Here is a more detailed discussion of project #1, the Employment Project.

Overview: which project is this one?
Locate a job (or internship, or graduate program) for which you are qualified and prepare an application for it. In addition, do an informational interview with someone in a position/ company that interests you.

1. First, select a job to pursue and use the Job Ad Analysis form to do a rhetorical analysis/ close reading of the ad for this job.
2. Second, create a resume suitable for such a position.
3. Third, write a job application letter.
4. Conduct an informational interview with someone whose job title or company interests you. 
5. Finally, you will assess your experience in a "Project Assessment Memo."

Timeline: what's due when?
Job ad analysis: Wed, 1/16
Resume (rough draft)& initial ideas for interviewees: Fri, 1/18
Application letter (rough draft): Wed, 1/23
Interviewee name(s) and proposed questions: Fri, 1/25 
Entire project for editing (that is, first draft of project assessment; revised resume and cover letter; job ad analysis): Monday, Feb 4 
Finished project: Wed, 2/6

Notice that we'll be doing two rounds of peer-review: the workshops on Jan 18, 23 & 25 will focus on higher-order revisions (choice of content, organization); the one on Monday, Feb 4 will concentrate on proofreading and stylistic editing.

Grading standards: what makes an A, B, C?

Grading a resume and cover letter may seem artificial. Outside of school, job applications either pass (get you an interview) or fail (get you a rejection). But the fate of your application does not always reflect the quality of your materials: you may not be a good fit for a company, there may be an internal candidate, or your qualifications may be so good that an employer overlooks a typo or boring resume design.

Thus, your employment project will be graded on its:

• content choices (selection of info; supporting examples)
• design (do the resume and letter clearly come from the same person? Is the resume scannable and visually appealing?)
• writing (style, grammar, word choices, mechanical correctness)

An excellent (A) employment project has the following characteristics:

• The documents are consistent in quality (for ex, the resume is not noticeably stronger than the cover letter).
• The cover letter shows thought about document design, while the resume design is attractive but professional.
• Specific examples are thoughtfully chosen and used effectively.
• The writing is an asset-- the documents are fluent and appropriate in style; the word choice is interesting.
• The resume, cover letter, and follow-up email are free of mechanical errors and typos; the two supporting documents are virtually free.
• Phone this person immediately before someone else hires him/her.

A good (B) employment project has the following characteristics:

• One or two of the documents is weaker than the others.
• The resume and cover letter conform to common-sense design principles, like balancing on the page.
• The writer has some good examples but should explain them in more depth and/or use more of them.
• The writing has a few stylistic or grammatical lapses, although nothing glaring. If the resume or cover letter have typos, they shouldn't jump out on a quick scan.
• We should interview this person; s/he looks qualified.

An acceptable (C) employment project has the following characteristics:

• Some of the documents are ineffective due to lack of examples, a cursory reading of the job ad, or a failed rhetorical strategy.
•  The resume looks like a template and the cover letter is squashed up at the top of the page.
• Stylistic and grammatical errors have become distracting; a few typos are obvious in the resume and letter.
• This person's documents go in the "maybe" pile.

A poor (D) employment project has the following characteristics:

• documents seem to be thrown together hastily and thoughtlessly
• the resume is impossible to scan or the letter to follow
• This person's documents go in the recycling bin.

An unacceptable (F) employment project has one or more of the following characteristics:

• it is plagiarized
• one or more of the required documents is missing
• This person's documents go in the recycling bin, but only after we mock them

A general grading rubric for ENGL 420-421 is available here:
http://www.digitalparlor.org/pwenglish/files/rubric.pdf