Students will think about how purpose and audience affect resumes in this lesson. At the end of the lesson, students are going to:
- Create a resume based on your ideas and tailor it to a particular target audience.
- Organize your resume according to the target audience.

- How much does the writing process influence writing quality?
- How does writing function in our daily lives?

- Résumé: An organized list of education, work, community activity, and other information an employer would receive to show a snapshot of you as a potential employee; often called curriculum vitae. 
- Objective: A one-to-two sentence statement clearly stating/describing the specific job or situation the applicant is seeking. 
- Portfolio: A collection of an applicant’s work that is portable and can showcase the most original and polished samples. 
- Reference Page: A page that provides professional contacts to vouch for or describe the applicant’s abilities. Often character/personal references are also provided.

- Résumé Brainstorming (L-C-6-1_Resume Brainstorming)
- Résumé Evaluation (L-C-6-1_Resume Evaluation)
- Active Verbs (L-C-6-1_Active Verbs) “Résumé Formats.” WorkBloom, 2010.
http://workbloom.com/resume/resume-formats.aspx 
- “30+ Creative Resume Ideas to Present Yourself.” Lava 360, 2010. http://lava360.com/inspiration/30-creative-resume-ideas-to-present-yourself/ 

- Throughout the discussion of a resume's objectives and format, keep an eye out for any misunderstandings and provide more examples of possible resume content as needed.
- To determine the different comprehension levels of the students, circulate during formatting time.
- When analyzing the effects of various resume formats in small groups, have students concentrate on the reactions that specific audiences are likely to have rather than just their own.
- The purpose of evaluating resumes is to check them for accuracy in spelling, editing, category completeness, visual spacing, and contact details.

Direct Instruction, Modeling, Active Participation, and Scaffolding 
W: A portfolio comprising a resume, cover letter, and details about career research is the final assessment. Voice and audience are two effective writing techniques that are reviewed because they are important in both academic and real-world nonfiction writing. 
H: Allowing students to reflect on their lives will stimulate their interest and involvement in the lesson. 
E: All students are prepared for success in this lesson through individual prewriting exercises and group critical analysis of samples. 
R: By encouraging students to consider their experience gaps, the brainstorming exercise will help them come up with ideas for how to fill those gaps before they graduate. Encourage reflection on the resumes that students have created and organized, and then discuss the outcomes. Following this round, students may decide to edit their essays in light of new information. 
E: The student assesses the competition-related efficacy of his or her resume by first focusing on its visual appeal, and then comparing and contrasting style formats with peers. For individual critiques, the evaluation tool provides self- and peer evaluations in addition to basic guidelines. Because the evaluation tool predicts the student's grade, meaningful self-evaluation should take place. 
T: Using a graphic organizer, the engagement activity provides time for interpersonal multiple-intelligence reflection. Exercises in logical-mathematical analysis and evaluation in small groups will next be conducted. To meet individual needs, you could also use flexible student work groups and deadlines. 
O: To help students acquire skills, the lesson is organized in the following order: prior knowledge access, information, guided practice, comprehension check, and extension. 

Focus Question: How might the audience affect a resume's formatting and wording?

Part 1

Say: "Almost everyone expects a résumé to be work-related, nonfiction writing as a first step toward getting an interview for a job."

Distribute copies of the Résumé Brainstorming handout (L-C-6-1_Resumé Brainstorming). Discuss in brief the standard components of a resume as stated in the handout. Regardless of the type of job they might apply for in the future, ask students to come up with personal details that might fall under each category. Add: "The conventional approach is to put the data in each box chronologically, beginning with your most recent training and experience. Employ active verbs in your descriptions as well." Give the students the Active Verbs handout (L-C-6-1_Active Verbs) if they need a review.

"You can use this as an awareness tool to see how you need to get involved to create real items to put into every category going forward, but you must not make things up to fill a category," you said. "Why do employers want to see that you've done some community service? What does that say about your character and beliefs? Why is it that an employer would want to know that you have participated in at least one club or team sport? What qualities or abilities does that suggest you possess?" (collaboration, taking charge, listening, etc.)

As students complete the handout, assist them in thinking about the needs of an employer if they have any doubts about the significance of any particular category.

Describe: "A person's resume format can have just as much of an impact as the content contained within. There are even jobs where one can help others format their resumes in exchange for payment. The first impression is very important. Therefore, the writer should consider what would appeal to the employer (also known as your audience) when applying for a particular job."

Talk about which of the options below would be more enticing to different types of employers, like a fast-food joint, a corporate office, a fire department, etc.

- conventional block format or a contemporary one (possibly with the contact details centered at the top and the most important skills bulleted for quick access).
- either a particular or overall job goal
- a concise explanation of the duties and responsibilities for each previous position or activity, or a clear list of skills
- portfolio and reference page available upon request or attachment
- a Times New Roman font that is readable and clear, or something unconventional.
- proper capitalization and spelling, or sporadic mistakes
- use of bullets, italics, underlining, and several ink colors

Show students different resume layouts on an overhead projector or pre-made photocopies. Make use of WorkBloom.com samples. (They offer samples in functional, hybrid, and chronological formats.) Show students samples from "30+ Creative Resume Ideas to Present Yourself," which can be found at http://lava360.com/inspiration/30-creative-resume-ideas-to-present-yoursel for artistic examples that are hard to read. Talk about the kinds of audiences that might be interested in these formats once more.

Once the options have been discussed, instruct the students to use the résumé evaluation (L-C-6-1_Resume Evaluation) as a guide to type and polish their resumes. Permit students to finish their resumes overnight if needed, and have them bring a copy to class the following day.

Part 2

Instruct students to exchange copies of their resume evaluations and their resumes with a partner during class. Students are to evaluate each other's resumes for ten to fifteen minutes, after which they are to discuss the results orally with a companion.

Examine the various ways that students formatted their resumes on the page as a class (including the arrangement and sequencing of the information). Place resumes on desks and ask students to move around the room to look at the materials. Keep students from criticizing anyone. Concentrate the conversation on potential employer perceptions of the presentations.

Explain: "This resume will be part of a portfolio that will be used as the unit's final assessment, along with the other products from the next two lessons." It's important to encourage students to edit and revise before turning in their work for the final unit grade. Students should turn in the résumé evaluation after responding to the quick questions at the bottom of the page so that you can offer comments. After that, it should be returned to the students so they can use it for further revision.

Ask the following questions of the class as you wrap up the lesson:

"What makes writing a resume with a specific audience important?" (Since the audience hires, it needs to live up to their expectations.)
"What distinguishes functional information ordering from chronological order?" (The chronology is the order of time. Functional refers to a region or purpose.)
"What does employing proper punctuation, capitalization, and spelling show an employer besides your ability to spell well?" (You are concerned with accuracy, correctness, leaving a positive impression, etc.)

Extension:

Online resume formats allow students to examine various resume formats and assess how formatting and information phrasing affect the document. You could create a Web page or poster that compares and contrasts things as a helpful assessment tool and teaching aid for upcoming lessons.

For their personal portfolios, students could make their own resumes in two different formats: chronological and alternative.

You might invite business leaders from the community to speak with students and share with them their assessments of students' resumes and the qualities they are looking for in applicants.

To get a job right away, you can create a résumé. Searching online for a dream job or career could be the subject of a second resume. Students could then assess what qualifications and categories they would need to meet in order to get such a job on their own.