Top 20 Most Important Rules of Email Etiquette

http://email.about.com/od/emailnetiquette/tp/core_netiquette.htm

5 Simple Ways to Open Your Blog Post With a Bang

by Brian Clark

What’s the second most important part of your blog post after the title?

Master copywriter Eugene Schwartz often spent an entire week on the first 50 words of a sales piece — the headline and the opening paragraph.

Just imagine how disappointed you’d be after crafting a killer headline [http://www.copyblogger.com/magnetic-headlines/] for your post, only to lose readers with an opening that failed to carry the momentum. A great headline mixed with a lame opening is like inviting someone into your house, only to slam the door in their face as they approach.

So, here are 5 ways to open your post that will capture the reader’s imagination and pull them deeper into your content.

1. Ask a Question

Opening your post with a question is a rhetorical device (hence, the “rhetorical question”) that creates curiosity and gets the reader thinking. Thinking equals active engagement with your writing, and that’s a very good thing.

2. Share an Anecdote or Quote

Anecdotes are quick stories that can make people laugh or immediately establish the main point of your post. A nice quote from a recognizable authority or famous person can also work wonders when holding attention in those crucial opening seconds.

3. Invoke the Mind’s Eye

Producing a mental image in a reader’s mind is one of the most powerful things you can ever do as a writer, so expressly engaging the imagination is a powerful opening technique. Activate the mind’s eye of the reader by using words like “imagine,” “picture this,” “do you remember when,” etc.

4. Use an Analogy, Metaphor or Simile

Analogies, metaphors and similes are some of the most powerful devices available when it comes to telling a story in a single sentence. This is a great way to capture a reader’s attention and also acts to provoke mental imagery that allows readers to tell a story to themselves.

5. Cite a Shocking Statistic

Starting off with an interesting factoid is also a great technique. People love being provided with interesting data, but only if it is unique, startling, or even shocking. The statistic should also be directly relevant to the point of your post as well.

Bonus Tip: The third most important part of your blog post is the closing. A great way to close is to tie back into your opening.

So, which of the 5 techniques did I NOT use in the opening to this post?

[http://www.copyblogger.com/5-simple-ways-to-open-your-blog-post-with-a-bang/]

THIS UNIT’S QUOTE: “Whenever you are asked if you can do a job, tell 'em, 'Certainly I can!' Then get busy and find out how to do it.” – Theodore Roosevelt (1858 - 1919)

THEORY: Application forms, résumés and CVs. The Europass model. Grammar review:Conversations, meetings and interviews. Miscellaneous writing. Developing skills

RECOMMENDED SITES:

• Department of Electronic Engineering (Queen Mary, University of London): Career and Profession (http://www.elec.qmul.ac.uk/study/ug/career.htm)
• Engineering Technicians (http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos112.htm)
• Good Greg: Interviews examples (http://www.imahal.com/careers/management/interviews/interviews_example2.htm)
• Job Application Center (http://jobsearch.about.com/od/jobapplications/a/jobapplication.htm)
• Job interviews tips and techniques, sample interview questions and answers, sample interviews letters and templates (http://www.businessballs.com/interviews.htm)
• Succeed in Your Job Interview (http://www.aarp.org/money/careers/findingajob/interviews/a2004-06-08-jobinterview.html)

TASKS:

1. Write down a descriptive abstract on the above text (Max. 50 words).
2. Your glossary on Construction Engineering / Quantity Surveyor should be enlarged by 30-50 new entries. By this week, your glossary’s database should contain, around 300-500 entries.
3. Watch the following You Tube video-clip: «Impossible is the Opposite of Possible» (http://es.youtube.com/watch?v=nAV0sxwx9rY) and then answer the questions below:
   1. Do you think it is a good idea to show your personal CV on the Internet?
   2. Do you think you would get a better-paid job in doing so?
4. What does the verb “to shortlist” mean in this context of a job interview?
5. What points should you consider before attending the interview?
6. Some authors advise you to pose some questions to the interviewer. Do you think straight questions on your part might work?
7. This text is connected to other sites on what you should prepare, and what you should not do during an interview (see http://mcleon.tripod.com/salary.htm “10 Best Tips to Win Salary Negotiations”). Try to compare the pieces of advice offered with what you might be expected to do in Spain. Do you agree with the points? (Three-line commentary)
8. According to the text, what are interviews intended for? Do you agree with the statement “Although these questions may be challenging, they are not meant to trap, find fault with or penalize the candidate”?
9. What are the five areas that help the interviewer select the right person for the right job? Do you agree with the author? Justify your answer.
10. Why is it so important that interviewees should be honest during the whole process? How much “honest”? What if we, accidentally, slid some minor inaccuracies?
11. What is the part of this text that has impressed you the most? Why? Justify your answer.
12. Answer extensively 3 of the questions from the questionnaire on motivation and achievement.
13. Finally, you are offered the job. However, you are not very happy with the wages, although the post seems attractive. Should you accept it immediately? What advice could you take?
14. OPTIONAL WORK: Write a suitable CV/Résumé, together with the accompanying cover letter to apply for the post shown below: