Just Memorize These Irregular Verbs

Is there a foolproof strategy for remembering irregular verbs? Absolutely. Just memorize them! Of course, that’s easier said than done. Do memory tricks actually work? Why not try to create a mnemonic for each of these common irregular verbs?

Henry L. Roediger III, a psychology professor at Washington University’s Memory Lab, confirms that songs help encode information into the hippocampus and frontal cortex of the brain. The rhythm of music provides patterns that serve as memory cues, making it easier for people to retrieve information. One teacher, known on YouTube as FluencyMC, makes rap songs of irregular past participles and grammar rules. Can you compose a song to memorize the present tense conjugation of “to be?” You might begin with the tune of a simple song such as, “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star,” or “Row Your Boat.”

To Be I am You are He/She/It is We are They are

You can also take the letters or beginning sounds of verbs to form an acrostic poem or an acronym. According to “Your Memory: How It Works and How to Improve It” by Kenneth L. Higbee, acronyms and acrostics work because they make the information more meaningful than words do alone, and they combine information together so that you have less to remember at once. Can you use an acrostic or acronym to memorize the past participles of the irregular verbs “to teach,” “to catch,” and “to fight?” Remember, you can use the beginning sounds, not just the beginning letters to form memorable words, phrases, or sounds.

Teach, taught, taught Fight, fought, fought Catch, caught, caught

Did you notice a similarity between the past participles of teach, fight, and catch? Memorizing information in groups rather than single units is called chunking. You can find many charts of irregular verbs grouped together by their past participles or some other similar feature. The tables are great for reference, but if you really want to master the verbs you should investigate the patterns and create your own charts.

Some people are visual or kinesthetic learners. In other words, they retain information from seeing and doing. If you learn well this way, create a physical or visual cue for the items you want to recall. For verbs like “to see” and “to run,” it’s easy to make a drawing or perform an action that represents each verb.

See, saw, seen Run, ran, run

For other verbs, such as “to have,” a visual or physical cue might not be effective. In this case, the most tried-and-true method should be employed: practice, practice, practice… Thankfully, practicing doesn’t have to be boring. You can make flashcards, quiz a friend, or play an online game such as the MacMillan Dictionary Verb Wheel. Because “to have” is such a common verb in English, you will have plenty of opportunity to use it in conversation.

How will you master irregular verbs? You can try setting them to a catchy tune or clapping out a rhythm. You can take the first sounds to create an acronym or an acrostic. You can create charts to organize the verbs in patterns that will help you to chunk the information together. Finally, you can create visual aids or physical actions to make a lasting impression. If all else fails, practice, practice, practice. You may have a lot of fun trying to figure out ways to memorize these essential irregulars. Which way will be most effective for you? There’s only one way to find out—give them all a try.

How Is Grammar at Work Changing?

Articles with Plural Nouns

The indefinite articles a and an are used to modify singular nouns. When using a plural noun, these two articles are unnecessary. Plural nouns can take either a definite article or no article at all.

The definite article is the word the. It precedes a noun when something specific (i.e., definite) is being referred to.

The phone is ringing.

Indefinite articles, on the other hand, are used before nouns that are nonspecific within their class.

I bumped into a lady on the sidewalk.

We do not know from this statement who specifically this lady is. We only know generally that the person is a lady.

Plural nouns can be used with the definite article or no article at all; to use an indefinite article would be incorrect.

I have a books in my locker.

I have books in my locker.

I have the books in my locker.

It is also unnecessary to use an indefinite article if there is an adjective in front of a plural noun.

When he is in public, he does an embarrassing things.

When he is in public, he does embarrassing things.

When he is in public, he does an embarrassing thing.

When selecting courses, there are a many options to choose from.

A is not necessary in this sentence and should be removed. However, if you want to refer to the specific quantity of options, the sentence can be rephrased to use the definite article the with a plural noun:

You may select courses from the many options available

.

You can explore more by reading Articles: Grammar Rules and Plural Nouns: Rules and Examples.

How to Read Between the Lines of a Job Description

Guest post from Jennifer Parris, Career Writer for FlexJobs

On the surface, a job description might seem fairly straightforward. It lists the job title, a smattering of responsibilities, and contact info by which you can apply for the position. But upon a second reading, you’re sure to find many layers to the posting, full of nuances and hidden messages that a seasoned job seeker might be able to pick up. If you’ve ever read a posting and wondered, “What are they really asking for?” here are some tips on how to read between the lines of a job description—and submit a job application that will get you the position.

Pay attention to the placement.

By their very nature, job descriptions are fairly short and succinct. Without having pages to list every single job duty, company background, and so on, hiring managers will write what’s most important at the top of the job description. It’s there that they’ll give you—in either a sentence or two—an overarching idea of what they want from their potential employee. As a job seeker, it’s important for you to repeat that information (in your own words, of course) in your cover letter. Not only does it show that you read through the job description, but that you can do the work as well.

Respect the responsibilities.

A typical job description might have upwards of ten or more job duties listed. Generally, the top five are the most critical ones and those that can make or break your job application. Make sure you actually can perform these duties, particularly if some of them are listed as “requirements” or “qualifications.” If you don’t, your job application will be rejected by the Applicant Tracking System (ATS) or the actual person who is reading your resume.

Learn the lingo.

Team player. Strong organizational skills. Leadership qualities. There are some terms that go hand in hand with a job description. But what do they really mean—and do you really need to possess these skills and traits? A team player means that you’ll be working with others, and you’ll need to do so without any drama or complaining. Strong organizational skills is code for having a very busy workload and having to be able to manage it all well without dropping the ball—or making your prospective boss look bad. If you’re expected to have leadership qualities, you’ll need to command the respect of your colleagues and lead and inspire them, which will require you to think outside of the box at times and be adaptable.

