Category: Weekly Writing Assignments

Find information below for this week’s Weekly Writing Assignment, homework for the Job Application Portfolio project, and a list of useful links and troubleshooting information (for the Weekly Writing Assignment).

For this week’s Weekly Writing Assignment, go to LinkedIn Learning via the NYPL, login, and search for “Learning LinkedIn for Students.” This is a 1hr 38min course. Watch all of it or as much as you have the time to, and write a 250-word minimum memo summarizing in your own words what you took away from the course (e.g., how to create a profile, why a profile is useful, what kinds of information to include, how does LinkedIn work, etc.). Write your memo in your word processor of choice and copy-and-paste it into a comment made to this post (click the title, scroll down to the comment box, copy-and-paste into the box, and click “Post Comment”). A memo mode is included below:

TO: Prof. Ellis
FROM: Your Name
DATE: 10/6/2021 (the date it is due)
SUBJECT: Highlights from Learning LinkedIn for Students

Begin your 250 words with a sentence stating the purpose of the memo (e.g., This memo summarizes important points from the Learning LinkedIn for Students course). Then, follow with the points that you want to make based on your notes made while watching the video.

For this week’s homework, write a draft of your job application letter (i.e., cover letter) using the sample linked below and those in Anderson chapter 2 as models. Save this for our peer review work next week. Also, create a profile on LinkedIn.com. Use your personal job search database document for the information that you add to your profile. If you already have a profile, update it with information from your personal job search database document. We will also use your LinkedIn Profile during peer review next week. Watch the Week 5 lecture for more information!

Use the files and links below (and discussed in this week’s lecture) to help you with the Weekly Writing Assignment and this week’s homework. Also, pay attention to the troubleshooting section below for anyone having trouble accessing LinkedIn Learning via the NYPL.

Sample Job Application Letter

Job Search

• LinkedIn.com
• Monster.com
• Indeed.com

Business Research

• City Tech Library | Business Databases (Business Collection, Business Complete, LexisNexis)
• The New York Times (this link takes you to the signup for a free digital subscription with search)
• Glassdoor.com (job ad site with salary and other information about businesses)

Cover Letters

• Purdue OWL Job Search Letters (use the navigation menu on the left, has samples)
• James Madison University | Cover Letters and Letters of Inquiry
• The New York Times | How to Write a Cover Letter People Will Actually Read

LinkedIn

• LinkedIn Profile Checklist

Troubleshooting

NB: Some students have reported problems accessing LinkedIn Learning with a digital NYPL card. Please use the following links to accomplish the Week 3 and Week 4 Weekly Writing Tasks:

For the Week 3 Weekly Writing Assignment, you can explore the course topics of LinkedIn Learning here:

https://www.linkedin.com/learning/browse?upsellOrderOrigin=default_guest_learning&trk=homepage-learning_hero_subjects-link

For the Week 4 Weekly Writing Assignment, you can catch a preview of the “Learning LinkedIn for Students” here without needing to login:

https://www.linkedin.com/learning/learning-linkedin-for-students-2021/tap-into-the-power-of-linkedin-8352093?autoplay=true&trk=course_preview&upsellOrderOrigin=default_guest_learning

Remember to watch this week’s lecture in its entirety before proceeding with this week’s Weekly Writing Assignment and homework.

The first part of this post describes the Weekly Writing Assignment, and the second part describes this week’s homework for the current Job Application Portfolio project.

This week’s Weekly Writing Assignment will introduce you to a public and free resource of great value to you–LinkedIn Learning via the New York Public Library.

First, sign up for a NYPL Library Card and pin number if you don’t already have one. A NYPL card is free.

Next, access LinkedIn Learning via the link provided on this page in the NYPL Online Catalog. Login to LinkedIn Learning using your NYPL Library Card number and pin. After selected areas of interest, click continue to proceed into LinkedIn Learning.

Then, use the Browse and Search features of LinkedIn Learning to explore what kinds of training courses are available to you. With your NYPL Card, these training courses are all free. Watch some of the videos and try out some of the course features, such as videos and transcripts.

