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Instructions On Writing Good Advertising Content

brian — Mon, 14 Jun 2010 15:17:29 +0000

Catching the attention of a potential customer from an ad in a magazine can be a complex matter, most people only thumb threw the ads and rarely read every line. To write a good advertisement you first must take all of this into account. You will want to write in a form that is free flowing and easy to understand. Each line of the advertisement should present some central theme and have a message that is effective. Not just the logical parts should be included, though, a spark of imagination and even some comical sides can be added to pull the attention of the reader.

One pitfall that most writers have is they want to include all information they can in a small space. This is a bad thing to do. You only want to relay the message and get your idea or product out. Another great idea is to keep the products in areas of the ad that is relevant, this is the main part. If you scatter things in areas that do not make logical sense you will loose the customers attention or even a customer in all. It is not unheard of for a reader to skip lines and read the advertisement from bottom to top. Don’t get scared when dealing with this issue, your focus should be on the advertisement and making sure it fits in. Using words that sell is one method of good advertising, however you want the main structure to contain a heading, a main body, and a conclusion. Technical advertisements should not be so technical that you need a degree to read it. Any Subheadings should be either in Bold or Italic fonts with all subheadings discussed below. Any other subheadings that are included should also be discussed. Not just mentioned or grazed over.

If you are a type of writer that enjoys having stories included, this can also be worked out as long as it is relevant to the material that you are publishing. This will include a ending dealing with the item in question. This type of writing is called Chunking. This type is more effective when dealing with ads that have pictures. Let’s say you have a picture of a person frowning and your ad is about a depression medicine? Then you could add a good story to the picture that will help illustrate the condition. Another factor to think about is if this ad is for a company then it should be a formal ad rather then have any chunking. Formal layouts are much simpler, however, you will want to stay professional.

One thing that all clients will look for is mistakes in typing, this includes grammar, miss print, and miss spelling. You will want to reduce this as much as you can, if you don’t then you will have some very angry customers and potentially loose work or clients. All material covered in your add should convey the same message and reflect facts. You do not want to state things that are false or known to be untrue in an add, this also includes information that can be seen as scrupulous as it will suggest one kind of company is something that it is not. This is a major problem because of laws that can come back on the writer. The easiest of all types of adds are found in catalogs, this is because most companies cannot afford any other kinds of adds. These adds should be simple, to the point, and mainly just the product information and prices.

Creating a list of contacts that sell merchandise can also be of importance, this list does not need to be lengthy it just needs to have basic information. No one likes to read a long list of distributors. All contact information used for these places should be printed clearly and easy to read. Any names, numbers, e-mails, and address information should be in bold lettering. Placing information on what kind of payments are accepted is also ok, this will help the consumer to choose the right distributor for them. Saving all of this information can be a key for a lot of customers, so creating an add with this kind of information can also be useful.

Once everything is finished you will want to have everything placed in specific places to optimize use. This also means that you will have to fallow any specific guidelines linked to the other adds that will go in the magazine or catalog. Structure is important, this is what allows the person reading it to find what they need in a specific section.

Keeping with the structure and any kinds of procedures that are in place at all times for your company and or types of adds. You can also maintain a smaller list of type articles that have a good report with clients. This can also help gain new clients of like minds.

Discover Kevin Sinclair’s system for making profits regardless of whether anyone joins your network marketing business.

Image taken on 2009-03-27 17:46:49. Image Source. (Used with permission)

How to Write a Resume

brian — Sun, 13 Jun 2010 10:26:17 +0000

Presentation

Jobseekers should be mindful of the fact that employers only scan CVs/resumes for about 30 seconds so your document has to be well prepared. If you want your CV/resume printed, then use a laser printer on quality conqueror paper. Never despatch photocopied CVs/resumes.

Number of Pages

This depends on your experience. A single page is fine for jobseekers with little or nor work experience. If you have an established work record, two pages is usually adequate in which to elaborate on relevant skills, experience and qualifications. On occasions you may use three pages to add additional remits. This applies to senior managers and senior technical personnel who wish to elaborate on track records of achievements; or details of scientific or technical journals.

CV/Resume Layout

Format your document in a manner that avoids clutter. Use consistent font styles and font sizes. Times Roman and Arial are the standard styles. Font size 12 is sufficient for headings and 10 is adequate for the body of the document.

Check Spelling

People sometimes give their CV/resume a thought when writing them but forget to ensure both spelling and grammar are correct. It is therefore very important to check your work, even if you are confident of your spelling and grammar, typographical error can and do occur. A good editing software like Microsoft Word can easily correct both spelling and grammatical construction.

