I couldn’t agree more with this plug by Dawn Rasmussen for the importance of writing a great cover letter. I would go so far as to say your cover letter is the chocolate mousse filling in your triple layer cake. Yum! If you are applying for jobs and your cover letter can use a boost in richness and depth, consider a Cover Letter Package from The Essay Expert. You can read the article here: Cover Letters – Icing on the Cake.
Are you unsure about what to put in an email cover letter? Here’s one way to approach the task from Susan Ireland. 6 Ways to Optimize Your Email Cover Letter
What’s the difference between a resume and a LinkedIn profile? Brenda Bernstein of The Essay Expert answers this question and more on a recent interview posted on Bill Vick’s EmploymentDigest.net. Interview with The Essay Expert
These tips cover more than your resume. They touch upon many aspects of the job, search from resume keywords to how often to call your recruiter. I might have chosen a different title for the article, but the information it contains is right on point. 12 Eye-Catching Resume Tips : Words in your resume could make or break it
The title suggests these job-hunting tips are for Craigslist, but really they’re for any job applications. If you’re writing a cover letter, this article is a must read. 5 Craigslist Job Hunting Tips at New Grad Life.
Let’s start with a pop quiz:
Is there a grammar mistake in the title of my blog?
If you answered “Yes” and believe that “Between You and I” would be correct, you have a lot of company. However, “Between You and Me” is actually the correct structure.
Why do so many of us say “Between you and I”? My guess is that at some point, maybe around age 8, you may have said to your mother something like, “Jimmy and me are going to the store.” She corrected you: “It’s ‘Jimmy and I’” and something clicked in your head, and you thought that if you’re talking about yourself and another person, you should always say “I” instead of “me.”
I’m here to set the record straight.
There are pronouns that belong as the subject of a sentence. They are: I, you, she, he, we, you, they, it.
Then there are pronouns that belong as the object of a sentence. They are: me, you, her, him, us, you, them, it.
The first thing you need to know is not to mix these two groups together! “Him and I” for instance takes one pronoun from the object group and one from the subject group. Mixing and matching is always incorrect no matter where in the sentence the pronouns fall.
“Between you and me” is a little trickier because our language uses “you” as both subject and object. Which group are we in here? Think about it: Would you say “Between us” or “Between we”? Of course you would say “Between us.” Now you know you’re in the object group which includes both “us” and (would you believe it?) “me.”
A nice easy way to determine what pronouns to use, when you want to include two subjects or objects, is to try out the sentence with just one of the subjects or objects and see how it sounds. For example: “I [not me] went to the store.” “He [not him] went to the store. Therefore, “He and I went to the store.” Notice “he” and “I” are in the group with “we.” “We went to the store” is of course also correct.
Another example: “Dave went to the store with him [not he].” “Dave went to the store with me [not I].” Therefore, “Dave went to the store with him and me” is correct.
I realize for some of you that last sentence might sound completely wrong and ungrammatical. Between you and me, I think it’s time to change that perception.
There’s a little quiz you can take at UsingEnglish.com: Quiz: Subject and Object Pronouns. For more on this topic, see the article The English Personal Pronoun System.
According to the readers of my blog, the distinction between it’s (with an apostrophe) and its (without an apostrophe) is the top pet peeve and common error out in the writing world. This article attempts to explain the distinction between the two words.
It’s is a contraction. Most of us have heard of and are familiar with contractions. Here’s how they work:
If you want to say “here is” and be less formal about it, squash the words together and substitute an apostrophe for the last vowel (i) to create here’s. If you want to say “do not” less formally, squash the words together and substitute an apostrophe for the last vowel (o) to create don’t.
This process of contraction is how we get many words such as: can’t; doesn’t; aren’t; there’s; and (drumroll please)… it’s!
How simple is that? If you want your word to mean “it is” or “it has” then just make a contraction: it’s.
Examples:
It is time for bed. = It’s time for bed.
It is a girl! = It’s a girl!
It has been raining for days. = It’s been raining for days.
These examples seem simple enough. I think where people get flummoxed is when they want a word meaning “belonging to ‘it.’”
Why is this one confusing?