Share the love.

In an effort to avoid being inundated with job applications, some companies will refrain from posting the company’s name in the job description. If the company’s name is listed, though, you should make a concerted effort to offer up some praise about the organization in your cover letter. If you’re not very familiar with the company, do some research first, and then include a couple of sentences in your job application that depict how much you want to work for that specific organization. For example, you might write something like, “I admire your organization’s policy on workplace flexibility.” After all, a boss is more apt to hire someone who specifically wants to work for his company as opposed to someone simply looking for any old job.

Find out the compensation.

It’s the question of any job seeker: how much does this job pay? Unfortunately, very few job postings will name a dollar amount. That doesn’t mean you can’t find out how much the company is willing to cough up for the position, though. By using sites such as salary.com, you can find out comparable salaries for the job you’re after, and you can use this info to determine if it’s worth applying for the position or not.

When you’re deep in the throes of your job search, it’s easy to quickly scan a job description so that you can submit your application ASAP. But taking the time to thoroughly read through the posting can help you submit quality job applications that will get you hired for a position that you truly want—and deserve.

 

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About the Author

Jennifer Parris is a Career Writer for FlexJobs, an award-winning service that helps job-seekers find professional opportunities that offer work flexibility, such as telecommuting, freelance, part-time, or alternative schedules. To learn more about Jennifer, visit FlexJobs.com or tweet @flexjobs.

9 Easy Tips That Will Improve Bland Writing

Just like food, your writing needs spice. Keep these tips in your cupboard to take your writing from bland to scrumptious.

About a year ago, I got interested in cooking. For most of my adult life, I’d been making things like spaghetti with sauce from a jar, macaroni and cheese complete with powdered “cheese,” and the occasional boxed meal (just add ground beef!). Sometimes, I went a little wild and threw some canned tuna into the mac and cheese, or added real frozen broccoli to the boxed meal. My family ate it. They didn’t know any better.

But then, spurred on by a retired chef I befriended, I decided to give cooking a try. Real cooking. I bought fresh veggies and meats. I practiced until I had the knife skills to slice, dice, and julienne. I learned that stovetop burners aren’t meant to be set to high heat unless you’re trying to boil something. (Who knew?) I learned that basic salt and pepper make everything delicious. Throw in some well-chosen herbs and spices, and I can elevate the taste of my food to a whole new level. The kind that makes another friend kiss the backs of his fingertips like a French chef in an old movie and declare my meals delectable.

Writing is a lot like cooking. You can string together bland, canned phrases and hope that readers who don’t know any better won’t mind, or you can pull some spicy new tricks off the shelf and make your content truly delish.

The Basics

Before you can improve your cooking skills, you’ve got to learn a few basics. It’s the same with writing. Keep your text lean, use flavorful language, and express yourself confidently.

1 Begin with lean writing.

Flabby writing is unpalatable. Trim excess adverbs and use strong verbs or adjectives instead. (The comedian wasn’t very funny, she was hilarious.) Learn what a preposition is and how to streamline prepositional phrases. (The car didn’t come over the top of the hill, it crested the hill.) Slash extraneous words and phrases.

2 But don’t make it too lean.

Just as a cut of meat can be so lean that it’s dry and lacking flavor, writing that’s overly sanitized can sound sterile. Using an occasional adverb as a conscious style choice can make your writing sound more natural and conversational. Just don’t overdo it. Every adverb you use should have to justify its existence. If you can’t explain why you think it enhances your text, then out it goes.

3 Write with confidence.

Timid knife skills are dangerous when cooking. Timid language is a danger to writing.

Are you hedging your bets, using language that sounds unsure and wishy-washy? Eliminate phrases like you may want to, it’s possible that, and they can try, and weasel words like probably and sometimes.

You don’t have to give your readers an out clause unless you’re truly sure that what you’re suggesting might not work. And, in that case, ask yourself why you’re suggesting it in the first place.

4 Use powerful words and imagery . . .

If you use a lot of “to be” verbs (be, am, is, are, was, were, been, being) or other linking verbs (appear, feel, look, seem, remain, sound), search for opportunities to spice up your writing with livelier verb choices.

Weak Verb

Alex felt anxious when it was time to give his speech.

Rather than telling the reader that Alex felt anxious, paint a word picture. Help the reader see Alex and recognize the feelings Alex is experiencing. The example below uses strong verbs and the time-honored advice given to writers: show, don’t tell.

Strong Verb

Alex’s hand trembled as he adjusted the microphone. His heart hammered in his chest.

5 . . . but keep your language simple.

Yes, use colorful, expressive language. But no, don’t hunt through your thesaurus in search of exotic words no one’s going to recognize. Don’t use fancy words just for the sake of it.

Keep your audience in mind. I had a colleague years back who regularly used SAT words that sent even those of us with stellar vocabularies scrambling for our dictionaries. We wrote for the video game industry. The average gamer is plenty intelligent, but most don’t flock to read articles full of words like cynosure, excogitate, and perspicacious. What a sesquipedalian that guy was!

How to Find Your Writing Style

Now that you’ve got the basics of lean, expressive writing down, it’s time to add some serious flavor. To spice up your writing, find your style. Here are some ways to develop it.

6 Emulate other writers you admire.

Yes, you should develop your own voice. But a great way to start finding it is to write in the style of another writer you admire. Learn their language, techniques, and patterns. Then, start adapting that style to make it your own.