Leave Out Unnecessary Information

Because employers typically scan CVs/resumes in mere seconds, they only want to see information that are relevant and pertinent to the prescribed job. Anything else will likely annoy the reader and lessen your chances for interview. It is therefore important to first analyse your skills and experience along with your qualifications, then compare them with the job description before even attempting to write your CV/resume.

Structure Your CV Correctly

Again, because employers are busy and only give CVs/resumes cursory examination, you should present your most relevant information at the top of the CV/resume to catch the attention of the reader. People with limited or no work experience, such as graduates, should elaborate on their degree course, highlighting important modules and details of projects undertaken. Again, these should be elaborated at the top of the document.

Include Your Profile

remember to include a profile summary at the top or near the top of your first page, summarising important relevant skills, experience and achievements.

Dealing with Career Gaps

Big gaps draw attention so always provide information to account to fill them. If the true reason is one which you feel is not ideal, such as extensive period of unemployment, turn the situation creatively by mentioning any voluntary work you might have undertaken during that period at your local sports club, for example.

Professional CV writing services offers free blank resume forms for download.

Image taken on 2006-02-09 08:34:04. Image Source. (Used with permission)

How to Write Good Thesis or Dissertation and Download Sample Thesis

brian — Sat, 12 Jun 2010 10:27:18 +0000

Submission of thesis or dissertation or any project work is required to be done by the students of M.Phil, MBA & Phd Courses in completion of course and to obtain a degree. There are so many other courses like MCA and M.Sc. which also demand the preparation and submission of thesis or dissertation or any project work.

The words like thesis, dissertation or the project work are not the similar but for the time being will be written as “Thesis” hereafter in this article. But will mean for all the words like thesis or dissertation or project work.

If you want to get good marks and make an impressive thesis then you should follow these instructions carefully. These instructions will lead you to make and submit an impressive thesis in a logical form.

Which type of thesis will be prepared depends upon the subject and the topic chosen by the student of the scholar. Preparation of thesis becomes difficult in case of those topics where the collection of the data is required but there is lack of sources to collect the data.

But there are so many common characteristics which should be there in each type of thesis or dissertation and does not matter what is the subject and what is topic.

Sections, Parts and Chapters

Each thesis must be divided in the sections or the parts and chapters inside for the convenience of the readers and to give it a logical touch and make it impressive. Generally a thesis must be divided in at least 3 parts.

Section – 1

Every section of the part of the thesis contains several chapters. This part of the thesis should contain the following chapters in it

Chapter – 1 – Introduction

This chapter of part 1 contains the introduction about the topic you choose. For example if your topic is “Effect of Inflation in the life of General Public in area… “. Then in this section you will the give the intro about the meaning of inflation and the meaning of life style, habits, earning of money and the causes of inflation etc. the demerits of inflation etc. can also be written in this section. DO NOT insert the information about the area, scope and the limitations of your study and leave if for the next chapters.

Chapter – 2 – Objective or Need of the Study

This chapter will be dedicated to the objective of your study. What is the need and why this study is being made or for which purpose this research is being done should be described in detail in this chapter.This is the crucial chapter of your study and the objectives do not come to the mind easily. Let us explain some of the common objectives which may fit easily in almost every type of thesis and study:

1. A specific problem which needs a solution.

2. No previous study has been made.

3. Study was made but very much time has passed & changes have occurred and it needs a fresh study now.

4. It will lead to the common welfare of the general public or may be helpful for the government agencies for the improvements and the developments for the country.

5. To find out the reasons or the causes why fact(s) about anything were accepted or rejected at a point of time previously or are being accepted or rejected currently.

There may be many other objectives for your study this was just to ignite your minds.

Chapter – 3 - Scope and limitations of this study

This chapter will describe the scope of the study and the limitation which it has. Scope may be further sub divided into the following parts for example:

Regarding Respondents (Their age, caste, only to male or female etc.)

Regarding Area

Regarding brand/product etc.

If we talk about the limitations then the limitations of the study may be due to the time availability and the cost etc.

Chapter – 4 – Review of the literature

If there is any research done or the study was made previously then that data will be useful for the current study. In this chapter you will describe what kind of literature was available and reviewed by you while making or initializing the study. So many books, articles and the other study material can be described in this chapter which was ready by you as the literature. Study of the literature will guide you about the extent of the work which has been done and which is pending to do.

Chapter – 5 – Methodology of the research

Researches are of many types i.e. descriptive, applied & exploratory etc. which kind of research it is and what kind of methodology has been used will be described in this chapter. With the end of this chapter, section -1 of the report also ends. You may have more than 5 chapters and can provide these suitable names, depending upon the type of research but these 5 chapters must be there in any type of research.

