English and ESOL Lab Workshops: April 2013

Monday, April 29, 2013

Adding Details (Ashley Rose)

Providing Details and Examples (Mariam Kushkaki)

Two types of details and specific examples you can provide to support your ideas:

1. _______________Personal__________________

a. Stories (relatives, friends, acquaintances)

b. Experiences (your own)

c. Descriptions (people, places, and events)

2. _____________Outside Sources______________

a. Facts/Statistics

b. Descriptions (people, places, and events)

How can we be specific when providing personal examples? Look for places where you can add details that answer the 5 Ws:

Who: My brother Tom and I went to the store.

When: She went for a drive one winter night to clear her head.

What: Peter woke up and looked out the window.

Where: Alex’s car broke down on the 5 freeway.

Why: I always check the locks on my windows before I leave because I live on the first floor and am afraid someone will break in.

Let’s practice writing specific examples and details:

1. Imagine that you and your friend went out for dinner at a restaurant, and it was a good experience. Now, you’re writing a review on Yelp, and you give several reasons for why people should go to this restaurant. Support each of the reasons below with 2-3 sentences that have specific details (you may use the 5 Ws).

First reason: The restaurant looked very nice. (Support this with DESCRIPTIONS.)

Second reason: The service was wonderful. (Support this with YOUR EXPERIENCE.)

Third reason: The food always tastes delicious every time we come here. (Support this with a STORY.)

2. Imagine that you work as a server in a restaurant, and somebody asks you to describe your job. You say you don’t really like your job, and you explain why. Support the following reasons with 2-3 sentences:

First reason: The customers are rude.

Second reason: My boss doesn’t treat the employees fairly.

Third reason: The hours I work are unreasonable.

Now, let’s write a sample paragraph using outside sources. Below is an excerpt from an article titled “What Rights Should Illegal Immigrants Have?” by David Bennion:

Many students graduate from U.S. high schools with undocumented status—that is, they are not legally permitted to reside in the United States. Many of them were brought to the United States as young children and have lived in America for most of their lives. Once they graduate from high school, there are few opportunities for them as they lack access to in-state college tuition or the legal ability to work. The Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors Act, or DREAM Act, would change this, offering undocumented youth the chance at legal resident status. These youths, or Dreamers, should be allowed to have the chance to stay in the country they call home.

…

Each year, about 65,000 undocumented students graduate from high school in the United States. They then face often insurmountable barriers to pursuing further education or employment opportunities. Many colleges and universities will not permit them to enroll. Even if they are admitted, most financial aid is not available to them. In most states, they will pay prohibitively expensive out-of-state tuition rates, regardless of how long they have lived in the state.

Using quotes from the article, write a paragraph that explains why the DREAM Act should be passed. Give two reasons to support your position. For each reason, give one personal example and one example from the article (use quotes). If you run out of time during the workshop, you can always complete the paragraph at home and then bring it back to the lab and have a tutor look it over.

Outlining (Julia Gefell)

Use this sample to create your own outline!

Basics of Microsoft Word (Kristin Krogh)

Parts of Speech (Grace Kelley)

Review some of the parts of speech and complete the activities for practice!

Monday, April 22, 2013

Active Reading (Lauren Benard)

Use the reading below to fill out the activity sheet.

Pop Culture is Destroying True Beauty

By Rachel Drevno

The Spectator Online, October 11, 2001

Our society affects us everyday. In simple ways, it makes us aware of new products or calls our attention to new movies. Or it can affect us more deeply by suggesting we aren’t good enough because we don’t look a certain way. Billboards, magazine ads, and TV commercials portray ideal images of people as skinny, beautiful, and sexy, frequently playing on the general public’s vulnerability about their bodies. These messages generally go unnoticed until people reach a point where they dislike everything about themselves.

Everywhere you look you will find images of women and men who typify what our society considers “beautiful.” More often than not the women have visible ribs, hipbones that jut out, and emaciated faces. Men are portrayed as sculptures chiseled out of granite, with rock hard abs and strong shoulders. Rarely do advertisers use someone with a little meat on their bones to sell their product, unless of course they are pitching some newfangled weight-loss product. Open a magazine, closely watch a movie or TV show, and you can’t help but be inundated with images of “perfect people.”

In countless movies, characters who at first appear quiet, nerdy, or unfashionably dressed are overlooked until they receive a makeover and then suddenly to our surprise become hot commodities. But such rapid makeovers (usually set to lively music) do not yield the same results in real life. Every year men and women spend absurd amounts of money on products that promise to make them beautiful, skinny, or physically enhanced in some way. Slap a pretty face on a box, add a so-called “guarantee,” and people will flock to buy it.

Resume Writing (Marie Webb)

How to Write a Great Resume

Marie Larsen | June 24, 2011 | inShare

Learning to write an effective resume is a life skill most people cannot afford to ignore.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the median tenure for most professionals is about 4 years. For employees between the ages of 25 and 34, the median tenure is only 2.9 years.

Since most of us will change jobs a number of times in our career, we need to become proficient at selling ourselves and writing an effective resume.

Consider this: According to Career Builders’ Resume 2007 survey, on average, hiring managers receive 50 resumes for each and every job opening. Due to the sheer number of applicants, many managers skim and sort the resumes into “no go,” “maybe,” and “looks promising” piles.

Only resumes that are well-organized, easy-to-read, and specifically targeted to the position survive the cut.

Assuming a candidate has the relevant job experience, professional resume writers know what it takes to keep resumes in the “maybe” or “looks promising” piles. Here are the ten strategies resume professionals use for writing great resumes- and you can too.

How to Write a Great Resume

1. Resumes that make a good first impression emphasize specific accomplishments. Did you increase sales by 40%? Manage a team that introduced a profitable new product? Create and implement a money or time-saving process? Use specific examples to highlight your accomplishments.

2. Just as you would highlight your strongest points in an interview, do so in your resume. Put your strongest achievements and qualifications at the top of your resume.

3. Use a highlights section to catch the hiring manager’s attention.

4. Include only relevant job experience. If your resume is padded, most hiring managers will assume you aren’t qualified for the job.

5. Don’t try to be all things to all people. What are your top 3 skills? Focus on those.

6. Read the job description carefully. Note the keywords and use them to focus your resume.

7. Use an eye-catching, easy-to-read format. Include headings, bold print and bullets.

8. Write a different resume for each job skill/position. Resumes are definitely not one-size-fits-all.

9. To paraphrase JFK – tell not what the company can do for you, tell what you can do for the company.

10. Finally, proof and double-proof your resume. Given the competition, just one or two typos may eliminate a candidate from consideration.

We’ve all heard it before: “You only get one chance to make a first impression.” If you use the ten strategies outlined above, one chance is all you’ll need. Write a great resume and feel confident in your job search. Good luck!

Resume Resources