When I was a young, green fiction writer, I idolized Stephen King. (Who am I kidding? I still do.) I tried my best to write like him. I didn’t become a rich and famous Stephen King clone, but I did learn a thing or two about style. If there’s one thing I have to thank Mr. King for (in truth, there are many things) it’s the fact that I can write solid, authentic dialog.

7 Try creative formats.

I could’ve made this article into another dull treatise on how to write better. The Internet is full of them. Instead, I decided to use cooking as a metaphor for spicing up bland writing. You certainly don’t have to search for a gimmick for every article you write, but do try to change things up on the regular. Maybe your article on ways to learn a new language is better suited for a listicle. Writing up a history with lots of dates? Maybe it would work well as a timeline.

8 Be a storyteller.

Storytelling isn’t just for fiction. I’ve shared my experience with learning to cook and related it to liven up your writing. I offered an anecdote about a sesquipedalian (it means one who uses long words) games journalist. We relate better to writing that seems to come from a real person, and also writing that’s about real people. If your content reads like a textbook, consider whether adding an anecdote or story, or just revealing some of your own thoughts, would give your post flavor.

9 Be interested in what you write about.

Being interested in your topic is one of the best ways to make your writing sizzle. Even if you’re faced with a topic you find dull, odds are good you’ll be able to find some intriguing facts you didn’t know before you started researching. Once you’ve uncovered something fascinating, write about it in a way that says “Look at this cool new stuff I learned!” Explore what captures your interest, and your content will be less like a box of mac and cheese and more like a nourishing gourmet meal.

Why Mistake-free Writing on Your Phone Is So Valuable

Remember when phones were used exclusively for making phone calls? (Hard to believe, right?) Now we use our smartphones for all sorts of fun things . . . like sending text messages, answering emails, posting on Facebook, commenting on our favorite cat videos, and even finding true love.

While the freedom and flexibility of using a mobile device is awesome—the frustration that comes from typing on a tiny touch screen is not so great.

No matter how accurate your typing skills are on a full-size qwerty keyboard, it’s inevitable that you’re going to hit some wrong letters when typing on your smartphone. And then features like autocorrect have a way of making things extra interesting.

Text exchange with my 12 year old daughter yesterday #autocorrect pic.twitter.com/ugIuFPKlaF

— David J. Doorey (@TheLawofWork) July 22, 2015

These garbled messages are occasionally hilarious, but more often they’re confusing, and sometimes they can be pretty embarrassing.

If you’re tired of dealing with annoying typos and punctuation issues on your phone, we’ve got some good news. Grammarly has made the jump to iOS! (Don’t worry, we’re coming to Android soon.)

Typing on a tiny keyboard may always be a chore, but thanks to the Grammarly Mobile Keyboard, you can say so long to embarrassing messages and horrendous grammar. Here are three reasons mistake-free writing on your phone is so valuable.

1Clearer Communication

Being misunderstood can cause problems. If you’ve ever texted your partner a grocery list, you may have figured this out. (You needed red sauce, not red socks. How was that not obvious?)

It’s important to make your meaning crystal clear the first time around. Whether you’re texting a coworker your lunch order or creating an important event on Facebook, we think using your phone should make communication easier, not harder.

Our new mobile keyboard catches those easy-to-make mistakes in punctuation and spelling. So the next time you’re submitting a support ticket for your favorite app, the help desk will know you’re having trouble with “direct messaging” and not “dotweb meditating.”

And when you comment on your friend’s baking blog, fellow readers will understand that “carrot cake” is your favorite, not “carpet cake” (which may lead to some awkward questions).

2It Saves You Time

Don’t you love getting things right the first time? It’s hard to avoid errors when you type on your smartphone, and having to go back and fix mistakes in every message can get pretty tedious.

But when your errors are fixed instantly while you’re typing, you no longer have to waste time manually correcting them.

…Or sending multiple follow-up messages to clarify what you tried to say in your original message.

…Or apologizing for the nonsense you wrote in your original message.

With efficient, error-free writing, your message is ready to send as soon as you finish it. You won’t have to stress over missing an error in that important email to your client or worry about texting your boss something that will be embarrassing later.

3It Helps You Make a Positive Impression

Using correct grammar is essential for maintaining your credibility in business—both as an individual knowledge worker and when you’re communicating on behalf of your company.

Life and work can get busy though, and sometimes you’ll need to answer important work emails even when you’re not at your desk. Mistake-free writing on your phone will help you keep your communication at the same level of professionalism your clients and colleagues expect, despite being away from your computer.

So when a potential client needs a quick turnaround on an estimate, you can use your phone to type a detailed, error-free response on your train ride home.

Or when your boss sends you an urgent question about your TPS report while you’re out to lunch, there’s no need to rush back to the office. You can quickly respond on your phone with a well-written reply, then get back to chatting with your server about the “flair” on their vest.

via GIPHY

And it turns out good grammar isn’t just important for your professional life, it matters for your dating life too.

A Match.com study found that 88% of women users and 75% of men said grammar usage in messaging was the single “most important quality” they judged a potential date on.

Ouch.

Similarly, another survey found that almost half of all singles using the Zoosk dating site considered poor grammar to be a deal breaker. Many participants saw bad grammar as an indication that someone was unintelligent, uneducated, or “lazy,” and an impressive 72% were “turned off” by bad spelling.

So, there are some great benefits to staying on top of your grammar game when writing with your phone: greater clarity and speed when typing, showing up as the successful professional you are, and making the best impression possible when communicating with potential dates.

If you haven’t downloaded the new Grammarly keyboard for your smartphone yet, click here to try it out!