Section – 2

As the section -1 was introductory & was providing information about the objective, scope and the methodology of the research, the section – 2 is the main part of the research report. It also contains the different chapters.

Now there are the variations regarding the chapters & their names in this section. There are the different types of researches and different types of workings are required. You may add the following chapters in this section

Chapter – 1 – Data Analysis & Interpretation

Chapter – 2 – Case Studies

Chapter – 3 – Processing data with hypothesis for acceptance and rejection.

As it’s a common problem among the scholars that they do not know how to use the statistical tools to analyse the data so most of them just try to mould the data to prove those facts which are almost known. So you are required not to do and are expecting to make genuine only.

Further, there is a whim among the students who do not know the meaning of hypothesis and assume that the formulation & the existence of hypothesis is a necessary part. So there is an advice for those that if you are not sure that which kind of hypothesis should be there in your report then please do not choose.

Formulation of a hypothesis is not necessary to complete a research report. Each and every report needs not to contain a hypothesis.

Section – 3

This is the last point of research report and contains the following chapters in it.

Chapter – 1 – Summary, Major Findings & Suggestions

This chapter will describe in short, what did you do & found while making the study. You will insert a conclusion at this point. What according to you is the result of your study can be shown in this part. Making a sub part for the major findings you may tell the readers about those things which were unnoticed or has been changed or are new as compare to the old ones. The major findings will be written in the technical language and must be included in this chapter by making a sub part.

Chapter – 2 – Suggestions & Contribution by the study.

You might have found some of the good and the new things which according to you might be improved with the help of the suggestions. Suggestions must be in the non technical manners so that the layman can also understand it.

Contribution of the study towards the progress or to the existing literature can be shown in this chapter by making a sub chapter.

The whole section – 3 should be finished by adding a chapter namely “Scope for the further study.”

Chapter – 3 – Scope for the further study

In this chapter you may describe what were the limitations & the scope of your study and how an enhanced study can be made. For example you may describe in which area the study was made and how the study can be made in the other areas too.

Bibliography – It’s that part of the research report in which you will write the names of those sources which were used during the process of preparation of report & completion of the projects. It will include the names of the books, articles, newspapers and magazines which you used and gone through during the process of your research. The names of websites can also be mentioned here.

Appendix – This must be the last part of the research repot & will include the format & the types of the documents & forms which were used for the collection of the data or some information while making study e.g. questionnaire etc.

For making a wonderful thesis a sample thesis or an example of a thesis can work fairly well.

Sometimes, it is very hard to find out the sample thesis or dissertation of the subject on which you want to prepare your own thesis or dissertation. In that case, you can download the sample thesis or dissertation of the other subject. Because a sample thesis or dissertation which is although not of your subject can provide you basic information about making a thesis or dissertation like:

Parts of a thesis or dissertation Language to be used. Grammar Length of a thesis or dissertation. How to compose a thesis or dissertation etc.

There are so many websites which are providing a complete thesis guidance packages these days which also includes a sample thesis. These types of complete thesis guidance packages contain a lot of information about making a good thesis or dissertation. You may visit any trustworthy website to download such kind of complete thesis guidance package. However I like www.thesisplus.com personally because this website is an old one and is having thousands of visitors monthly and there are a great no. of downloads of its thesis guidance packages. These kinds of thesis packages are too much helpful if you are new in this field. Because those packages contain a sample thesis, a lot of tips, information about common mistakes you can make and a lot of other stuff etc.

Now, you have a sample thesis, it does not matter whether you have a sample thesis or dissertation of your subject or of any other subject. Your work is half done, because you have already a ready format and you need to enter only the collected information in the ready made chapters of a sample thesis. When you read a sample thesis or dissertation then you come to know how you can prepare your own thesis or dissertation. It will not only guide you but will also answer your lot of questions that you can not ask from your supervisor again and again. It will help in making a strong and impressive thesis or dissertation.

Thanks!

Image taken on 2009-11-12 23:51:06. Image Source. (Used with permission)

Writing High Impact Resumes

brian — Fri, 11 Jun 2010 10:26:51 +0000

In today’s job market, the résumé – a document that provides an overview of your experience, education and skill set – is the number one request of potential employers.

Research has shown that job seekers without a top-quality résumé face long and difficult job searches, while those with polished, professionally written résumés multiply their chances of obtaining their desired positions. In the highly competitive job market, human resources managers and recruiting professionals are inundated with hundreds of résumés for a single position. Résumé Solutions research has determined that on average, an employer spends 10-30 seconds reviewing a résumé before determining whether it warrants further consideration. In such a competitive landscape it is critical that job seekers make a good first impression as a viable candidate by submitting a high impact résumé that cuts through the noise and shows your value to each employer.

