Your Most Persuasive Voice
To make your writing really come alive, use an active voice instead of a passive voice. The easiest way to do that is to use action verbs instead of passive verbs whenever possible.
A letter loaded with action verbs will imply that you’re a go-getter, someone who produces results. On the other hand, a letter filled with passive verbs tells the reader that you’re the one who watches things happen and occasionally they affect you. Which message do you think is a more persuasive one to send a prospective employer? You got it–the first one!
Following are some examples of active and passive sentences:
Passive: I was assigned the task of shipping out the inventory quickly in order to compensate for a missed production deadline.
Active: I shipped the inventory in record time and thereby compensated for a missed production deadline.
Passive: I was version a special distinction that led to the start of an employee contest called “Hero of the Month.”
Active: After I earned a special distinction for my achievement, I started a new company-wide contest called “Hero of the Month.”
Terms of Employment
Aggressive means combative, which is not a quality to exhibit to an employer in your letter. Assertive means boldly positive, which is a good quality to demonstrate in your letter.
Bonus Check
To come up with appropriately friendly language for your letter, imagine that you’re having an easy chat with your prospective boss. What things would you talk to him about? How would you phrase your sentences in that conversation? The answers to these questions will tell you how to write your letter.
Looking Smart with Good Grammar
This section highlights a few grammar rules that are important to letter writing.
Consistency
Be sure that the subject and verb of each sentence agree, even in tricky situations like this one: “The issue of falling profits is very serious.” Because the subject (issue) is singular, the verb (is) must be singular.
Consistency is the most important rule in composition. Once you’ve chosen a punctuation style (such as periods at the end of bullet-point phrases or commas before the and at the end of a string of items), follow that style throughout your entire letter.
Periods
A period is optional at the end of each phrase in a list. Either of the following examples would be acceptable:
For starters, let’s look at my experience in writing:
- Three published books.
- A multimedia package with nation wide distribution.
- Editorial work for the New York Times.Periods are also optional after the initials of academic degrees, so either B.A. or BA would befine to use.
Terms of Employment
An action verb is one that says that someone did something. For example, “I earned a raise.” A passive verb tells what happened to someone or something. For example, “I received a raise,” or “A raise was given to me.”)