Brought and Bought—Learn the Difference Quickly

Brought and bought are two words are often confused with each other, particularly when one first learns English. They are both irregular verbs with an -ough- construction—a combination that trips many up with both pronunciation and spelling.

The Difference between “Brought” and “Bought”

Brought is the past tense and past participle of the verb to bring, which means “to carry someone or something to a place or person.”

Bought is the past tense and past participle of the verb to buy, which means “to obtain something by paying money for it.”

Both brought and bought rhyme with cot, tot, and plot.

Legend has it that European explorers bought Manhattan for twenty-four dollars.

Alex brought a cup of coffee to his exhausted mother.

Bought implies an economic transaction; brought implies the transport of something (or someone).

Conjugating Bought and Brought

To buy

Present Tense	I buy	you buy	he/she/it buys	we buy	you buy	they buy
Simple Past Tense	I bought	you bought	he/she/it bought	we bought	you bought	they bought
Present Participle	I am buying	you are buying	he/she/it is buying	we are buying	you are buying	they are buying
Past Participle	I/you/we/(s)he/it/they bought	—	—	—	—	—

To bring

Present Tense	I bring	you bring	he/she/it brings	we bring	you bring	they bring
Simple Past Tense	I brought	you brought	he/she/it brought	we brought	you brought	they brought
Present Participle	I am bringing	you are bringing	he/she/it is bringing	we are bringing	you are bringing	they are bringing
Past Participle	I/you/we/(s)he/it/they brought	—	—	—	—	—

Why Do We Have the Spellings “Brought” and “Bought”?

As funny as it would seem to use buyed and bringed as past tenses of to buy and to bring, you might be wondering how these irregular verbs came to be spelled so differently in the first place. The truth is, these two verbs have been irregular in English for more than a thousand years. No kidding!

In Old English, which was in use roughly from the fifth century to the eleventh, the verb bycġan meant the equivalent of our verb to buy and had the past tense bohte. Similarly, the equivalent past tense of to bring was brohte. Both are ancient words that can be traced to Proto-Germanic origins and perhaps even further back. The h in the middle of these two words represent a hard sound similar to the Scottish h in loch.

Suffice it to say that by the time the French invaded England in 1066, bohte and brohte were firmly ensconced in the language. Over time, the French influence on English regularized the spelling of the hard, middle sound of these words, and others like them, to gh. This is how words containing ough came to be part of our language. The spelling has survived the ages, even though the original pronunciation has not.

Bought and brought have proved their staying power, and unless you plan on living upwards of a thousand years, you are not likely to see a simplified spelling of either of them. Although you never know—there are little spelling rebellions thriving in our text messages these days, like nite for night and thru for through. If one of those words becomes standard, perhaps the whole gh dynasty will come tumbling down someday.

Now that we have sorted out bought and brought, perhaps you will want to learn more about other commonly confused words.

10 Simple Errors People Make During a Job Search

Would you like some good news about errors? The simplest mistakes to make are the easiest to correct. If you’re having a frustrating job search, it’s probably because you’re making these ten simple job search mistakes.

1 Failing to Make a Strong First Impression

Never forget that while you are searching for the perfect job, employers are searching for the ideal employee. If your resume doesn’t stand out, you’ll never get an interview. First, tailor your resume to each job posting by demonstrating you possess the desired qualifications listed in the advertisement. Then, reinforce your strongest points by including a pain letter with your application. With a little TLC, the attention to detail and experience reflected in your resume will serve as a fine introduction.

2 Missing Opportunities to Network

Of course, you bring your resume and business cards to job fairs and networking events. But if these are the only times you think about networking, you’re probably missing excellent opportunities. For example, have you ever thought about keeping in touch with previous managers? Even if you don’t ever want to return to your former position, these people may be able to let you know about new developments. Also, if they change companies, they may remember you when they’re building a new team. You can also try to check back occasionally with companies whose interviews or offers you declined. You might try: “I loved your work environment when I came to interview for the administrative position. I declined it because I would flourish in a more creative role. When I saw your opening for a creative director, I knew I should reach out to you.”

3 Failing to Recognize the Importance of Writing

If you are applying for a non-academic job, do your writing skills matter? Absolutely, according to MBA.com. Employers consider communication to be the most valuable of the top five skill sets for all recent graduates. (The others are teamwork, technical, leadership, and managerial skills.) If you don’t display writing ability, you won’t be able to compete with your peers. So, write the cover letter, even if it’s optional.

4 Spelling and Grammar Mistakes

Speaking of writing, the number of people who fail to proofread would surprise you. Even if you haven’t used any complex or unfamiliar expressions, carefully read over every piece of communication with a potential employer, including email subject lines, document titles, phone numbers, and addresses. Take international spelling differences into consideration if you are applying for employment in a foreign country.

5 Bombing an Elevator Pitch

An elevator pitch is a brief summary of who you are and what talents you have. In formal interviews, interviewers may ask you to tell them about yourself. If you practice an effective elevator speech in advance, you’ll avoid the tendency to ramble. Your clearly stated expressions will indicate that you are confident in your abilities. As you may have guessed from the name, not every elevator pitch happens in a formal setting. Be ready to talk about yourself wherever you happen to run into someone influential.

6 Too Much Information

Recruiters may not warn you that you’re oversharing, but they hate TMI. Hiring managers want to know an overview of your applicable skills in as short a time as possible. Be succinct. Keep your resume to one page of the most relevant highlights.

