MODULE

READING AND WRITING 2.4 - 2.5

- 2.7 – 2.7

READING AND WRITING ACROSS DISCIPLINES

Objectives:
 Identify the unique features of and requirements in composing professional correspondence.
 Resume
 Application for College Admission
 Application for Employment
 Various forms of Office Correspondence

INTRODUCTION

One goes beyond the foundations of language and applies new knowledge to the real world,
where it can be used in different fields of development may it be in science, social science, arts or
humanities. This unit will focus on the specific types of writing that are applicable to different
disciplines and professions. (Diana R. Agbayani, Agbayani, & Meru, 2016)

DISCUSSION #1
LESSON 1: READING AND WRITING FOR ACADEMIC AND PROFESSIONAL
TEXT
WRITING A RESUMÉ
 A resume is a document that you—the jobseeker—uses to promote your skills, abilities, and
knowledge to a potential employer. It uses your past experiences and accomplishments to
position you for future opportunities. From an employer’s perspective, resumes are used to
identify qualified candidates to invite to an interview. Resumes do not generate job offers, but
well written resumes do facilitate interviews. They are a marketing tool. The resume is
important, but just one of several steps that make up a successful job search.
Things to know before you get started:
• Your resume will be among a stack of resumes that will be viewed for no more than 30
seconds.
• Applicant tracking systems scan resumes for keywords that match the company’s job
descriptions. Use words in your resume that match the job description. If the keywords/skills
are missing, your resume may be rejected.
• Don’t be vague, you need to do more than simply list functions you had at a previous job.
What did you accomplish? What problem did you solve? (see accomplishment worksheet)
READING AND WRITING 11 | 34
 • Don’t lie or embellish the truth (employers will check your references)
• Keep sentences short. Sentence fragments are acceptable. • Assemble all personal and factual
information before you construct your resume.
• Work on your resume one section at a time. • Use a dictionary or thesaurus to avoid repetitive
wording.
Choose a standard font (Times New Roman, Ariel, Helvetica)
Keep the font size between 10-12 pt. (10 pt. is only recommended to keep to one page)
Resume should be 1 page- every line is valuable real estate
Print resume on 24 LB Bond paper (white or cream)

COMPONENTS OF A GOOD RESUME:

Personal Information
- Your name, address, city, state, cell phone number and email address should be highly visible,
centered at the top of the page. *Note: E-mail address and cell phone voicemail must be
professional.
Objective (optional)
- Not all employers require an objective. An objective identifies which position you are seeking.
Place an objective on your resume when you are applying for a specific position.

Highlights of Qualifications
- The qualifications section delivers an impact at the top of your resume – it’s your first
impression. The qualification statements should match your skills to the target job description.
You want the employers to read the summary and say “we have to meet this person.”
Information in this section must be customized to fit each position you apply for. Place most
important words first since the scanner may be limited in the number of words it reads. List hard
skills not soft skills (see skills sheet)

Experience
- Use separate headings for Internship and Work experience List in reverse chronological order,
specifying employer name, city and state, job title, and dates of employment. Use action verbs
(see sheet) to describe your tasks, hi-lighting your accomplishments and skills (review
accomplishment sheet) and relating these to individual job requirements. If you have not
completed an internship, you may consider adding a section titled “Career Related Experience”

Education
- List all collegiate experiences (degree received) in reverse chronological order. Include school
name, city and state, degree, anticipated graduation date, majors, minors, GPA (optional). You
may also list relevant course work, Dean’s List, and scholarships. Study abroad would also be
listed under this section using the same format.

Activities
- Employers have indicated that involvement in extracurricular activities demonstrates leadership,
time management and organizational skills. The following is a list of activities that can be
included in this section: organizations/associations, volunteerism, community involvement, and

READING AND WRITING 11 | 35

 athletic teams, (if you have held a leadership position, be sure to include this with the activity).
You may choose to have a leadership section if you have several experiences.

References
- “Reference available upon request,” can be omitted. It is understood that you will supply
references. Create a separate reference page and bring it with you to the interview. Include the
reference name, title, organization/company name, business address, phone number, and email of
each reference. Include only those persons who have agreed to serve as a reference for you. List
all your personal information at the top of this page.

READING AND WRITING 11 | 36

 “The best measurement of the future is to show what you have accomplished in the past. Hiring
professionals already know what the job duties are; your resume should highlight your
accomplishments in that position.”