As a job seeker, your résumé and cover letter must convince a recruiter that you are the perfect candidate for the vacancy without overloading the document with irrelevant data. In order to attract attention in the job marketplace and distinguish yourself from the competition, your résumé needs to creatively highlight your work history, achievements, education and capabilities. Many new job applicants capture their career history in the Curriculum Vitae (CV) format. Unfortunately, the CV is only accepted for academic or research related positions and is too cumbersome for private sector jobs. Further, various components of the CV such as marital status, a photograph and other personal data is not relevant in the labour market and in fact may eliminate you as a potential candidate.

You résumé should answer the following questions:

What expertise do you offer a potential employer?
What added value you brought to your prior employers through measurable achievements?
What education qualifications and certifications do you bring?
What are you like to work with?
How do you write a high impact résumé?

Be relevant. Be concise. Be results specific. Be honest.

A résumé that generates results should be relevant to an employer’s needs, and emphasize the qualifications that are job, field or industry specific. To illustrate, if you are seeking a role as an Accountant but also possess experience in sales, it is advisable to focus primarily on your accounting knowledge rather than highlighting your sales talents. Another important consideration is to conduct comprehensive industry research prior to applying to jobs so that you are aware of the key job-specific requirements that employers are seeking.

To be effective, a résumé should be concise and to the point. It is critical that you do not prepare a résumé that consists of a laundry list of responsibilities for each job you have ever held or one which includes company jargon. In a document that is no longer than three pages (two is preferable), you need to convey to a prospective employer the contributions you made in each of your past roles. Do not use long-winded sentences or dated terminology. An example of what not to do: “Dear sirs, with your permission, herein is included my résumé and cover letter, in accordance with your request for someone of my esteemed talents which are in line with your organization’s long-term goals” Employers do not want to read long, cumbersome or jargon-laden sentences. Be specific and to the point.

To generate interest from a potential employer, you need demonstrate strategically your defining career moments and business and leadership successes, while outlining measurable results. Depending on your previous positions, this can be shown through examples of ways in which you have reduced costs, improved efficiency, solved problems or any other illustrations of how the organization benefited from your past performance. It is recommended that you include goals you overachieved such as delivering a project ahead of schedule and below budget, improving your staff performance or helping to retain key client accounts.

A high impact, effective résumé will:

Demonstrate how you will meet an employer’s needs
Convey the qualifications and abilities you offer for the job you want
Show results and your qualifications in action
Identify your career path
Be attractive to the reader through a professional format
Is concise and easy to read
Let the reader see your skills, knowledge and abilities
Be grammatically correct and spelling error free

As a Certified Professional Résumé Writer working with clients from diverse backgrounds and ability levels, my primary objective is to increase my client’s marketability by presenting their unique core competencies, personal talents, strengths and accomplishments in a way that engages the reader and compels them to invite my clients for an interview. However, it is critical that we are honest in the way we present our clients’ skills and as such, we never exaggerate their capabilitities and successes. You should ensure you do the same when writing your new résumé. At all times be honest and relevant with no exaggerations of any details. This may include job titles, education levels, accomplishments and abilities.
What is included in a professional résumé?

To be effective, it is critical that your résumé effectively links your qualifications to a specific job target. It should outline your career progression, education & training, technical and personal skills, languages spoken, professional affiliations, awards & recognition, and any community involvement.

A basic résumé layout should open with a profile or qualification summary. For examples of high impact professional summaries, you can review sample résumés at http://www.resumesolutions.ca. This profile while summarize who you are and what you have to offer to a potential employer. It should be tailored to the specific industry and job category you are seeking.

Many large and medium-size companies employ technology to gather, store and filter résumés, using keyword searches to identify qualified applicants. You can include industry keywords within the text of the summary, as a stand alone section, or incorporated throughout your résumé.

Typically, your next section should list your employment history in reverse chronological order – listing the most recent job first, followed by second most recent and so on. For each job, you should summarize your varying responsibilities and provide details on measurable results.

Your education follows the details of your employment history. When listing your education, ensure that the institution is clearly stated, the degree qualification is detailed and the year of graduation is included. Only degrees and diplomas from accredited institutes should be included. Your education section can also include any additional courses, certificates and professional development you have obtained.

Additional sections for your resume could include technical skills, affiliations and other job relevant data. Please note, you should not include religious or political affiliations and personal details such as date of birth, marital status, SIN numbers or a personal photograph.