7 Limiting Yourself to Online Vacancies

You’ll find lots of intriguing openings advertised on online job boards such as Monster and CareerBuilder. However, only about 20% of vacancies are ever posted online, according to Payscale. Besides missing many possible opportunities, you also have a huge pool of competition if you limit your focus to online listings. Expand your job hunt to include college career centers, job fairs, and employment agencies. Ask your friends and family to keep their ears open too. Never underestimate the power of word-of-mouth.

8 Surprising Your References

Let your references know that you are job hunting. Otherwise, they may be scrambling to remember your fine points (or even worse, who you are) when they get the call.

9 Follow Up All Inquiries

It’s not enough to turn in an application. Contact a specific person in human resources by phone or email after you submit your application materials. Within a few days of your interview, send a follow-up note or email to thank hiring managers for their time.

10 Relax

If you stress too much about finding a job, you might arrive at an interview a frazzled mess. Take the time between jobs to travel, catch up with family and friends, and enjoy your hobbies.

Are you guilty of one or more of these common job search mistakes? Why not work on correcting them today? Doing so may be your first step toward finding employment.

6 Tips for Writing Well on Social Media

There are 1 million links shared, 2 million friends requested, and 3 million messages sent on Facebook every 20 minutes. Twitter users send 9,100 tweets every second. More than 60 percent of all Americans have at least one social media profile — and many use this profile daily. Whether you love it or hate it, communication on social media is a fact of life.

Unfortunately, the nuances of communicating on social media escape many people. This can be frustrating for those who cherish the written word. However, it’s definitely possible to write well and find your voice on any platform. Here are six tips to improve your social posts.

Use Your Casual Voice

Social media is made for the casual voice, even for users on professional networks. The focus is on the social aspect of communication. It’s about starting a conversation and engaging with others in your network. Ask questions, offer insight, and avoid the colorless “business-speak” that clutters so much business and professional writing. Your social voice should feel like talking with a friend — a grammatically correct friend.

Keep It Short and Simple

Social media isn’t the place for deep musings, long rants, or well-reasoned arguments. If you have a long piece you want to share with your readers, link to it, and keep your commentary short. While Facebook allows around 400 characters plus a link, it’s best to stick to around 200 characters, or 40 words or fewer. Of course, Twitter’s 140-character limit makes pithy writing not only a virtue, but a necessity.

Use Action-Oriented Language

The point of using social media in business or at work is to get your followers to do something, whether it’s read an article, watch a video, join a conversation, or attend an event. A good formula for a social media post starts with a thought-provoking question and an invitation for your followers to take action. Try this: “Ever wonder what really goes on in the White House kitchen? I loved this great interview with Exec Chef Cristeta Comerford. Tell me what surprised you the most.”

Use Pronouns

Writing on social media should feel intimate for your followers, even if you have thousands of them. Use “I,” “me,” and “you” in your updates and posts. Social media is a conversation between colleagues or friends, not a lecture from on high. Write as if you’re talking to one person, not a mass audience.

Play with Punctuation and Capitalization

Don’t be afraid to break a few rules to convey emphasis or emotion on social media. While writing in all caps is generally frowned upon in business writing, it’s perfectly okay to emphasize a word or two with capital letters. Using an exclamation point or two is also acceptable to show excitement or emotion. With the space limits on social media platforms, these devices help convey emotion and tone.

Don’t Forget to Edit

You might be tempted to operate in draft mode on social media, but that carries real risk. Writing in a conversational tone to a large audience leaves plenty of room for misinterpretation, especially when your word count is restricted. There’s a good case to be made that social media posts need more editing than formal writing, not less, especially if you’re posting for an employer. At the very least, have a co-worker or friend read your post before publishing to make sure your meaning is clear.

Social media is a powerful tool for networking and engaging with customers, colleagues, friends, and influencers in your areas of interest or expertise. Keep it casual and concise — and be sure to edit for clarity.

Which social media platforms do you use most? Have you ever published a post you wish you hadn’t?

Have You Become More or Less Careful with Your Writing Over Time?

The Essential Résumé Template

There are two things you need to keep in mind when you’re creating a résumé. First, you should be aware that a lot of recruiters and employers use special software that searches your résumé for specific keywords. Even when your résumé does get seen by human eyes—and this is the second thing you need to remember—the employer will take only six seconds to make a decision about how good of a fit you might be for the job.

To make sure your résumé gives you at least a fighting chance of finding employment, it would be a good idea to develop a résumé template. And that’s where we can help, by giving you the information you need to write each section and arrange them according to your strengths.

The Makings of a Résumé

The average résumé contains the following sections: contact information, résumé introduction, education, professional experience, skills. You can also add a section with special honors, activities, and even hobbies, but we will focus on the five sections that are usually seen in a résumé.

Depending on the arrangement of the sections, résumés are divided into three types: the chronological, the functional, and the combination format. In all three of them, the contact information goes at the top of the résumé and is followed by the résumé introduction.

If you choose the most commonly used format, the chronological one, you will follow the contact info and introduction sections with professional experience, education, and skills. Students might want to place education before professional experience if they don’t have a lot of professional experience.

In the functional and the combination format, the emphasis is on the skills section, which should follow the contact information section and the résumé introduction. The professional experience and education are placed after the skills section, with a slight difference in how you list the items in the section.

These are the choices you have regarding the format, but do you know which one you should choose? Put your strongest section closer to the top of the résumé. If you’re applying for a job for which you have plenty of relevant experience, it makes sense to choose the chronological format. If, on the other hand, you’re changing industries or have a chaotic professional history, one of the two other formats might suit you better. When you choose the format, you can start making the résumé from the top down.

Contact Information

Your contact information should include your name, address, phone number, and email address, plus a link to a portfolio or website and possibly even a link to your LinkedIn profile.