Finally, write a memo using the format below of approximately 250 words in length that describes what you found in your explorations of LinkedIn Learning. Are there specific courses that interested you? What are their titles? Which videos did you watch? Be specific with titles and the names of the course leaders. Copy-and-paste your memo into a comment made to this Weekly Writing Assignment post (to find the comment box, click on the title of this post–Weekly Writing Assignment, Week 3–scroll down to the comment box, copy-and-paste your memo, and click “Post Comment.”).

TO: Prof. Ellis
FROM: [Your name]
DATE: 9/29/2021
SUBJECT: Exploring LinkedIn Learning

Write one sentence in your own words describing the purpose of the memo (what you discovered in LinkedIn Learning). Then, use the remaining sentences to describe how and what you found in your exploration of LinkedIn Learning.

For this week’s homework, you should create a skills resume and an experience resume. Use the following samples and templates to help you begin (remember to hide table borders in your documents that you create–Google how to do this based on the word processing software/service that you use). The other resources below will help you with the language that you use in your resume. Save your resumes for peer review during the week after next. Next week, we will work on the job application letter and your LinkedIn Profile.

Sample Resume Documents

Resume Resources

• Purdue OWL Resumes and Vitas (use the navigation menu on the left, has samples)
• Georgia Tech | Women in Engineering | Sample Resumes and Cover Letters
• University of Maryland | Resume Tips (with samples and list of action verbs)
• David McMurrey’s Online Technical Writing | Resume Samples
• TheMuse.com | 250+ Skills for Your Resume
• List of Action Verbs for Resumes and Professional Profiles (pdf)

After watching this week’s lecture attentively and taking notes, proceed with the following Weekly Writing Assignment and additional homework that is due by our next lecture on Sept. 22 (see the schedule on the syllabus linked to the left for details).

For this week’s Weekly Writing Assignment, you are tasked with learning more about the jobs available in your field (e.g., Technical Writing, Computer Engineer, IT Professional, etc.–you should only investigate jobs relevant to the career that your degree is preparing you for).

Use monster.com to research what jobs are available in your field. Carefully read and take notes on the jobs that you find, including job titles, location, name of company, terminology used in the listing, required qualifications, work experience, and education, pay/benefits, and any other notable patterns that you observe.

TO: Prof. Ellis
FROM: Your name
DATE: 9/22/2021
SUBJECT: Job Research

Write one sentence about the purpose of the memo (e.g., "This memo describes what I learned while researching technical writing jobs on Monster.com.").

Write complete sentences in paragraph form about what you learned about the job listings. All of this should be in your own words. 

Your memo should be at least 250 words. That's the minimum for this assignment. More is certainly welcome as the more you write will help improve your writing skills.

After you’ve completed your memo, copy-and-paste it into a comment made to this post (click on the title of this post, “Weekly Writing Assignment, Week 2,” and then scroll down to the comment area–make sure that you are logged into OpenLab!). After you’ve pasted your writing, click on “Post Comment” to add your comment.

Also, you need to complete the following homework before Sept. 22. Complete the reading on the syllabus for Week 1 and Week 2, and create another document that you will save to use for our next class when we focus on the deliverables (i.e., documents) of Project 1: Job Search Portfolio. This document can be a list with headings identifying the different kinds of information:

• Create a new document that you will use as your personal job search database. 
• List all of your educational, work, volunteer, certifications, and other experiences.
• List your skills and abilities with details.
• List your language skills.
• List any awards and recognitions.
• References (name, title, address, phone number, email address).
• The more information that you can include, the better!
• Be prepared to use this document when we return on Sept. 22.

You can also use this site that I built for all City Tech students called Job Search Advice and its video, sample documents, and links to learn more about the job application process.

After watching this week’s lecture (embedded in the post above) and reading this article on best practices for emailing professors, complete your first Weekly Writing Assignment by sending an email of introduction from your official City Tech email account to Prof. Ellis at jellis@citytech.cuny.edu according to the following parameters:

• Send an email to Prof. Ellis at jellis@citytech.cuny.edu from your City Tech email account.
• Subject line: ENG1133 OL96 Student Introduction
• Salutation
• Body: Tell me about yourself, your major, career goals, hobbies, and what you want to get out of our class.
• Closing: Sign with your name or how
  you would like me to refer to you.
• If you need to reset your City Tech email password, go to forgot.citytech.cuny.edu.
• And, don’t forget to signup for your free subscription to The New York Times here using your City Tech email address.