Unit 6: Writing Skills

1. Curriculum Vitae (CV) and Resume Writing

While often used interchangeably, there is a technical difference between a CV and a Resume.

• Resume: A concise summary (usually 1–2 pages) of skills, experience, and education relevant to a specific job. Common in the corporate world.
• Curriculum Vitae (CV): A comprehensive document detailing the entire academic and professional history, including publications, awards, and research. Common in academia, medicine, and research.

A. Format Types

There are three primary formats for structuring a professional resume/CV:

1. Chronological Format (Reverse-Chronological)

• Focus: Emphasizes work history and career progression.
• Structure: Lists professional experience starting with the most recent job and working backward.
• Best For: Candidates with a steady, gap-free employment history in the same field.

2. Functional Format (Skills-Based)

• Focus: Emphasizes transferable skills and abilities rather than chronological work history.
• Structure: Groups achievements under skill headings (e.g., "Project Management," "Sales," "Coding") followed by a brief work history list at the bottom.
• Best For: Career changers, fresh graduates with little experience, or those with significant employment gaps.

3. Combination (Hybrid) Format

• Focus: Balances skills and work history.
• Structure: Starts with a skills summary or professional profile, followed by a reverse-chronological work history.
• Best For: Experienced professionals with specific skills relevant to the new role.

B. Tailoring Content

Generic resumes often get rejected. Tailoring involves customizing the resume to match the specific Job Description (JD).

• Keyword Optimization: Identify keywords in the JD (e.g., "Python," "Stakeholder Management," "SEO") and ensure they appear in your resume. This helps pass Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS).
• Relevance: Remove experiences or hobbies that add no value to the specific role applied for.
• Objective/Summary: Rewrite the professional summary to align with the company's goals.

C. Dos and Don'ts

D. Practical Drafting of a CV (Structure Template)

A standard professional resume should follow this structure:

1. Header

• Name (Large Font)
• Phone Number, Email Address, LinkedIn URL, Portfolio Link.
• Note: Do not include full physical address for privacy.

2. Professional Summary (or Profile)

• A 2-3 sentence "elevator pitch" highlighting years of experience, core specialization, and major value proposition.

3. Core Competencies (Skills)

• A bulleted section of hard skills (e.g., Java, Accounting) and soft skills (e.g., Leadership, Communication).

4. Professional Experience

• Job Title | Company Name | Dates
  • Action Verb + Task + Result (The formula for a good bullet point).
  • Example: "Optimized supply chain logistics, reducing delivery times by 15%."

5. Education

• Degree Name | University Name | Graduation Year
• (Optional: GPA if high, or relevant coursework).

2. Précis Writing

Definition: A précis (pronounced pray-see) is a miniature portrait of a passage. It retains the absolute essential points, logic, and tone of the original text but in a much shorter format.

A. Characteristics of a Good Précis

1. Conciseness: It must be brief.
2. Clarity: It must be understandable without referring to the original text.
3. Completeness: It must contain all essential ideas.
4. Coherence: It must flow logically, not just be a list of disjointed sentences.

B. The Golden Rules of Précis Writing

• Length: Generally one-third (1/3) the length of the original passage.
• Voice: Use your own words. Do not copy sentences from the original.
• Perspective: Always write in the Third Person and Indirect Speech.
• Tense: Usually written in the Past Tense (unless the original describes universal truths).
• No New Material: Do not add your own opinions, examples, or data not found in the source.

C. The Drafting Process

1. Reading: Read the passage twice. First to get the gist, second to identify key points.
2. Highlighting: Underline main ideas. Ignore illustrations, examples, and repetitions.
3. Drafting: Write a rough draft combining the highlighted points.
4. Editing: Check word count. Remove flowery language. Use single words to replace phrases (e.g., replace "people who work together" with "colleagues").
5. Title: Always provide a suitable title.

3. Summarising

Definition: Summarising is the process of condensing a text to its main points. While similar to précis writing, it allows for more flexibility.

A. Difference Between Précis and Summary

• Précis: Must follow the exact order and logic of the original text. Strict length rules (1/3).
• Summary: Can reorganize points for clarity. Focuses on the "gist" rather than a miniature structural replica. Length is flexible depending on the requirement.

B. Techniques for Summarising

1. Selection: Select only the central idea and main supporting points.
2. Rejection: Reject repetitions, examples, anecdotes, and redundant adjectives.
3. Substitution: Synthesize long sentences.
   • Original: "The politician spoke in a manner that was loud, angry, and aggressive."
   • Summary: "The politician spoke aggressively."

4. Abstracting

Definition: An abstract is a specific type of summary used primarily in academic and technical writing. It appears at the beginning of a research paper, thesis, or technical report.

A. Purpose of an Abstract

To allow a reader to quickly decide if the full document is relevant to their research or interests without reading the whole paper.

B. Types of Abstracts

1. Descriptive Abstract:
   • Indicates the type of information found in the work.
   • Does not provide results or conclusions.
   • Very short (under 100 words).
2. Informative Abstract:
   • Summarizes the entire report, including the arguments, results, and conclusions.
   • Acts as a substitute for the document for quick reference.
   • Length: 200–300 words (typically).

C. Structure of an Informative Abstract

A good abstract covers four key elements:

1. Problem/Purpose: Why was the study done? What problem does it solve?
2. Methodology: How was the study conducted? (Methods used).
3. Results: What were the main findings? (Data/Discovery).
4. Conclusion: What do the results mean? (Implications).