You should place your name, in bold and a slightly larger font than the rest of the résumé, on the very top. Below it, you should write your address, or at least the city and the state you live in, and then list your phone number and email address, maybe even on the same line. Your personal website and social media profiles should only be included in the contact information if they can serve as your portfolio. Social media managers, for example, can include a link to their Facebook pages, and web designers can include links to their personal websites if they designed them.

The one thing you should be aware of is that contact information, even though it should be on the top of the résumé, should not be placed in a header, as some of the software used to scan résumés cannot read headers.

Résumé Introduction

The introduction is where you would put your professional summary, a branded statement, or the objective statement.

Objective statements used to be the only way to go for a résumé introduction—a brief statement of what you want to achieve with your résumé with a reference to why you think you should achieve it. Objective statements are a mix of your goals and your experience, although some sources advise you to remove the part about your goals and instead present a summary of your professional experience (or a statement about who you are and what you’re about if you don’t have a lot experience).

Professional Experience

In the professional experience section, list the relevant jobs you previously held. They should follow a simple template: for each job, write the name of the company, its location, your job title, and the dates of your employment. If you want to make the gaps in your employment look smaller than they really are, you can write only the years of your employment; otherwise, it’s usual to use the month and the year.

Each job you held should be followed by a few bullet points which list your achievements and duties. It would also be a good idea to include a quantifiable data points. For example, if you were responsible for hiring new staff at a job you had, include the number of staff members you hired. Also, don’t use the formulation “responsible for hiring new staff.” Use active verbs instead, and say “hired twelve new staff members.”

Education

Unless you’re fresh out of college and don’t have a lot of skills or professional experience, your education section should be pretty straight-forward—the name of your college, your degree, and the year you graduated. If you didn’t go to college but have skills and experience, you could list the name of your high school, its location, the year you graduated, and your GPA (if above 3.0).

If you don’t have any work experience, you might want to expand your education section and include academic achievements, relevant coursework, and activities. Of course, you should list these things using bullet points.

Skills

If you’ve chosen to create a résumé in the chronological format, your skills section should be the place where you write a couple of skills you haven’t been able to fit in anywhere else in the résumé.

However, if you’re writing a functional or a combination résumé, your skills section is the most important part. Choose between three and five skills that are most relevant to the job you’re applying for and list them in the section. For each of the skills, create a bullet-point list of at least three items that support the skill. Remember to use active verbs and quantifiable points when possible. When you finish, your skills section should look similar to how professional experience sections look in chronological résumés.

How to Emoji at Work: A Guide

Elon Musk is a visionary in many areas, but his memo on acronyms at SpaceX will be forever remembered as one of the greatest workplace satires of all time. The memo, aptly titled “Acronyms Seriously Suck,” explained that “excessive use of made up acronyms is a significant impediment to communication.” Musk then goes on for four paragraphs on why acronyms are ruining the culture at SpaceX.

Some thinkers would have us believe that emojis, like emoticons before them, are similarly ruining office communication. Many professionals point to the ambiguity and potential offensiveness of emojis as reasons to avoid them, and they’re not wrong. Emojis can easily be misinterpreted, and while their novelty makes them exciting, it can also detract from the message you’re trying to communicate to a colleague or client.

Of course, this means that using emojis at work is not mandatory, since they are still unacceptable in many contexts. However, emojis can provide helpful subtext or levity to a situation, allowing the recipient of a chat or email to know how it should be interpreted. If you are going to venture into the world of emoji-laden workplace communication, keep these things in mind.

Check Culture Fit

At this point, most workplaces accept emojis in informal modes of communication, like Slack or Google Hangouts. However, if you work in a formal or more conservative industry, it’s a good idea to wait for someone else to send the first emoji. If you have Slack, you can always look at the chat history and see if emojis are a common addition to your public channels.

If you are chatting or emailing, it’s best to wait for someone senior to you to send an emoji before you try out your latest string of sunflowers and laughing-while-crying emojis. Also, it should be noted that while emojis are often acceptable in interoffice communication, you should be careful before inserting them into emails or correspondence with clients, partners, or customers.

Double-Check Your Emoji Meanings

We’ve given this piece of advice before, but for good reason. Studies show that emojis can have different meanings depending on the country you’re in, the device you use, or even the conversation prior to the emoji. There are some commonly-confused emojis you can avoid, but regardless of the emoji you’re using, make sure your recipient will understand the emotion and intent it represents before you send.

Use Smileys to Soften Bad News

It has been shown that one of the most common use-cases for emojis at work is to show that a message is positive. To paraphrase The Atlantic, the problem with work chat is often that electronic messages are devoid of inflection. In longform writing like emails, you have the space to compensate for this lack of subtext by using extra positive words or phrases. But when you’re sending a quick Gchat to a colleague, you don’t have space to fully compensate for the aloof nature of shorthand text conversation. That’s when a positive, smiling emoji will go a long way in building positive interactions and connections with your colleagues.

Make Sure Everyone Is in on the Joke

Another helpful way to use emojis at work is to indicate that you’re joking. Below are some of the most common emojis that indicate sarcasm, but you can use a variety of emojis to show you’re just kidding. Remember, though, that this usage is probably best reserved for colleagues you know well, not your manager at a brand-new gig. Do you use emojis at work? Tell us more about your experience in the comments below.

How Game of Thrones Characters Would Approach a Writing Assignment

Though A Song of Ice and Fire was not written to be a writing guide, there are many valuable lessons in the epic that can be broadly applied to different facets of life.

Spoiler alert

In this post, we will be analyzing characters and their development throughout book five of George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire and season seven of HBO’s Game of Thrones to understand what lessons certain characters can offer to improve your writing.

