Monday 31 October writing your stories

happy halloween

I'm handing back the test today. Anyone absent can make it up in class; however, unless you have a legal abscence on record, this is late, so 20 points will be taken off.

ALL STORIES ARE DUE AT THE END OF CLASS TOMORROW. Wednesday will be our tidy-up day for the cover letters and resumes- and hopefully the college essays.

Friday 28 October writing news story leads test

In class test on writing news story leads.

Note your stories are due at the end of class on Tuesday.

Tuesday 25 October writing news leads

Most folks have given me their cover letters, resumes and essays. It will take me a week to edit them for any revisions. If you have not given me your material, it is considered late after today. You still need it as part of a graduation requirement. Please get the material in. I have to turn these in to Ms. Aspenleiter. Once they are perfect, you'll hole-punch the lot and put them in a red folder. See me, if you need to purchase one: $1.00.

Moving on~~~~~~~~~~~~ back to journalism
Please read "Writing News Story Leads" by this Friday for a test on the key terms. As well, have chosen a story idea. I'm handing out a sheet of suggested topics, but you may have ideas of your own. At the end of Friday's quiz will be a space to write down your idea. This is 30 points of the test. Plan ahead.

Friday 14 October resumes and cover letters

Resumes and Cover letters

Each person needs to submit a resume and cover letter. These are part of the senior exit interviews, which will take place on Tuesday November 22. They are individual graded assigments and part of your graduation requirement. You have three days to work on them in class. There are templates on Microsoft Publisher and I Works on the Macs. Also if you are on a Mac, you can open a word document and go into new file, where you will find easier resume templates.
Please follow them carefully, selecting a model that best works for you. As you assemble these, be mindful of punctuation, grammar and capitalization. Although I will edit them, so that the final copy will be accurate and correct, your grade will be based upon the material you turn in on WEDNESDAY 19 OCTOBER. If you are absent, both the cover letter and resume are due. I need these to edit over the break. Any received after Wednesday are 10 points off per day, down to 50. A cover letter as the name depicts acts as a covering or an attached letter to any other letter, document, resume or CV. Though the cover letter is mainly attached with the resume or employment letter but there are many other types of cover letters like legal cover letters, marketing cover letters, sales cover letters and many other sample letters. The cover letter helps the receiver to get the first hand and instant information regarding the detailed content of the attached letter or document. It acts as a marketing tool for the purpose of the letter or the attached document. Besides this, cover letter also acts as a tool of communication for the intangibles which are not available through the actual content letter. Thus a cover letter is a very important letter that provides various benefits. A cover letter should always be written in a tone which covers the enthusiasm of the writer.



There are some important factors which should be considered while drafting a cover letter and these are as follows:


1. Always try to address the cover letter to an individual by his/her name


2. The first paragraph of the cover letter should be attractive enough so as to get the immediate attention of the reader.


3. Then mention the main purpose of writing the letter


4. Mention about the attached letter or the document for which you are sending the cover letter 5. Avoid any negative statements, spelling and grammatical errors. Finally mention that you will follow up with your cover letter and also do so. Thus keeping these things in mind one can draft a good sample cover letter for variety of purposes.


Please see the sample below of a cover letter.
Your Contact Information
Address City, State, Zip Code
Phone Number
Cell Phone Number
Email

Employer / College Contact Information

NameTitle Company
Address

City, State, Zip Code

Date

Dear Mr./Ms. LastName,

I am a senior at the State University interested in interviewing for a job as a Marketing Assistant with ABCD. I believe that ABCD has the ideal culture in which to pursue my goal of becoming an innovative and responsible arts administrator and contributing to the ABCD company's outstanding record as a center for exhibition and discussion of contemporary art and culture.

Academically, my extensive course work in the art history department at the State University has allowed me to gain an understanding and appreciation for the art your Company exhibits. I also have studied broader elements of arts management, including audience development and fund-raising as a part of my recent arts management class at State University. As a part of that class, I worked for the BCE Museum examining their marketing strategies, as well as other institutions, in an effort to discover the most effective and efficient manner to promote their upcoming exhibition. This rewarding experience working for the BCE Museum sharpened my desire to continue in this field and helped me develop the tools I need to be an effective arts administrator. I have also been able to spend time working for BCE Museum specifically as a survey assistant, which has further strengthened my interest in museum studies.

