put your internet marketing in the fast lane to sales.”

4. Format. Every good non-fiction book should display a format to give the audience an idea of what to expect inside. The table of contents offer a general format and direction. In your book introduction include what features will help your audience in each chapter. For example, most chapter formats include a hook, thesis followed by how tos, tips, engagement tools, story then summary.

5. Invitation. Summarize with 1-2 sentences. Include an enthusiastic invitation to read the book. For example, one of my favorite authors invites her readers into the text with a warm, “Come journey with me through the principles of coaching.”

If you don’t use the above principles, you may never enjoy the level of sales your book deserves. On the other hand, write a sizzling introduction with the hook, the connection, the benefits, the format, the invitation and fill your readers with expectation of what your book can do for them. Get this right and expect them to pull out their card, swipe and purchase your book on the spot. Now go ahead sizzle your introduction and sell more books than you could ask, dream or think.


- Earma Brown

Like any endeavor in life or business, in writing, a good end result is often attributed to a good starting plan. Just to sit down and to start to write can be effective as a jumping off point to figure out what your ideas are. But once you’ve put your main ideas into words, take some time to plan how those ideas relate to your main point and how the relate to each other. This process will help to ensure the composition flows from one sentence, one paragraph, or one chapter to the next.

 

To plan your next writing project, ask yourself the following questions.

What are you REALLY trying to say?

Look at your main ideas and try to sum up each point in a sentence. Consider what purpose each scene or section serves. What is each scene or section really about? What meaning do you want the reader to gain? How does it move the story forward?

When you know the main point of each section in your composition, then it’s easier to determine what needs to go where, what to keep and what to cut, and how much time to spend on each topic or scene. Everything that doesn’t move toward the main idea can go.

What arrangement is most effective?

One of the first questions to ask yourself when planning a composition is: what is the best way to present your main ideas? Or in a narrative work, such as fiction or memoir, where are your main scenes and how do they best come together?

In an instructional or academic work, you might dedicate a chapter to each main topic you want to cover. For example, in an article about types of military jets, you use a section for fighter planes, a section for interceptors, and a section for bombers. Then once you’ve explained what fighters, interceptors, and bombers are, you can then explain how a fighter’s characteristics differs from an interceptor’s or how some jets have the characteristics of both bombers and fighters.

In a short narrative work, you might only have one main scene. But within that scene you can break away from the narrative to explain the action. In a longer work with several scenes, you can dedicate a chapter to each main scene. Putting them in order will depend on chronology and dramatic effect. Keep in mind that your order will likely change as you write and revise. 

How much space do you need?

Another important question to consider is the length of the composition. How much page space do you have to work with? Although you want to communicate your message in as few words as possible, some ideas need more space than others. If you write too long, you risk stretching out your ideas so much they become too diluted to be relevant.

The amount of page space you need is directly related to your topic and focus. For instructional works, you need enough space to introduce the subject, outline the main points in brief, explain them with examples, and then summate your purpose again in conclusion. In a narrative work, like fiction or memoir, you need enough space to thoroughly flesh out a scene, portray the action, and communicate your ideas and themes.

Planning Your Next Project

A well-planned composition will ensure each idea is explained and each scene is developed. And writing will become easier when you work from a plan, even if you adapt and change the plan later. Using these questions to plan your next composition will help solidify your message and save you time during the revision stage.


- Melinda Copp

It has to be four to ten pages. it doesnt have to have sciene in every paragraph or anything, it just has to be an overall theme. some people are doing CSI type stories but i dont really want to do that..anyone have any cool ideas that have to do with ecology or viruses/bacteria? or any other ideas relating to biology? thanks in advance!!!
- Kelly

Writing is a quickly learned skill for those who have a strong desire. Within a year or two, most writing students are ready to charge into the future fully prepared.

But what writing course to choose becomes the question. Take it from one who has tried all the shortcuts and found there were none - you will save yourself time and grief if you will begin at the beginning. Writing courses are an investment, and you are worth the time and money it takes to reach your goal.

The writing course you should choose depends not on what talents you have, not on what experience you have, not on what education you have, but mostly on what knowledgeable level of writing foundation you have. More than likely, you will already have some foundation, but it will have holes in it. That is to say, you will know some things, and not others. In such a case, determine your lowest point, or “hole”, if you will, and begin there.

For example, if you have problems with punctuation, you should start with a Basic Review class. There you will learn how and when to use the proper punctuation, and some of the most common basics. This is an excellent place for older students to begin, as they often need such a brush-up course.

If you are good with English and you have the punctuation skills down pat, you may want to begin in Mechanics of Writing. There you will learn basic sentence structures, foundational writing rules and common mistakes to avoid. This is another good brush-up course.

If you’re up for the challenge of deeper writing rules and more in-depth assignments, it sounds like you’re ready for Creative Writing 101. This is a great class for those who are interested in cross-writing (that is, writing for more than one genre instead of finding one niche and staying in it). Creative Writing will teach you foundational rules of writing, how to write a snappy first paragraph, and will take you into deeper steps with more writing practice. This is an intermediate class.

Non-Fiction writing is for students in the intermediate class. It will teach you how to write for magazines and newspapers. It’s a very good step for intermediates because non-fiction writing pays better than anything else.

Do you like to write stories? Then Short Story writing is the class for you. However, it is also an intermediate class. You should know the rules of English, have good sentence structure, and practice the basic rules of writing before you attempt this course.

If you like to write children’s stories, you would love Writing for Children, but there again, it is an intermediate class. Writing for children is not easier than writing for teens or adults. It can, in fact, be harder, so be sure you have a good foundation before attempting this class. Be prepared with proper English, and the basic rules of writing.

If you are into fantasy writing, you will love Fantasy World. Have you wondered how to invent those far away places you see in your mind? This is the class for you. It is an intermediate class, so be sure you get your foundational courses first. Science-Fiction writing is coming soon. Possibly in the next term.

If you are an advanced student, Wordsmithing is the class for you. There you will learn writing skills that no other class teaches. This is the class that will explain how other authors can string words together in an artistic style. It will teach you to recognize things like assonance, consonance, asyndeton, and many more little known techniques so that you can apply it to your own writing. This is the final stop on how to jazz your writing and edit it with snappy styles and techniques. Wordsmithing is a unique class in that it can be at the beginning of your career, or the end. For me, it was the technique that put me over the top.

If you wonder if you need a certain class to advance to a higher level of learning, the chances are, you DO. Your subconscious is telling you your foundation isn’t complete. Don’t challenge yourself with more advanced classes. You need all the rules of writing in order to succeed. Skipping ahead usually means having to return to a lower class at a later time to pick up what you missed.

When you have your foundation and pass through the various stages in order, the advanced classes will blend and mesh all your learning experiences into one vision. I can’t reiterate this strongly enough - get your foundation first. Start at the bottom and learn every single rule. You’ll save yourself grief in the future.


- Deborah Owen

The little paragraph below is the one in question:

“I’ll be just fine.” He stood up and brushed himself off in a gesture of nonchalance. “Worry about yourself.”

Is this way correct? Or should I be separating the action and the dialogue?

Thanks!
- Flashlight Taylor

I have to write a “reaction paragraph” to the poem “Oh, Oh” by William Hathaway. Is there any significance to the fact that the train’s headlight is on in the middle of a bright summer’s day?

Also:
What types of imagery are there? I never really understood how to figure that out in poems.

What is the theme?

Effect? I don’t know exactly what my teacher means by that.
- Mrs. Jasper Hale