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Tyrion Lannister

Don’t shy away from your unique (writing) style.

A mind needs books… #BookLoversDay pic.twitter.com/rpkovEoUvU

— Tyrion Lannister (@GoT_Tyrion) August 9, 2017

Tyrion is the youngest of the three Lannister siblings and an outcast. Yet, he has wisely chosen to own his small stature and “monstrous” appearance, which gives him a unique perspective of the world. He even advises such to Jon Snow:

Never forget what you are. The rest of the world will not. Wear it like armor, and it can never be used to hurt you.

Tyrion shines with self-confidence. From his witty one-liners to passing off his own wisdom as “ancient and timeless,” he embodies the truth that his voice matters. Striving for the same authenticity to yourself, your writing will shine.

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Samwell Tarly

Use the resources around you, freely share your insights, and try some poetry.

“No one touches Sam.”@JohnBradleyWest holds #SamwellTarly at #SDCC2017. #GoTSDCC pic.twitter.com/aGDNcJVjj4

— Game Of Thrones (@GameOfThrones) July 21, 2017

Samwell Tarly is a noble whose strengths as a bookish scholar didn’t live up to the expectations of his house, which forced him into the brotherhood of the Night’s Watch. As an assistant to Maester Aemon of the Night’s Watch, Samwell’s true strengths—his loyalty, resourcefulness, and insight—come to the fore. These traits continually serve him and those around him as he travels to the Citadel at Oldtown, where he uncovers a source of Dragonglass (which kills Whitewalkers), cures Jorah Mormont of Grayscale, and offers some editorial advice to Archmaester Ebrose about the title of his book—“Possibly something a bit more … poetic.”

George R.R. Martin himself has even identified with Samwell Tarly, which has led some to speculate that Samwell Tarly is actually the narrator/writer of A Song of Ice and Fire. Learn from him and you’ll be in fine (writing) company.

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Jon Snow

Rely on your support network to create better (writing) solutions.

The reunion we are all waiting for �� #GameOfThrones pic.twitter.com/gLu70dEB8K

— King Jon Snow (@LordSnow) August 7, 2017

Jon Snow begins his journey as an underappreciated bastard of House Stark and hesitatingly rises to lead the Night’s Watch. Eventually, he is elected Lord of Winterfell. Jon Snow, guided by a sense of duty and loyalty to his team rather than by ambition, seeks counsel and consensus almost to a fault. This tendency to rely on his support network and the wisdom of his council helps him to lead well, however. This is exemplified in both his election as Lord Commander of the Night’s Watch and Lord of Winterfell, when supporters speak on his behalf.

Improve your writing the same way by regularly seeking feedback from respected peers.

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Daenerys Targaryen

Trust your intuition and be bold!

Mother of Dragons ��#GameOfThrones pic.twitter.com/bBb0cYLxpJ

— Daenerys Targaryen (@Daenerys_GOT) August 11, 2017

Daenerys Targaryen, Khaleesi, Breaker of Chains, Mother of Dragons. . . whatever you call her, you cannot deny her accomplishments. As an orphan exiled from her homeland, she has overcome many hardships to assert her claim to the Iron Throne of Westeros, including ending the slave trade and bringing dragons back from extinction.

One of her guiding characteristics throughout all this achievement is the faith she has in herself and her intuition. Quite often she trusts her intuition of what is right in spite of contrary advice, and her instinct doesn’t fail her.

Are you looking to improve your writing? Trust your instincts.

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Lyanna Mormont

Be direct. Use short sentences.

If Lyanna Mormont isn't your new hero on Game of Thrones, you're lying: Meet Bella Ramsey. https://t.co/IhsRWkpEuR pic.twitter.com/wNL7NVnoPC

— E! News (@enews) July 1, 2016

This young Lady of Bear Island was orphaned at age ten after the Red Wedding and became one of the youngest leaders in Westeros. Though her participation has only picked up recently in the series, her style is iconic—demonstrated as early as Season 5, when she is asked to bend the knee to Stannis Baratheon:

“Bear Island knows no king but the King in the North, whose name is Stark.”

Lyanna is a master of brevity. Her bold, confident directness silences those around her and lends her a tenacity all her own.

Bolster your own writing by using the same technique: keep it simple.

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Davos Seaworth

Don’t be afraid to learn something new.

#GameOfThrones Davos Seaworth needs a job https://t.co/eHomtJLgkD pic.twitter.com/dXDeZXk4eC

— USA TODAY Life (@usatodaylife) April 28, 2016

Davos Seaworth, or the Onion Knight, is a reformed smuggler whose loyalties lie with whomever he sees as the greatest hope for the people. In his journey to support those leaders, he hasn’t shied away from the learning he has had to pursue. He unashamedly takes reading lessons from a child. He willingly admits his wrongs and his lack of familiarity with traditions. He embraces the need to continually learn rather than seeing it as a failing or weakness.

Becoming a great writer is a learning process. Humble yourself to that and see where it will take you.

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Margaery Tyrell

Know your audience.

#TheWarsToCome ��♠️ pic.twitter.com/8gCMKZzfmC

— Margaery Tyrell (@MargaeryTyrelI) April 13, 2015

Margaery Tyrell, wife of Joffrey and later Tommen Baratheon, was raised to master court politics at Highgarden. While in King’s Landing, she excels, garnering the love of the people as well as her husbands. The personalization she shows to the people she is with wins her power quickly. She caters to her audience so well that Queen Regent Cersei Lannister begins to doubt her own influence over her son, King Tommen, and orchestrates Margaery’s demise.

