Wednesday, September 16, 2009

Writing & Typing (Part 3)

Have you ever been asked how many "words per minute" (WPM) you can type? Do you know the answer to that? Here's a website that can tell you!

Visit this link (http://www.typingtest.com/). Once there, you can select what time period you'd like (1, 2, or 3 minutes) and what you'd like to type. (The topic "Astronauts" will be listed first, but you can click that to see a list of other choices, including "Aesop's fables," "Rules of Baseball," or even "Today's Travel Headlines" from the NY Times.)

Once you've completed the timed task, see what your results are in the "Net Speed (WPM)" section. Then come back here, let us know what time period you selected, what topic you picked, and what your overall words per minute rate was. Don't worry - it's not a contest and if you don't have a high WPM, that's ok!

Tuesday, September 15, 2009

Writing & Typing (Part 2)

When you type, your spacing is important. Without proper spacing, it can be hard for the reader to follow your thoughts and understand your breaks & pauses.

Please visit this site (http://www.geocities.com/clefevre.geo/rules.html) for more information about correct spacing when typing. Of everything listed there, I think the first two items are the most important (and also the ones that you'll need to use the most often).

* All sentences begin with capital letters. Type one space after each word, and after commas and semicolons.

* Type two spaces after each end of sentence punctuation mark (periods, question marks, exclamation points). Type two spaces after colons.

Read over the rest of those typing rules. Then tell me the answers to the following questions. First, did you know about those 2 rules listed above? Secondly, which of those other rules listed on that site did you find interesting?

Monday, September 14, 2009

Writing & Typing (Part 1)

This week, our blog topics will focus on typing. Are you asking "why" we're going to do that? Well, almost everyone will need to type at some point, whether it's for a job or just for playing around on the Internet. Being a fluent typer will make this much easier (and enjoyable) for you!

Knowing how to "touch type" will help you get done typing your words, sentences, paragraphs, and essays faster than being a "hunt and peck" or a "search and peck" typer. But what's the difference? A "touch typer" can type most words without having to look at the keyboard. Instead, that person can focus on the screen. A person who does "hunt and peck" is looking at the keyboard, searching for each particular letter, and typically doing this for every single letter needed in each word. Sometimes this is referred to as being a "two finger typer."

Believe it or not, it's not super hard to learn how to become a touch typer. The most important part, though, is practice, practice, and even more practice!

I'd like you to visit this website: http://www.sense-lang.org/typing/. Look over the tips for success that they give. Then come back to this site, let me know whether you are a "touch typer" or a person who does the "hunt and peck" method. Lastly, tell what tip you found to be the most important!

Thursday, September 10, 2009

Letter Writing (Part 6)

The last 5 blog topics have all given you links to different things covered at The Letter Writing Guide site. However, we focused only on a few things: apologies, requesting recommendations, letters of interest, interview thank you notes, and resignations.

Now it's your turn to visit the site and pick something that this blog did not focus on yet! Maybe you want to focus on how to write letters of appeal or maybe even love letters. Please visit The Letter Writing Guide and scroll through all of the various topics there. Pick one that this blog didn't cover, read through the material, and then come back here to tell us what you picked and what you learned about it!

Wednesday, September 9, 2009

Letter Writing (Part 5)

Well, you wrote a stellar letter of interest that then got you an interview. You followed-up after the interview by sending a thank you letter. What if you get the job? If you're currently employed, you'll need to let your employer know that you're leaving. But how do you write a letter of resignation that's well done?

Check out The Letter Writing Guide for help with this!

http://www.letterwritingguide.com/resignation.htm

Read over what's there and then view the sample letter at the bottom. What did you find to be the most interesting of what was presented about the letter of resignation? Do you think you could write one if you had to do so?

(Remember that you can share any of these blog topics with your family and friends if they're in need of letter writing information!)

Tuesday, September 8, 2009

Letter Writing (Part 4)

Ok, so let's say that you wrote a great letter of interest and got called for an interview. First of all, give yourself a pat on the back for that! Next, think about how you're going to make another good impression. You may think that your part is over and all you can do is wait. But that would be wrong! Take the time to write a thank you letter after your interview is complete!

Want to know more about what goes in to a good thank you letter? Visit "The Letter Writing Guide" site below.

http://www.letterwritingguide.com/thankyouletters.htm

Once you've read over the things there, be sure to review the sample thank you letter at the bottom. After that, come back to the blog & tell us what you found most important!

Monday, September 7, 2009

Letter Writing (Part 3)

There's so much to love about the letter writing site that we've been exploring (http://www.letterwritingguide.com/). Let's continue this week with a few types of letters that can help you (or someone you know) in the employment arena.

Have you ever heard of a "letter of interest" when it comes to seeking out a particular job? This can serve as your first opportunity to make yourself stand out in a good way!

Check out this site: http://www.letterwritingguide.com/interest.htm. Be sure to carefully read through the information there, including the 5 tips they give you. Then use the link at the bottom to see a sample letter of interest.

After looking over both items, come back to this blog & tell me what you felt was the most important thing that you learned about a letter of interest.

Tuesday, September 1, 2009

Letter Writing (Part 2)

This letter writing site (http://www.letterwritingguide.com/) has some great resources, so let's continue our exploration of different types of letters.

Many times, you may want (or need) a letter of recommendation. This could be to help you out in the search for new (or better) employment, to start or grow a personal business, to include with a school application, or just to put in your own personal file for future reference.

Check out this link (http://www.letterwritingguide.com/requestingrecommendation.htm). Once you've read through what's there, be sure to click the link at the bottom to look at a sample letter of recommendation.

What did you find to be most important? Have you ever had to ask for a letter of recommendation? If so, from whom did you request it? If not, do you ever see yourself having to ask for one in the future?