As you evaluate your past experiences, work or otherwise, consider the following:

1. Try to list accomplishments that are specific and measurable.

2. Quantify whenever possible. (Examples: Increased sales by 50 percent over the previous year;
Built a customer base of 150, the largest in the firm's customer-service team.
3. Use superlatives and “firsts.” Use words such as “first,” “only,” “best,” “most,” and “highest.”
4. Consider the "so-what factor." For every accomplishment you list, ask yourself, "so what?" Does
the item you've listed truly characterize your abilities and your potential for contributing to your
next employer's success?

Vague Claims vs Accomplishments

• “Experience working in fast-paced environment”
- “Registered 120+ third-shift emergency patients per night”
• “Excellent written communication skills”
- “Wrote jargon-free User Guide for 11.000 users”
• “Team player with cross-functional skills”
- “Collaborated with clients, A/R and Sales to increase speed of receivables
and prevent interruption of service to clients.”
• “Demonstrated success in analyzing client needs”
- “Created and implemented comprehensive needs assessment mechanism to
help forecast demand for services and staffing.”

TASK 1
 Read the additional input about writing an employment application letter through
visiting this link: https://www.blinn.edu/writing-centers/pdfs/Writing-Job-Application-
Letters.pdf or clicking the link posted on LMS.

PRACTICE 1: INDEPENDENT ACTIVITY

Activity No.1
Instruction: If you were the following applicants, what effective career objective will you
write in your resume? Read the sentences in each item and create a one-line career
objective.

1. A recently registered nurse intending to apply as a staff at a local hospital.

CAREER OBJECTIVE:
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________

READING AND WRITING 11 | 37

2. A communications and electronics engineer who has five-year experience working for an
electronic company in Saudi Arabia, intending to apply in a local electronic company.

CAREER OBJECTIVE:
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________

3. A journalism graduate who has a broadcasting experience, intending to apply in a leading

broadsheet company.

CAREER OBJECTIVE:
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________

Assessment

FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT
Instructions:
1. Suppose you are applying for an administrative position in an animation company,
make a resume that will likely be hired given the details shown in your resume.
2. Upload your file in you google drive folders.
3. See attached rubric for evaluation guide.

NEEDS
EXCELLENT GOOD
CRITERIA IMPROVEMENT SCORE
5 3
1

TOTAL: _____/20

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 DISCUSSION #2
LESSON 1: READING AND WRITING FOR ACADEMIC AND PROFESSIONAL
TEXT
READING AND WRITING AN APPLICATION LETTER
The letter of application is essentially a sales letter. In it, you are trying to sell your services and,
in most cases, you will be competing with other applicants. Your immediate objective is to have your
letter read by someone in the organization who has authority to screen job applicants; your ultimate goal
is to obtain an interview. Therefore, your letter must do three things: catch your reader’s attention
favorably, convince your reader that you are qualified for the position, and request an interview. Try to
accomplish the three objectives in a one-page letter.
Using any of the three letter formats (Block, Modified Block, and Semi-Block) depends on your
preference as an applicant, but the most common layout for business letter is the block format which
means that all parts of the letter are aligned to the left. In a modified block format, the heading, date,
complimentary close, and signature are placed slightly to the right of the center of the paper. The least
used format is the semi-block which is similar with modified block except that the paragraphs of the
body are indented.

 College Admission Letter is also known as the "letter of intent". It is a brief discussion of your
intention to be admitted in a specific course in college. College Admission Letter is a one-page
letter required for college and university admission. The sender writes a letter to briefly discuss
his intention for attending the college program. College Admission Essay, or known as
"statement of purpose" or "personal statement," is an essay written by the student applicant to
answer the essay topics given by the admission office.

TIPS IN WRITING AN EXCELLENT COLLEGE ADMISSION LETTER

1. Discern the course you want to take.
2. Get to know more about the college.
3. Write to impress.
4. Highlight why you deserve to be in college.
5. Emphasize how being accepted can affect your life.

READING AND WRITING 11 | 39

READING AND WRITING 11 | 40
  Employment Application Letter is widely known as a "cover letter". It is used to introduce
yourself to a prospective employer. You write this to demonstrate your interest in the company,
sell your services and qualifications in written form, and show that you are fit for a job position.
It is usually submitted with a résumé.
CHARACTERISTICS OF A GOOD COVER LETTER
1. A good cover letter is short.
2. A good cover letter is comprehensive.
3. A good cover letter should be relevant.
4. A good cover letter must be specific.
5. A good cover letter should be detailed.