My previous summer work experience as a staff reporter for The XWZ newspaper, as well as my experience working for my school's paper, has provided me with a strong base of communication knowledge and helped me learn how to develop and work on several projects at once, write about a diverse range of topics, work quickly and efficiently, and further developed my interest in becoming a better marketer.

I firmly believe that I will be a good fit in ABCD's innovative environment. Thank you for your time and consideration.

Sincerely,

Your Signature

Your Typed Name

resume and cover letter info

Monday 3 October presentation prep

How to Deliver Amazing, Successful and Effective Presentations

Good Presentation Skills are Essential in Today's Competitive World
Today, it’s not just what you know that counts but how you present your knowledge to the world. In this guide, we'll look at how to deliver a professional, winning presentation to an audience.
Delivering accomplished presentations is a vital skill in anyone's armory whether you're a student just starting out or the head of a large organization. You want your presentations to be impressive and persuasive.
Here are sometips and techniques for preparing successful presentations and how to get your points across.

Even if you don’t normally give presentations as part of your day-job, one day you'll need to address a hobby group or a community organisation so it pays to prepare and develop those skills now.
These days, public speaking and business presentations are also often a key part of the recruitment and selection process, particularly in education, consultancy or marketing.

What Do We Mean By a Presentation?
Here are a few examples:
A design review
A project brief to colleagues (peer review)
A pitch to potential customers or senior executives
A business presentation
A paper at a conference or exhibition
Sharing a few tips with fellow hobbyists - for example, other pet owners

How Do I Begin?

1. Body Language helps you get your ideas across
First decide what you want to say and how much time is available to do it. If it is a conference or seminar then you will probably be allocated a fixed period of time; typically 15-30 minutes, plus time for questions. In our case you have 8 minutes to present with 2 minutes allocated for questions.

Technical people, in particular, often need to focus on a great deal of detail in their everyday work, so the most common mistake when giving a presentation is to include too much information.
The golden rule is, ‘Keep It Simple’. Think of a presentation as designing an advertisement. You should focus on a few key themes and benefits. You don't fill an advert or a presentation with detail such as circuit diagrams or technical data sheets.

How often have you sat through a presentation where there was so much information on the screen you just couldn't read it all before the slide disappeared from the screen? Remember how it made you feel?
Make Your Presentation Entertaining!



PowerPoint -

A Good Presentation
A good presentation needs an introduction, followed by the main body and an ending with some conclusions. It is also helpful if the main body breaks into about three key themes. You can leave the detail either for inclusion in your written paper or to be dealt with during question time.
How Many Slides?
As a general rule, have about one slide or less for each minute of elapsed time. Most people, when first attempting a 10-minute talk, will find themselves speaking for well over 20 minutes. Remember you are talking about something that is of great personal interest so you will find you have far more to say than you expect.
Winning Presentations: Pictures, Colours, Shapes and Graphs are generally better than bulleted word lists!

MAKE SURE YOUR PRESENTATION IS ON A THUMB DRIVE.

What Should Go on the Slides?
Select a large, readable font. Make sure the colours you choose work well on a big screen. White on a blue background is a safe choice.

Keep the number of words to a minimum. If you do use bullet points then keep the number of bullets to a minimum. Avoid 'Death By Powerpoint' (presentations where the audience switches off because of page after page of bulleted text).

Introduce visual information - A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words. For example, if you are talking about a lovable pet then a photo can say far more than words ever can.

If the diagram is more complicated then animate the presentation so it builds gradually (controlled by mouse clicks) as you describe it.

You might also consider a short video clip. Even a 'sound bite' is a possibility to make your presentation different. Why not consider a relevant piece of music to start with?

Finally, avoid simply writing on the slide what you want to say and avoid too much detail. The slide should simply act as a visual cue to help you get your ideas across. It's not a script!
Catch Their Attention!

PRESENTATIONS: Wednesday, Friday and next Tuesday.

We are doing these in alphabethical order. So if your partner's surename is ahead of yours, that is when you will present. There are no in class make-ups. These will take place after school on Thursday 13 October only. With the exception of those using a prezi program, all mateial neeeds to be on your thumb drive.