Your success in securing high quality interviews and job offers is critically dependent on your effectiveness in conveying your qualifications and core expertise to potential employers. Before you begin to craft your résumé, I suggest that you take the time to develop an in-depth inventory of your hard and soft skills. Many job seekers find this process challenging, and for those of you having difficulty communicating your skills on paper, turning to a professional résumé writer may be the answer. Companies such as Résumé Solutions, whose Certified Professional Résumé Writers are members of Professional Association of Résumé Writers and Career Coaches and the Career Management Alliance, are pledged to uphold the highest standards of professionalism, writing quality and ethical behaviour when providing guidance to job seekers. As such, they can be an important partner in your job search strategy.

Surranna Sandy, a Certified Professional R

How To Find A Job Writing Grant Applications

brian — Thu, 10 Jun 2010 10:26:41 +0000

Do you have what it takes to land a job doing grant writing?
Many people are looking for ways to develop a freelance
business, but unless you know what it takes to do so, you might
as well stop trying. There are several fields in which you can
learn and have many jobs waiting for you. But, in others, you
will need to properly be prepared for them before they pass you
by. Here, we will talk a little about how to find jobs in grant
writing.

First, we would like to touch on what you need to do to get
those freelance grant writing jobs. You will need to provide
your future employment offers with samples of your work. If this
is your first assignment, you may need to create a few samples
to provide. In any case, you may also need quite a bit of
training in the areas in which you will write. For example, if
you plan to write on technical subjects you will need to know
about these as well as learning how to write.

Once you have the required knowledge, you can begin your search
for jobs. There are many businesses that use these specific
skills to help generate the money they need to fund the
business, research, or study they plan to do. In your
specialized area, like that of technical fields, you will need
to find businesses that do these things. You can find a wide
range of options available online to you in your field. In any
case, you will need to present yourself as a worthy candidate by
providing good skills and good work ethics. Job vacancies are
out there, in great numbers in certain fields. Employment with
them will be based on your skills and attitude.

Opportunities in your field are waiting for you to open their
door.

Visit http://www.FreelanceWritingResource.com for more Articles, Resources, News and Advice about Freelance Writing Jobs. Copyright

Seo Writing For Your Own Website

brian — Wed, 09 Jun 2010 10:26:56 +0000

Writing copy for your own website is a complex business. Not only do you have to write good copy to publicise your business and sell your services but, if you want your website to get seen, you have to understand a little about how the web works. SEO, Search Engine Optimization is the buzz word. Big businesses will pay for specialist SEO services, but what can small business owners do, if they are writing and building their own websites?

The first thing to look at, before you even start writing, is the choice of keywords. Keywords are the words that search engines pick up on, the words that people type in to the Google Search Bar. You can purchase programs that research keywords and rate their effectiveness and if your business is internet based with multiple websites it is an excellent investment. If however you have one small website and just want to do the best you can yourself, there is still a lot you can do in a low-tech way to improve your chances.

Think about your business. What words would someone type in if they were searching for the type of services or products you offer? If you are a specialist supplier or technical expert, catering to other knowledgeable clients, then the terms they are likely to type in to search might be quite technical and specific, but if your business serves the general public then you may need to exercise your imagination. Try it for yourself. Use a search bar to type in a few keywords that you think relate to your business and see what results you get. If the selection on the front page represents mainly businesses similar to yours then you are on the right track. If not, keep trying new words and combinations of words.

Spend plenty of time on this research. Have a look at what keywords your competition are using. What words recur in their titles and sub-headings, what search terms find them?

Try to get the balance right between too general a term and too narrow a phrase: eg typing in just ‘travel agents’ would produce such a huge mass of results that you are unlikely to feature on the front page ever. Typing in rather ‘travel agents San Diego’, would narrow it down to a geographical area, and typing in a specialist area as well, would again narrow down the search results. So look for your specialist areas and find a phrase that covers them, but one that people might realistically think of and be able to spell.

This is another area to consider. There are loads of misspelt words that make good search terms, just because people frequently spell them wrong when searching. So you could decide to misspell a word on your website on purpose to attract that traffic. This has to be offset against the detrimental effect of misspelt words to your professional image. Only you can decide that – it depends on your area of business and likely clientele.

Once you have found a few keywords that reflect your main areas of business, select two or three of the most relevant and start writing your home page copy. Your chosen keywords need to be used several times each, but you must be careful to use them in natural language. Resist the temptation to over-use them. Search Engines get suspicious if you pack in keywords in artificial language and will mark you down on it. Use the keywords in the first sentence and in the last sentence of each page and, when they fit naturally, about once in each paragraph. Use your prime keywords in headings in bold too. This adds to their impact, weighting the importance and relevance that the search engines give to them.