EXAMPLE OF EMPLOYMENT APPLICATION LETTER

READING AND WRITING 11 | 41

 PRACTICE 2: INDEPENDENT ACTIVITY

Activity No.2
Instruction: Write a college admission letter following the example letter given. You are
free to choose what college institution you will use for your letter. Upload your file in your
google drive folder. (see criteria below for evaluation guide)

CRITERIA
Content (Organization of information, completeness of details) – 10 points
Format and CUPS (Format used, Grammar, Proper use of language) – 10 points
TOTAL – 20 points

Assessment

FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT
Instructions:
1. In relation to ACTIVITY 1 of this module, write your application letter to the company
you are applying for as an administrative position.
2. Make sure to apply the skills learned in writing an application letter.
3. See attached rubric for evaluation guide.

Beginning Level Adequate Outstanding

Criteria Score
1 3 5
Does not include specific Includes relevant work and Specifically shows how skills and
work and education education experience and work and education experience can
experience that relate to the elaborates on skills, but contribute to the company’s
job. Does not elaborate on does not always explain success. Uses examples to support
Content
skills or explain how they how they can contribute to analysis. Asks for an interview and
can contribute to the the company’s success. provides necessary contact
company. Does not ask for Does ask for an interview. information.
an interview.
Does not include all the Includes all the necessary Includes all necessary elements,
necessary elements. No elements. Paragraphs could and all elements flow logically
Organization
logical flow between use better structure and from one to the other.
paragraphs. transitions.
Writing is vague and Writing is short and direct. Writing is direct and specific.
verbose. Language is Uses some action Action statements and active verbs
Writing Style
sometimes unclear or statements and active verbs. are used throughout. Style and tone
inappropriate for audience. are professional.
Does not follow Follows appropriate Follows appropriate business letter
appropriate business letter business letter format but format exactly.
Format
format. leaves out a few details,
such as enclosures.

READING AND WRITING 11 | 42

 Letter contains more than Letter contains one Letter contains no errors in
Grammar and one grammatical error. grammatical error. grammar and usage.
Usage

Letter contains more than Letter contains one spelling Letter contains no errors in spelling
Punctuation and one spelling and/or and/or punctuation error. and punctuation.
Spelling punctuation error.

TOTAL:_____/30

DISCUSSION #3
LESSON 1: READING AND WRITING FOR ACADEMIC AND PROFESSIONAL
TEXT (week 3.5 to week 2.7)

TASK 2
 Prepare for a group activity during synchronous class.
 Outputs from the activity will be graded.

VARIOUS FORMS OF OFFICE CORRESPONDENCE

Office Correspondence, or business correspondence, is a written interchange of internal
(communication between company departments) and external communication (communication between
a company to another firm) to assist the flow of business processes.
Office correspondence is a written exchange of internal and external communication to support
all business processes. It has three major forms including the business letter, business memo and
business e-mail that may be used for internal or external communication. Internal correspondence
means that there is a communication or agreement between departments or branches of the same
company, while external correspondence means that the communication is between the company and
another organization or firm. The purpose of the correspondence is to communicate the information in a
clear and professional way.

 Business letter is the traditional way of communicating information from one company to
another or used in external correspondence. The format can either be full block, modified block
and semi-block. The format used in writing a business letter depends on the requirements set by
the company. Different types of letters are sales letter, order letter, complaint letter, inquiry
letter, adjustment letter, acknowledgement letter, follow-up letter, acknowledgement letter, cover
letter, letter of recommendation and letter of resignation.

 SALES LETTER – this letter aims to prompt the reader to buy the products or services that the
sender offers. It includes contact information that help the reader respond to the writer. This letter is
presented with a catchy introduction to capture the reader’s interest.

READING AND WRITING 11 | 43

 ORDER LETTER – this is a letter used when purchasing products. There must be a concise
description of the product for the producer to know exactly what the customers want to purchase.
The sender must also include the mode of payment and the manner of delivery.

 REQUEST LETTER – this is a letter asking for information about products or services offered by a
certain business. The request must be straightforward and specific.

