I or me?

While I was teaching a group of students this afternoon, we discovered an error in the answer key for a grammar activity. The sentence said:

My husband and I are very pleased with the progress that our daughter has made.

The answer key incorrectly stated that the "I" should have been replaced by "me". As I went on to explain to my students, had the sentence finished with the personal pronoun, eg, "The progress made by our daughter has been very pleasing for my husband and me", then, and only then, would "me" have been appropriately used.

Basically, if the sentence continues after a listing including the personal pronoun, "I" must be used, whereas, if the sentence ends on the personal pronoun, "me" is correct.

Examples to illustrate:

"I"

Michelle and I decided to spend the morning at the beach.

After the movie, my mother, my daughter and I went for a stroll along the boardwalk.

"me"

Spending the morning at the beach was relaxing for Michelle and me.

After the movie, a stroll along the boardwalk was taken by my mother, my daughter and me.

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Are you a snob?

When it comes to reading, are you a snob? Do you judge a book by its cover? Will you only read books of "quality"? Do you have an unspoken standard of reading material below which you will not stoop? Or, do you have a more "open door" policy when it comes to reading?

Where I live, on the Gold Coast, there are several newspapers on offer daily at my local newsagent. There is the local paper, The Gold Coast Bulletin, the state paper, The Courier Mail, and the national options, The Australian and The Sydney Morning Herald. Some say that the quality of news reporting increases as the readership's geographical area grows. That is, the quality of the local newspaper is questionable, while the reporting in the papers which enjoy nationwide distribution is of much higher quality. I know of people who would be horrified at the thought of reading the local paper, where there are others who take their news only from such a source.

Similarly, magazines and journals can be categorised in various ways, including according to their supposed quality. I must admit to being a little bit of a snob when it comes to this type of reading material. I do look down my nose at some of the magazines on offer as I wait at the supermarket checkout and would not want to be seen purchasing one of them. However, I am just as likely to pick the same magazine up if I'm in the doctor's waiting room and, secretly, don't mind if she is running a little behind schedule with appointments, as it provides me with a stolen moment to catch up on the latest gossip!

There is the school of thought that says information can be found in the unlikeliest of places and this is certainly true when it comes to reading material of dubious quality. I guess the real question is, what are you seeking from what you read? You could have any number of reasons for reading - from expanding your intellect to gleaning gossip on your favourite actor to simply enjoying a moment in time to escape the realities of your daily routine. I say, read what you want, not what you think others think you should be reading. As long as you are reading, that's all that matters.

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How to write an hypothesis...

Writing a clear hypothesis is essential for success in any essay. The hypothesis must appear in the introductory paragraph of the essay and, if written effectively, it will be easily identifiable.

The easiest way to formulate the hypothesis is to consider this question in response to the essay topic - if you could write the essay in one sentence, what would you write? In 99% of cases, this one sentence will be appropriate as your hypothesis.

* Don't be afraid to include key words from the essay topic within your hypothesis, but don't simply restate the essay topic and expect it to stand as your hypothesis.

* Do aim to make your hypothesis memorable - be daring in your assertion

* Do make sure you are going to be in a position to support this assertion as your essay progresses with valid evidence - eg. in the case of a novel, by using examples and quotations; in the case of an information report, by using research and statistics.


For example, for the essay topic -

Explore the parallels to The Great Gatsby which exist in today's society

- an appropriate hypothesis statement could be -

The Great Gatsby provides a mirror for today's society through its representation of the need for instant gratification, a worship of material possessions and the superficial relationships between people.

Of course, how you provide an outline for your essay (and this may be achieved within your hypothesis) and how your body paragraphs each work to support your hypothesis statement are also critical to your success. Without a clearly articulated hypothesis, however, your essay will not magically fall into place.

Now I've got you started, more on writing the rest of your essay later...

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Conjunctions

As you become a more skilful writer, you will employ a range of sentences, both simple and complex. Longer and more complex sentences are possible with the inclusion of a conjunction.

Common conjunctions include:

* since
* while
* if
* after
* before
* unless
* although

She has been a confident swimmer since she began lessons as a toddler.

Before we departed for our overseas trip, we visited the doctor to receive vaccinations.

You are certain to catch a cold unless you wear a coat when you go outside.