If your website is several pages long, choose different keywords according to the main subject of each page.

Search engines value content above all and content that is regularly updated will maximise your chances of being seen. Build a text space into your home page that you can update every week, with latest news, a new article or whatever is relevant to your business. Do remember that Search Engines are looking for relevant content, so splashing an article about travel when your business is in catering won’t help your ratings – choose to feature latest food trends rather.

After you have written up your copy with keywords in mind, read through it afresh. There is no point in perfect keyword research and placing, unless that copy also speaks to your potential clients. Your copy needs to appeal to humans as well as search engines!

Kit Heathcock writes and copyedits for a number of websites from Original Orange. She also contributes to luxury travel website Just the Planet and A Flower Gallery.

Image taken on 2009-09-07 13:06:04. Image Source. (Used with permission)

How to Write a Business Plan Tips You Need To Know When You Write a Business Plan

brian — Tue, 08 Jun 2010 10:27:32 +0000

A business plan is in essence a creative writing project. You want the business plan to be an interesting read, not a long boring discussion. You have to put on your marketing hat and make your company’s future sound exciting. How to write a business plan is a challenge for any entrepreneur. Here are a few tips to keep in mind.

Write your plan in a style that fits your industry and your management team.

The plan for a sports bar company would sound much different than a plan for a bank. Make your plan sound like you; put some of your personality and philosophy in the plan, so after reading the plan an investor or lender would feel as though he/she knows you.

Be enthusiastic.

When you talk to entrepreneurs about their company, they usually get so enthusiastic that they almost wear you out. Then you get their business plan and it reads like the operations manual that came with your VCR. The purpose of the plan is to create excitement in the minds of the investors, in other words to activate the area of their brains devoted to greed.

Avoid getting mired in technical jargon.

Internet companies, medical companies and computer companies all tend to dwell on minute details about their technology and don’t adequately develop the business reasons why they are going to make money for themselves and the investors.

A CD-ROM can’t replace a mind.

More and more entrepreneurs are relying on business plan writing software. These products are sometimes helpful in formatting the plan and creating the financial schedules, but they can’t formulate your strategies for you. The heart of the is explaining how you are going to sell more of your product or service than your competitors, and operate your business at high enough profit margins to generate a superior rate of return for investors.

The CD-ROM you might purchase has no idea how to do any of this. It’s spent nearly all of its life on a shelf, in a box.

A Solid Presentation Is Key

Does the plan include a title page with your company name, a person’s name and the address and phone numbers? Don’t just clip a business card to the front page, it could get separated.

Has your plan been proofed and spell checked? And by a real person, not just your word processor?

Did you check all abbreviations or acronyms to make sure the first time they’re used they’re explained, ie., World Wide Web (www)?

Have you gone through the plan to make sure all technical terms are explained?

Are the pages numbered?

Do the page numbers for the index match the actual page numbers?

Have you edited the plan to see what you can include in the Appendix rather than in the body of the business plan?

Has someone unfamiliar with your company read the plan and understood it?

Is your executive summary limited to no more than 3 pages?

Have you had someone unfamiliar with your company read just the executive summary and understand your company?

Are your margins at least one inch wide on each side, top and bottom?

Is your font size at least 11, preferably 12?

If you are using a word processing system which allows color graphics, have you changed the color graphics to grayscale for printing? Or will you be printing the business plan in color?

Have you checked to make sure you didn’t use too many fonts and font sizes?

Have you taken advantage of bullet points, shading, indents, and borders to add visual interest to your business plan? (Just don’t go overboard.)

Is the use of your page titles and headings consistent in format throughout the business plan?

You can print your business plan on both sides of the paper, just make sure it’s printed on quality paper so that the printing doesn’t bleed through to the other side.

If you are using duplicating or copying services to print your business plans, is the quality nearly perfect?

Do you know what should be included in your business plan? Go to Complimentary Business Plan Template

Dee Power has written several nonfiction books including “58 Ways to Find Money for Your Business, “Inside Secrets to Venture Capital” and “Attracting Capital From Angels,” Reach her through her website

Image taken on 2008-11-13 23:24:33. Image Source. (Used with permission)

Principal Requirements When Writing Reports

brian — Mon, 07 Jun 2010 10:26:41 +0000

Writing Successfully

Clear ideas, and the capacity to arrange your thoughts in a logical manner, are necessary to produce a well-constructed final document. Improve the layout and turn of phrase. Add some graphics to make it attention grabbing, refine the writing a bit, and you’re done.