 FOLLOW-UP LETTER – this is a letter that aims to follow up an activity done prior to the present.
This may be in a form of a thank you and sales letter. It may also be a follow-up from an applicant
that aims to get updates about his job application.

 COMMENDATION LETTER – this is a letter that aims to affirm and praise the performance of an
individual or a team. This aims to reinforce good work.

 Business memo is a written communication strictly between the company’s offices to

another, or used in internal correspondence. The difference between a memo and a letter
is that the memo has its title line and series number. The employees tend to read the if the
title line is related to their job description. It is also used to implement internal guidelines or
procedures that the employees must follow. Some types of memos are operational memo,
financial memo, request for action, directives, trip report, field report and dress code memo
among others.

READING AND WRITING 11 | 44

  Business e-mail is an office correspondence that can either be internal or external. There is no
required format in writing e-mail correspondence but it is expected that the writer maintains a
professional tone. Note that the header of the letter is written on the blank fields including the
‘from’ and ‘to’ fields. ‘From’ contains e-mail from the sender while the field ‘to’ contains the
email of the recipient.

PRACTICE 3: INDEPENDENT ACTIVITY

Activity No.3
Instruction: Read the instruction below and carefully provide what is asked.

A. Arrange the following parts by numbering them (1-4). After which, put it in the final
memorandum format.
___________ FROM: Jerry Borlaza
___________ The next Executive Meeting will be held on March 30. I would like you to present your
report from the systems committee evaluation at the meeting. Department heads are also invited to
attend. Please bring a minimum of 20 copies of your report.
___________ Subject: Executive Meeting Schedule
READING AND WRITING 11 | 45
___________ TO: Sebastian Hizon
___________ DATE: March 15, 2019

B.. Name these parts of a Business e-mail.

________________ 1. Thanks for registering to the on-line seminar. To start streaming, you can click
here to access your schedule. You can also share this to your social media
channels. Thank you very much.
________________ 2. Felix Lee Webinar Consultant, Webinar Asia
________________ 3. From: Felix Lee To: [email protected] Subject: Confirmation: On-line
Seminar
________________ 4. Dear Maria,
________________ 5. Regards,

Assessment

FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT
Instructions:
1. Suppose you were hired by the company you applied for in Activity 1, compose a
business memo for your department informing your coworkers of the rules in work
place for the new normal.
2. Upload the memo in your google drive folders.
3. See rubric for evaluation guide.

2 3 4 5
Audience and Improvement Needed Developing Satisfactory Proficient
Purpose
Uses informal language Uses businesslike language Uses businesslike Consistently uses
that does not address the but does not clearly address language and businesslike language to
intended audience the intended audience; addresses the address the intended
appropriately; fails to introduces and attempts to intended audience; audience; clearly
communicate the communicate the memo's or introduces and introduces and
memo's or e-mail's e-mail's purpose. communicates the communicates the
purpose. memo's or e-mail's memo's or e-mail's

READING AND WRITING 11 | 46

 purpose. purpose.
Improvement Needed Developing Satisfactory Proficient

Uses a format that does Follows a mostly conventional Follows appropriate Follows a appropriate
not fit the specified type format for the specified type of format for the specified format for the specified
of business document; business document; logically type of business type of business
inconsistently or presents most information. document; logically document; clearly and
randomly presents presents information. logically presents
Organization /
information. Provides too few or too many information. Each idea is
Elaboration
details; includes inadequate Provides and logically connected to the
Provides too few or too reasons or to back up appropriate amount of next.
many details; fails to statements or detail; includes some
include reasons or to recommendations. reasons or to back up Provides and appropriate
back up statements or recommendations. amount of detail.The
recommendations. memo is concise, but
includes all necessary
information and an
effective, precise
recommendation.
Content Improvement Needed Developing Satisfactory Proficient

The content of the memo The content of the memo is The content of the The content of the memo
is underdeveloped and developing and responds memo is fairly well is excellent and responds
does not respond well to fairly well to the assignment's developed and well to the assignment's
the assignment's purpose. satisfactorily responds purpose.
purpose. to the assignment's
purpose.
Use of Language Improvement Needed Developing Satisfactory Proficient
(Grammar,
Spelling) Shows no clarity or Shows little clarity or fluency; Shows some clarity Shows overall clarity and
fluency; demonstrates presents information briefly to and fluency; presents fluency; concisely
poor use of language the point of vagueness; some information briefly; few presents information; few,
(wordiness or mechanical errors. mechanical errors. if any, mechanical errors.
inappropriate word Precise use of nouns,
choice); many verbs, and modifiers.
mechanical errors.
TOTAL:______/20