Learn about your audience and give what you can to them in your writing.

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Melisandre, The Red Woman

Don’t overestimate your own opinion.

"She had no time for sleep, with the weight of the world upon her shoulders" – Melisandre, A Dance With Dragons#PrepareForWinter #ImSoTired pic.twitter.com/GXTa9Zk9Th

— Melisandre of Asshai (@TheRedWoman) June 26, 2017

Where self-confidence and instinct can improve the authenticity and effectiveness of your writing, Melisandre, a Red Priestess of the Lord of Light, shows how over-confidence can lead you astray. Born an orphan and trained as a priestess, Melisandre is so convinced of her powers of prophecy that she leads Stannis Baratheon to wage a war he catastrophically loses after sacrificing his own daughter in a vain effort to gain favor with the Red God.

This experience teaches Melisandre that her interpretations of the prophecy are not, in fact, perfect and that much can be lost from valuing your skills and opinion too highly.

The writing tip here? Learn to balance your instinct and self-confidence with gut-checks now and then to be sure you’re on the right track.

5 Simple Ways to Write about Negative Issues with a Positive Spin

Have you ever written something only to have the recipient completely misunderstand your intent? Or been accused of abruptness when you thought you were being businesslike and efficient? There are a lot of moving parts when it comes to communicating effectively, but among the most important is tone.

I’ve spent nearly two decades in the online trenches in roles ranging from business owner to forum moderator to PR email writer extraordinaire—a true virtual diplomat. Here’s my best advice for writing about negative issues in a way that sounds positive and productive.

1Present solutions instead of problems.

It’s better to talk about what you can do rather than what you can’t. Formulate a solution or alternate plan and present that instead.

I can’t meet with you tomorrow morning because I’m booked.

Tomorrow afternoon works better for me. Would a 2 p.m. meeting fit your schedule?

Not everyone will remember to bring their handbooks to the meeting, so we should bring extras.

Let’s remember to bring extra handbooks to the meeting in case anyone needs a copy.

2State what you want, not what you don’t.

Why focus on preventing a negative outcome when you can encourage a positive one? Instead of beginning requests with “don’t,” try stating what you do want.

Don’t leave your leftovers in the break room fridge over the weekend.

Remember to take your leftovers out of the break room fridge on Fridays.

Do not bring laptops to this meeting.

Laptops aren’t necessary at this meeting, so leave yours at your desk.

3Keep hyperbole in check.

Sometimes exaggerated language is used to great effect (particularly by advertisers) to promote something or speak to positive issues, but when you use it in a negative context it can evoke bad feelings. Watch out for words like always and never. They’re more likely to mean sometimes than either of those extremes.

You always file your reports late.

I sometimes receive your reports after the deadline.

We never get anything done.

Let’s stay on task so we can get things done.

4Try “I statements.”

When you’re tackling a difficult issue, statements that begin with “you” (and especially “you always” and “you never”—see the previous tip about hyperbole) tend to sound like accusations. And accusations, of course, raise a person’s defenses.

When you’re bringing up something negative, keep the focus on how the situation makes you feel rather than what the other person did.

You never listen!

I find it hard to communicate when I’m worried that I’m not being heard.

You’re always on my case!

I feel frustrated when I’m frequently reminded to do my work instead of being trusted to meet my responsibilities.

5“I’m sorry, but . . .” means you’re not sorry.

When I was a kid, and I’d apologize for some heinous act of childhood treachery, I’d often apologize with, “I’m sorry, but—” My mom would cut me off in my tracks, saying, “Any time you add a ‘but’ it means you’re not sorry, you’re just defending yourself.”

When you’re sorry, be sorry. Excuses and other defenses render apologies useless.

We’re sorry your shipment was delayed, but we had a lot of orders this week.

We’re sorry your shipment was delayed. The number of orders we received this week took us by surprise!

I’m sorry I interrupted you, but I felt the conversation was headed in the wrong direction.

I’m sorry I interrupted you. Let’s keep the conversation on a positive track.

Here are a couple of things to consider before you send an email, write a social media post, or address anything negative in writing.

• Do an empathy check. Read what you’ve written as though you’re the recipient. How would you feel if someone sent this to you? Is there anything you can change to make the message more positive, or to focus on solutions instead of problems?
• Sit on it. Have you ever fired off a scathing missive and almost immediately regretted it? Give texts about negative issues a cooling off period before you send or post them. Chances are, you’ll be able to rewrite with a more positive mindset once you’ve had some time to process.

It’s not always appropriate to be upbeat and enthusiastic. A realtor, for example, wouldn’t want to sound chipper when she’s writing to tell a client that the value of their home has dropped significantly due to a downturn in the market. But maintaining a positive, solution-focused tone can make things like bad news or criticism less devastating.

This Emoji Guide Is Fire

Emojis may be the cutting edge of language, but do any of us really know how to use them? For example, let’s say your friend sent you a text that read, “???☺️.” Would you know that it meant “the key to success is a great attitude”? Unless you and your friend have already established emoji conventions of your own, probably not. Emojis, while an interesting communicative device, don’t yet have a formal system of grammar governing their use. In fact, SwiftKey, one of the apps that helps people send more emojis, has shown that emoji combinations are overwhelmingly repetitions of a single emoji for effect. This supports the stance that emojis are not a new language, but a system that allows speakers of a certain language to express emotions and opinions in a new way.

Although the emoji system of communication will most likely evolve, we’ve collected a few best practices to help you use emojis more efficiently. Check them out and leave your thoughts on the future of emojis in the comments below.

A Guide to Emoji Grammar from Grammarly