Report Layout

Written reports are used for numerous purposes. From a simple sales visit report to a detailed business plan, a proposal or submission to get approval for a major item of capital expenditure, together with a variety of academic papers. There is a basic structure common to all reports, which may vary slightly, according to established practices in different organisations. It is this structure that is so often ignored.

1. Title : This is the first thing that catches the eye in a report. Conventionally, an individual page is dedicated to the title.

2. The Table of Contents : This must contain a list of the report sections / headings.

3. Abstract : Gives a brief synopsis, usually in less than 200 words, covering the dilemma or topics involved, how they have been dealt with, the results and their consequences to the business.

4. Introduction : Contains the purpose of the report, concisely outlining the outcome and actions to be taken.

5. The Main Body : This is generally composed of a number of sub-sections. The different elements of the narrative must be organised and arranged in a logical sequence, describing the research methods, results, analysis and conclusions drawn. Using headings and subheadings to make the report more attention grabbing and understandable. The audience can navigate to the subject or subdivision that specifically interests them, and thus absorb the information effectively. If the sections of your report are discrete, it may prove necessary to include some form of related narrative at the beginning of each section.

6. Conclusion and Recommendations : This section should discuss the significance of your findings, sum up the possible courses of action and outcomes. It should indicate any conclusions, with supporting justification. The probable influence of any alterations should also be included. Make your suggestions in a logical, considered and dispassionate manner, along with an explanation.

7. Appendices :Include technical details in this section, as it is likely to be only read by specialists. If a technical issue supports your argument, include it in the body of the report; otherwise, insert it in the appendices and make reference to it in the test.

Conclusion

Professional writing is an acquired skill. It has to be developed with persistence and determination. Taking into consideration how practical and important the ability of writing professionally can be, in the academic or business environment, it is worth making some effort to refine your writing aptitude. Crucially, the talent of thinking and writing in a logical manner is fundamental to the production of a successful report.

Alicia Taylor is a freelance researcher and writer specialising in consumer, finance and business subjects.

For further information and a definition of report writing see dictionary.co.uk, the People?s Dictionary which aims to track the change in the English language ? and allows you to to be part of it. Dictionary.co.uk is owned by ValueClick, one of the world`s largest online marketing firms.

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Top 5 Resume Writing Myths & Mistakes to Avoid

brian — Sun, 06 Jun 2010 10:27:14 +0000

Are you struggling to write your resume and promote yourself effectively in your job search? Here are five prevalent resume writing myths and mistakes to avoid that you must be aware of.

1) Myth: Resumes should be only one, or at the most, two pages.

In most cases, this is true. It is the rare reviewer of resumes who, when being completely honest, will tell you that he or she spends more than a few seconds in the first review of a resume. Unless your resume captures immediate attention through an eye-appealing design and succinct, compelling language, your resume will be screened out after just 15 seconds. With this reality in mind, imagine the thoughts of the reviewer when he or she receives a four- or five-page resume, with another 100 resumes waiting for review right behind it. Clearly, the odds of your resume capturing attention and being read increase when the length is limited to one or two pages.

Are there exceptions to this rule? Absolutely!

While it is true that with each additional page you reduce your chances of your resume being read thoroughly, for many executives, contract workers, consultants, and technical professionals it is unrealistic and nearly impossible to compress years of experience into one or two pages. When attempted, important achievements are left out to make room for a full chronology of the career history and education. What is left is a boring listing of companies, positions, and dates that are virtually guaranteed to turn off the reader and land your resume in the circular file.

A better strategy is to write your resume with exactly as much detail as is needed to persuasively convince the reader that you are the ideal candidate to solve his or her problems – to compel the reader to pick up the phone and call you for an interview. While this is sometimes a difficult balance to strike, you should edit your resume with a very discriminating eye toward reducing unnecessary wordiness. Every word in your resume should have a purpose. Items that can be presented as a list – continuing education courses, technical summaries, associations and memberships, etc. – can often be included in an addendum that may or may not be used as appropriate. Within the resume, use succinct, dynamic, action-oriented language to convey your ability to add value to the reader’s company and you will capture and hold attention through three or even more pages.

2) Myth: All resumes should include a clearly stated objective.

It is essential that your resume is audience-focused – it must succinctly communicate that you understand the employer’s needs and that you are uniquely qualified to meet those needs. While the use of an objective is a controversial issue, at its basis, an objective tells the reader what you want from him or her (focused on YOUR needs rather than the employers’). A popular and often more effective alternative to the objective, the qualifications summary, allows you to establish focus for the resume while summarizing the key qualifications and value you offer the employer. This is a subtle but critical difference – one that may weigh heavily in opening the door to an interview. While an objective is both appropriate and effective in some cases, for example, career changers or new graduates with little or no work experience in the targeted field, experiment with the qualifications summary as a strong alternative.