FINAL PROJECT

Culminating Performance Standard: The learners are able to effectively apply reading and writing skills
for a purposeful writing on both academic and professional disciplines
Performance Task: You are tapped to become an intern for a team in an animation studio who is working
on creating an animated film that centers on the idea of building hope and optimism despite the crisis the
world is currently in. As an intern, you are pinned to work on the project proposal and other business
correspondence for the team. You will compile you works including all you write ups as an intern portfolio
and will be passed to the operations manager of the animation team for evaluation. (see attached rubric for
evaluation guide)
Objectives:
 Presents intern portfolio.

DEADLINE: APRIL 27, 2022

READING AND WRITING 11 | 47
 Standard Outstanding Adequate Beginning Level
16-20 11-15 6-10
All required items are Few of the required A lot of the required items
REQUIRED included. items are not included. are not included.
ITEMS

Each activity and answered carefully but Each activity and tasks were
tasks were answered shows little not answered carefully and
CONTENT carefully showing in understanding of shows little understanding
depth understanding every topic. of every topic.
of every topic
ORGANIZATIO Satisfactorily Some parts are Most of the parts are
N AND arranged. missing. missing
ARRANGEMEN
T
Submitted before the Submitted on the Submitted later than the
TIMELINESS deadline. deadline. deadline.

TOTAL: ______/80

APRIL 25, 2022

 Online Review for FINAL EXAM

ARPIL 26 & 27, 2022

 FINAL EXAMINATION

REFERENCES
Raymundo, H. C. (2019). Reading and Writing Skills. Makati City: Diwa Learning Systems
Inc.
https://www.rcampus.com/rubricshowc.cfm?code=YX62W64&sp=yes&
https://shs.modyul.online/reading-and-writing-skills-quarter-4-module-8-composing-academ
ic-writing/#gallery-page-43
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/325546150_WRITING_RESEARCH_REPORT
Academic Book Review Template.pdf
https://www.elmhurst.edu/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/Elmhurst-College-Writing-An-
Effective-Resume.pdf

READING AND WRITING 11 | 48

 Business Letter Writing Rubric

Student or Group Name:     ________________________________________

CATEGORY 5 4 2 1
Sentences & Sentences and All sentences are Most sentences are Many sentence
Paragraphs paragraphs are complete and well- complete and well- fragments or run-on
complete, well- constructed (no constructed. sentences OR
constructed and of fragments, no run- Paragraphing needs paragraphing needs
varied structure. ons). Paragraphing is some work. lots of work.
generally done well.

Salutation and Salutation and Salutation and Salutation and Salutation and/or
Closing closing have no closing have 1-2 closing have 3 or closing are missing.
errors in errors in more errors in
capitalization and capitalization and capitalization and
punctuation. punctuation. punctuation.

Grammar & Writer makes no Writer makes 1-2 Writer makes 3-4 Writer makes more
spelling errors in grammar or errors in grammar errors in grammar than 4 errors in
spelling. and/or spelling. and/or spelling grammar and/or
(conventions) spelling.

Neatness Letter is typed, clean, Letter is neatly hand- Letter is typed and is Letter is typed and
not wrinkled, and is written, clean, not crumpled or slightly looks like it had been
easy to read with no wrinkled, and is easy stained. It may have shoved in a pocket or
distracting error to read with no 1-2 distracting error locker. It may have
corrections. It was distracting error corrections. It was several distracting
done with pride. corrections. It was done with some care. error corrections. It
done with care. looks like it was done
in a hurry or stored
improperly.
Ideas Ideas were Ideas were Ideas were The letter seemed to
expressed in a clear expressed in a pretty somewhat organized, be a collection of
and organized clear manner, but the but were not very unrelated sentences.
fashion. It was easy organization could clear. It took more It was very difficult to
to figure out what the have been better. than one reading to figure out what the
letter was about. figure out what the letter was about.
letter was about.
Capitalization Writer makes no Writer makes 1-2 Writer makes 3-4 Writer makes more
and Punctuation errors in errors in errors in than 4 errors in
capitalization and capitalization and capitalization and capitalization and
punctuation. punctuation. punctuation. punctuation.

READING AND WRITING 11 | 49