English 421Y: Technical Writing Online

When writing a resume according to all the suggestions that were given from the readings, I thought that it was very challenging. I thought that writing a cover letter would be different but after reading the recommendations for writing a cover letter it feels the same as writing a resume. The document definitely feels like the shape of a technical document with distinct portions like an introduction, body, and conclusion. Even though it must be short and concise, a cover letter must represent a lot of information including background, skills, and even attitude.

While reading the articles on Resumes there seemed to be a lot of overlapping information and sometimes a lot of disagreements. My favorite article was "A Glimpse and a Hook". The section on the First Pass seemed to sum up the reality of how someone looks at resumes. My favorite part of the article was when the writer said, "Do I know you? Whether I do or not, I’m going to immediately Google you to see if I should. Oh, you have a web blog. Excellent.".

In searching for a relevant job to my career on www.monster.com I found it harder than I thought. Some of the things that I required in my job search were location, job type, and specific job position. I was looking for a job in California and looking for an internship position for Mechanical Engineering. With a couple internships under my belt, I was looking for a company that would give me a better opportunity in the future. After searching I found an internship available in Mechanical Engineering from Apple Inc. Apple Inc.

The reading and instructions in Chapter 8: Organizing and Drafting was very interesting. How to put the introduction, body, and conclusion together in different genres and patterns was very informative. To begin the chapter, the memo about the Challenger Space shuttle provided an example of a distinct introduction, body, and conclusion that broadcasted all information needed to make a decision. I actually attended a lecture at Purdue that was held by a NASA engineer. The engineer actually brought this memo up but never presented it.

In Chapter 15 “Starting Your Career”, many subjects were discussed that would help with the first step in finding a job. Some of these steps included writing a resume, making a cover letter, and starting a portfolio. When reading the chapter I found mostly everything in it very relevant. The thing I found very interesting was the diagram in trying to find a job (The Job Searching Cycle). I thought that the Job Searching Cycle was a perfect way in finding a job. In my personal experience I have found that Personal Networking was the best way in finding a job.

While reading Chapter 3: Readers and Contexts of Use, I found the main points and descriptions very interesting. It seems that before writing a technical document, knowing the reader and profiling them into categories will always help the document to be successful. The systematic approach to profiling a reader will help the document to be understandable and flow smoothly. In following the guidelines listed in the reading about profiling a reader, the different types of readers could be analyzed and mastered.