Entries from November 2007 ↓

When working on a non-fiction essay or term paper, including essays for big tests, such as the ACT or GRE, and college admissions essays, beware of making bold statements. Words such as NONE, ALL, EVERY, and other all-inclusive terms can lead a sentence to be technically incorrect.

I was going over an essay that a high school student had written for his history class. In the essay he stated, “If not for Native Americans, none of us would be here,” meaning we Americans of today wouldn’t exist. When I explained to him that the statement wasn’t necessarily true, he debated with me that it was, until I further explained that I have no Native American ancestry at all. All of my ancestry is European, so whether or not Native Americans had ever existed, there is still the likelihood that I would exist.

Teachers are generally lenient about these kinds of statements in high school papers, but they will have an effect on essay scores on standardized writing tests and on grades in college, so it is a good idea to get into a habit of checking for such bold statements. Read back through each paper you write, looking for any all-inclusive terms. If the statement is untrue, or if it may be untrue, try substituting another word or phrase that more accurately gets your point across.

For instance, “If not for Native Americans, none of us would be here” is an untrue statement; however, “If not for Native Americans, many of us would not be here” is an accurate statement.

Reading what a script should look like is one thing. Seeing it is another. When it comes to getting a visual of what a script should look like, one online reference beats all others. The screenplay formatting sample at http://www.oscars.org/nicholl/script.pdf is direct from the pros. Meant to be a reference for those applying for Nicholl Fellowships, it is written in an engaging style and is chock-full of useful information.

Another decent script format sample is available online at http://www.scriptologist.com/Magazine/Formatting/formatting.html.

Just comparing these two sites, you will see some small differences between their examples of proper formatting. While there are some tried and true rules to screenplay formatting, 12-point courier font for instance, there are also slight variations that are usually accepted.

If you are working on writing a screenplay then it is important that you are adhering to the Hollywood standard when it comes to scripts.

All screenwriters in Hollywood follow the same format for their scripts. You can purchase some screenwriting software like Final Draft or try a freebie software like Celtx. Or you can do it in Microsoft Word using the following specs…

1. Make sure your script is on 8 1/2″ x 11″ white 3-hole punched paper. (You can 3-hole punch it after you print it)
2. You should have a page number in the upper right hand corner (in the header).
3. No page number is printed on the first page.
4. The type style used is the Courier 12 font.
5. The top and bottom margins are between .5″ and 1″.
6. The left margin is between 1.2″ and 1.6″. The right margin is between .5″ and 1″.
7. The average feature length screenplay is between 95 and 125 pages long.

You must do binding with brads, and there is a standard for that too.

Each November thousands of people join NaNoWriMo. If you are not familiar with NaNoWriMo, or National Novel Writing Month, it is a monthly long challenge where participants try to write a complete novel in the span of one month.

If you are trying to get out your book then this is a great motivator. You will benefit from the support of other people that are working towards a similar goal as yourself. When you finish that book, don’t forget to have someone proofread it before you send it out hoping to be the next Nicholas Sparks!

For more info on NaNoWriMo, visit their website.

One of the most common things that people write are their resumes. Sadly, people make a lot of errors when they are writing their resume. Clearly this is not a good thing as you are relying on your resume to get you a job interview.

It helps to know the common errors that are made so that you can look over your resume and see if you are making any of those errors.

A great post on Finance is Personal was posted yesterday on The Five Most Common (And Most Avoidable) Resume Errors.  You should click through to the site for the entire article. But in summary, here are the top 5 resume errors they have identified:

1. Using the verbage “responsible for”
2. Using a paragraph format
3. Repeating things
4. Giving your job description instead of accomplishments
5. Using objective statements