3) Myth: Resumes should thoroughly describe the responsibilities of each position.

The absolute most important element of your resume is your value proposition. Your unique ability to solve business problems, meet challenging goals, and produce desired results should be the focus of your qualifications summary (see above) and this focus should be supported by proof throughout your career. How better to do this than through achievement-oriented, results-focused descriptions of your career history? While employers and recruiters will want to know the scope of your position (number of direct reports, amounts of budgets managed, areas of management authority, etc.) this is most effectively communicated within the context of the challenges you faced, the actions you took, and the results of your actions. “Responsibilities” only tell the reader what you were supposed to do, not what you actually did do. Use powerful, active language to concisely tell the reader the “story” behind your most recent or relevant positions. By documenting your consistent ability to produce results and solve problems you will demonstrate your ability to produce similar results in the future.

4) Myth: Resumes should include only the last ten years of experience.

Content of your resume should be strategically selected to support your focus and value proposition. While it is true that readers of your resume will be most interested in your most recent experience, there is often value in including experience further back in your history. Perhaps your early career includes work for well-known, prestigious companies. Perhaps you want to document the full scope of your cross-industry experience, much of which occurred in your early career. Perhaps you believe some valuable networking opportunities may come out of your experience 15 or 20 years ago. Or perhaps your most impressive accomplishments were in a position you held 12 years ago. In any case, if your career history is lengthy, it will be apparent to the reader that your career did not suddenly materialize ten years ago, so there is little harm and many benefits to summarizing this early experience. Of course, this does not mean that you must give equal page weight to your early career. If you feel early dates will be used to screen you out, subtly leave them out of your early career summary. If some early career positions have more strategic relevance than others, give them more emphasis in your summary. Think carefully about the content of your resume. If there is solid reasoning behind your desire to present early experience, than do so.

5) Myth: Resumes should include personal information, to indicate the many dimensions to your life and interests.

There is no way to predict the personal biases of the individuals who will read your resume. The first and primary way that an employer uses a resume is to screen candidates out; don’t give them any reason! Professional memberships and related volunteer work should often be included but religious affiliations, family status, social club memberships, and hobbies have no place on a resume. The only exception to this is when you are preparing a resume specifically written to appeal to a single individual who you are absolutely certain would be fascinated in your piloting license or passion for golf. Even then, be careful; you never know where your resume will be passed. However, if you are certain that your personal information will help you to break the ice and build rapport, you may have a valid reason for including it.

Certified resume writer and personal branding strategist, Michelle Dumas is the director of Distinctive Career Services LLC. Through Distinctive Documents http://www.distinctiveweb.com and her Executive VIP Services http://www.100kcareermarketing.com Michelle has empowered thousands of professionals all across the U.S. and worldwide. Michelle is also the author of 101 Before-and-After Resume Examples http://www.before-and-after-resumes.com

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Tips to Improve Essay Writing and Formatting!

brian — Sat, 05 Jun 2010 10:26:45 +0000

Essay writing is a technical process; it is not as easy as it seems. People perceive essayâs importance and technicality to be very trivial but it is not like that. Unless and until a person writes an essay of his own he can not understand its importance, methodology and mechanics. If a person needs to improve his essay writing and formatting style he needs to follow some tips with which he can make a drastic difference in writing style. Following is the discussion about the tips to improve essay writing and formatting:

First of all there should be a brief introduction of the essay topic which is an overview of the whole custom essay. Introduction is the mirror of essay through which the reader can see the whole essay, so it should be given special attention. After intro, the discussion should wrap up thorough information about the topic. Discussion not only needs information but it also needs critical analysis of the topic along with your personal comments whether you agree or disagree. The criticism should be healthy; it should not be written in such a way that it hurts any bodyâs ego because people may have a different opinion. Finally a conclusion or sum-up paragraph has an importance of its own; it also needs future recommendations. Writing style and language should be easy and simple that it can be easily understood by the readers.

Finally comes the formatting, if words and sentences are the food of essay, formatting is the clothing; it makes an essay presentable which can attract the readers. There are certain types of formatting; for example: APA, MLA, CHICAGO, TURBIAN etc; formatting can easily be learned by some practice and it is very interesting to learn. Apart from referencing you can also incorporate a bibliography page in order to give credit to those whose books you used for information.

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