When something belongs to Harry we add an apostrophe after Harry and say it’s Harry’s. When something belongs to the barber we add an apostrophe and say it’s the barber’s. However, when it comes to saying something belongs to it, the apostrophic form goes out the window, i.e. we do NOT use an apostrophe. Something belonging to it is its.
Why is there no apostrophe in its?
Note there are other times we do not use an apostrophe to show possession. When something belongs to her we say it’s hers. When something belongs to him we say it’s his; when something belongs to us we say it’s ours and when something belongs to them we say it’s theirs. There are many irregular constructions here. Yet somehow most people don’t make mistakes when it comes to these other possessive forms. It’s its that continues to baffle us.
You might notice something in common about all the examples where apostrophes are not used to show possession: they are all a part of speech we refer to as a pronoun. Pronouns are our shortcuts so that we do not have to keep referring to people and things by their name or other descriptor. They are a referential shortcut. They replace, or substitute for, nouns.
I will write more about pronouns in a future article where I will talk about the use of “I” and “me.” For now you can look at this article from the University of Ottawa, What Is a Pronoun?, for more information. Some examples of pronouns are he, she, they, you, her, him, us, our, their and its.
Here’s your rule to remember: When forming a possessive PRONOUN, do NOT use an apostrophe. Since “it” is a pronoun, we do NOT put an apostrophe after it to make it possessive. Just as you would not write “her’s” or “our’s,” do not write “it’s” when you are intending to show possession.
Another trick I heard recently is to remember the phrase “It’s raining apostrophes!” This sentence means “It is raining apostrophes,” so you can remember that when you mean “it is,” you should use it’s, with an apostrophe.
It’s my fervent hope this article has cleared up some common misperceptions and that its contents will be distributed widely by its readers!
If you or someone you know needs writing or editing assistance, contact The Essay Expert. We can help clear up any apostrophe problems you’re having.
Do you know the difference between the words “lose” and “loose”? Do you wonder each time you write one of these words whether you’re spelling it right? Today I will not only give you examples of how to use “lose” and “loose,” but I will also give you a trick to remember forever which spelling is correct.
Lose: This word is a VERB. Some of its most common meanings are to come to be without something, to fail to keep track of something, to have someone die, or to fail to win.
Here is a list of some things you can lose: keys; money; a job; 25 pounds; loved ones; a game of pool, your virginity, or your mind.
Before you get lost in thought about all the things you might lose, let’s move on to our next word.
Loose: This word is usually used as an ADJECTIVE. It can mean free, unfettered, unbound, or lacking in restraint; a few of its antonyms (opposites) are firm, bound and tight. It can also be used as a VERB meaning to let go of, let shoot or fly, or set free.
Some things that can be or get loose are: Hair, knots, zoo animals, a sexually promiscuous person, a structure, an interpretation, vegetables in the grocery store, and teeth.
There are many idioms that use the word “loose” such as “let loose,” “break loose,” “cut loose,” “hang loose,” “turn loose,” and “on the loose.” And are any of you “foot loose and fancy free”?
I hope the difference between “lose” and “loose” is clear. Now, how will you remember which is which?
It’s easy. Whenever you find yourself loosely throwing a double letter “o” into the word loose, ask yourself, “Should I *lose* the “o”?” If you want a verb that means “to be without something,” then be without the extra “o”! If you want to say you “failed to win,” have the loser (not the looser) pay up the winner with the extra “o.” And if you think you might lose track of something, lose track of the second “o.”
If on the other hand, if you want your word to mean free, unbound, or anything loosely in that category, be free with your “o”’s! Dare I say, “Use them or lose them?”
If you have questions about this or any other spelling/grammatical issue, ask The Essay Expert.
Whether you are writing a cover letter or business letter, press release or academic paper, it is important to place your prepositions carefully. Otherwise you might confuse your readers, or even say something you don’t mean. Times Topics: Prepositions on the Loose
Read this article in conjunction with my blog post “What Color is Your Cover Letter?” and you will have many of the keys you need to getting your foot in the door for an interview. This article is geared toward lawyers but contains great advice for all job seekers and cover letter writers. The Art of the Cover Letter – from Lawyerist.com
