Everything English

If you need to create a curriculum vitae (which can also be called a “cv”) you basically need to make a more in-depth version of a resume. The term “curriculum vitae” is Latin and it literally means “course of life”- people who ask to see your curriculum vitae want to see what you’ve accomplished in your life! In comparison to a resume, the curriculum vitae is generally longer, as you want to include more information besides your work and educational background. All the resume information should be there- contact information, schools attended, past jobs, etc. For academic curriculum vitae, you should include papers you have presented or published, professional memberships, other languages that you speak/read/write, and any awards or honors you have earned. For professional curriculum vitae, you would also want to include special projects you’ve worked on or managed. Be as specific as possible; that way, your reader can get to know your “course of life”!

When it comes to writing papers, it is important to always consider your audience. You may have even heard your teachers say this! What exactly do we mean by “audience”? Well, your audience is basically anyone who is reading your paper. If you send your paper to your teacher, then your teacher is your “audience.” You should consider your audience when writing your paper because it can help you make a stronger argument. For example, if you need to write about a certain novel, you need to ask yourself (or ask your teacher): does my audience know the plot of this book? Yes or no, this will affect how you write your paper. Know and understand who you are writing for; this will make the process easier on you!

Have you heard your teacher ever talk about the “thesis statement” of your paper? He or she is simply referring to the main point of your paper or the main argument: what are trying to say in your writing? Remember that many of your writing assignments might require you to argue something and then support your argument with evidence. For example, if your assignment is to write about dogs, your thesis or argument could be: “everyone in the world should own a dog.” OR, it might be “Dogs are dangerous, and no one should own them as pets.” In these two examples, you can argue one side and then use the rest of the paper to support your claim. This is much stronger than simply writing about dogs in general.