Teaching the writing process: writing for interviews

Teaching the writing process: writing for interviews

Thursday, February 12, 2009 at 11:00AM .by: Francine Falk-Ross, Pace University

Francine Falk-Ross is an Associate Professor in the School of Education at Pace University and a co-director of the Literacy Education Department at the Westchester campus. She teaches courses in reading and writing methods to preservice and practicing teachers at the undergraduate and graduate levels. Her articles have appeared in several journals, including Research in the Teaching of English, Language Arts, and Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy. Dr. Falk-Ross has research interests are in the areas of content area literacy and media literacy, and she works closely with teachers in school-university partnerships in several states. In this post, Dr. Falk-Ross discusses using the job cover letter as a writing prompt. Because students are motivated to create good interview letters, they rapidly assimilate good writing practices.

Taking Steps Toward Writing for Interviews

About this time of the year, students are busy thinking about summer jobs and college interviews. Whether the end outcome is to land a position as a tutoring volunteer, a summer class, a camp counselor, or an undergraduate placement, a written essay is usually required. In these cases, many students become nervous and tentative in their writing due to the many elements and purposes they are trying to combine into one formal narrative. For example, the writing needs to include persuasion to tip the scale in the student’s direction, individualism to create an interest in meeting or including the student, academics to indicate specific qualifications, and organization to show clarity of mind and responsibility for work. In many instances, the job of creating the essay feels so overwhelming that it is pushed aside until the very last moment. The situation calls for a series of activities that mirror those of the general writing process with slight differences. In order to connect with what the student already knows about writing and to achieve a high level of personal engagement by the writer, it should be approached through transitional small steps in writing that will end in an effective essay or application letter, providing a clear profile of the student’s qualifications and strengths!

Step One: Talk It Out!

Since our creative language extends from the language in our minds to expressive forms of literacy, talking to a friend, a parent, a tape recorder, or just out loud will start the process. This first response will serve as a form of brainstorming that appropriately provides content for the letter that needs to be written! This talking action optimally precedes writing down content or procedural notes, but the notes can come first if the student chooses to do so. Some good questions that the writer might want to address in his or her talking might include:

· What is the intended effect that you want from the letter? That is, what reaction do you want the reader to have after reading it? What action would this letter cause the reader to take?

· What past experiences of yours should the reader know about? That is, what do you bring to this job that would be beneficial to the participants? What special talents or knowledge can you contribute?

· What personality traits would make you especially helpful in this job? That is, do you have a determined attitude? Are you positive in your approach to work and collaborative in your interactions?

The important part is that the true heart of the message is usually shared at this time, and the written word follows those same important themes.

Step Two: Write a Letter!

Writing a letter to a real or imagined friend is an informal beginning to writing, and yet it fulfills the same purpose. For this first writing draft, the student needs to organize it in sections.... a little about the student’s big ideas, a little about his in-school and out-of-school background (e.g., what he does well in each), a little about why she feels she is suited to the specific position or placement, and a little about what he or she plans to achieve by participating in this position. For most students, this transition to writing is rather fun, mostly because students are constantly writing to each other or to companies via email and online communication web logs. The academic nature of the topic can be woven into the familiar genre of letterwriting, and the heart of the message is now transformed into a series of narrative statements.

Step Three: Step It Up!

The next transitions toward an effective letter will require the student to focus clearly and critically on the context in which this letter will be received. In order to step up the quality of the message, the student needs help to identify the true audience and change the language a bit....change a few words such as things or simple words to more specific language. This is the time, or step, during which the appropriate terminology must be included and specific examples must be added. If a letter for a job is being developed, examples of prior related experiences need to be listed. If an application for classes is the proposed outcome, then required qualifications must be referenced and persuasive arguments posited. If the student’s voice is not evident at this point, the language of the letter needs to become stronger and more personal, building to a persuasive argument. Decisions about students' readiness for a job or placement are often made after considering a combination of elements put forth in a letter of application: academic qualifications, personal attributes, and individual determination. A strong suggestion at this time would be to have someone else read through the letter or essay. Parents, teachers, and friends can offer important feedback for the student to consider.

Step Four: Clean It Up!

Following the substantive revisions to wording and grammar, this next step will be focused on reviewing and editing the essay. The overall organization must be checked (i.e., are all the common arguments in the same paragraph), and a careful eye for punctuation and spellings is necessary because this will count! In the process of writing, editing is usually suggested as the last step so as not to slow down the creative juices of students' thinking. The importance of this last step, however, cannot be underestimated. Readers are distracted by editing errors and make judgments about the essay based on the accuracy of the spelling. The subtle effect of punctuation such as exclamation marks sends a message to the reader about the writer. In fact, most writers, due to their multiple re-readings and familiarity with the material, overlook their own spelling and grammar errors! An outside reader is again suggested at this step for feedback!

Step Five: Make It Real!

This is the last chance to review the paper and prepare to send it out to a person or agency, or to upload it to a website. If the destination is through regular mail, then the selection of paper, the quality of the printed word, and the margins will be important. If the destination is a website, then the nature of spacing will be an extra consideration since some formatting does not transfer to online sites in the exact forms in which it was printed. If possible, try a practice few sentences to anticipate any alignment deviations. In all cases, the final look will need to meet personal preferences and professional requirements. Students need to check one last time that the essay meets the specifications listed in the directions!

Encouraging and supporting students in their efforts to write well as they represent themselves for professional purposes is an important endeavor, and often, students return to schools to thank their teachers! These are authentic tasks that are so needed in our schools.