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Top 10 Australian Poems and Songs on War

1. I was Only 19 - Redgum
2. And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda - Eric Bogle
3. Beach Burial - Kenneth Slessor
4. Blossom and Blood - Midnight Oil
5. Khe Sanh - Cold Chisel
6. Hey True Blue - John Williamson
7. Homecoming - Bruce Dawe
8. In Flanders Fields - John McCrae
9. To the Sunburnt Ear - Tony Gunter
10. Can You Hear Australia's Heroes Marching? - Peter Barnes

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Dawn Service at Currumbin's Elephant Rock

This morning we almost didn't make it to the dawn service for ANZAC Day. We had arranged with my parents for them to come to our house at 3.15am, so we could drive in convoy down to Currumbin's Elephant Rock for the dawn service which began at 5am.

At 3.15am, when my father's knock came at our front door, instead of having been up and ready, everyone in the house was still soundly asleep. My husband had been in charge of setting the alarm, but, because he was sleep-deprived from several early starts and late finishes during this week, he had inadvertently set it for an hour later (ie. 4am). If we hadn't organised for my parents to come here, we probably wouldn't have made it at all! As it was, we did a mad dash around throwing on the nearest clothes and were out the front door by 3.30am.

The opportunity to be present for this occasion is awesome, and, once again, today's dawn service did not disappoint. This year, just as the sun was rising over the horizon, the Currumbin Surf Lifesaving Club, the Vikings, rowed out in their surf boats and did a traditional viking salute with oars upraised in honour of those lost at sea. This was in addition to the release of doves, a flyover, a gun salute and a Scottish piper.

The service was hosted by the Currumbin RSL and the master of ceremonies was so dignified. Each year he has the difficult task of reading out the names of Currumbin RSL members who have died in the last year to honour them, and this year the list was longer than ever. His comment at the conclusion of the list, "You've got no idea how hard that was", as he took a moment to regain his perfect composure, said it all. The sad reality is that each year, numbers of veterans are dwindling. If it is any comfort at all, though, to their families, comrades and friends, the numbers turning out to honour the veterans of all wars is definitely growing. We estimate numbers at this morning's service to have been around 20 000 of all ages. The respect and honour displayed by all was testament to the fact that the sacrifice made by all involved in war will never be forgotten.

So, thank you Dad, for the wake up knock this morning. This was an occasion we would have been very upset to have missed.

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Word of the Week - BLACKMAIL

Today's word - BLACKMAIL.

Word type - noun

Definition - the crime of demanding payment in return for not revealing damaging information.

Word origin - "Mail" is used in relation to the Old English and primarily Scottish word for tax, rent or tribute and "black" is used to refer to the copper, rather than silver ("whitemail") used to make the payment. Its use originated in the borders of England and Scotland in the 16th century when outlaw chiefs exacted tribute from small landowners in return for immunity from attack and plunder. This payment was separate from the land rent also paid by landowners. The term "blackmail" has nothing to do with the Post Office or the colour of envelopes.

Sample sentence - The con artist was able to blackmail the frightened woman into making payments into his bank account.


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Commonly misspelled words - "A"

* advise, advice
- advise (verb) - I advise you to begin your trip early.
- advice (noun) - I received good advice from the travel agent.

* aloud, allowed
- aloud (adverb) - She cried aloud in pain.
- allowed (verb) - The girl wasn't allowed to go stay out past midnight.

* alter, altar
- alter (verb) - The dressmaker was able to alter my new skirt.
- altar (noun) - The newly married couple stood before the altar.

* affect, effect
- affect (verb) - The weather should not affect our plans too much.
- effect (noun) - The downturn in the market had a big effect on their investment.

* assure, ensure, insure
- assure (verb) - We assure you of best quality service. (to instil confidence)
- ensure (verb) - We will ensure this is completed by tomorrow. (to make something happen)
- insure (verb) - She should insure her car for $20 000. (buying insurance)

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Spell check THIS! Dus speling reely matr?

Wot doo u thinck? Thees daze it seams know won maiks aknee fusss abbout speling rite. Du u get two bothrd iff u carnt reed wot sumwon elz hase ritten? Iff it stil maiks cents isernt that orll that matrs? Sownds arl rite too mee.

Four sum reel phun weeth krasy speling and non cents werds, read Lewis Carroll's "Jabberwocky" from his sequel to Alice in Wonderland, Through the Looking Glass.

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How to use a computer spell check

Now that your computer spell checker is set up to use the correct language dictionary, here's how it should be used.

1. You have misspelled (or mistyped) a word. The computer will offer you a replacement spelling, with sometimes more than one possibility (depending on how far off the correct spelling you have gone). You may need to consult a dictionary (paper or internet based) to ensure the alternative spelling you choose is right in the context of your sentence.

2. You have spelled a word correctly, however, the computer does not recognise the word. This often occurs in the case of proper nouns, such as a person's name or a street, suburb or city name. It may also occur in the case of abbreviations, such as "Dr". You will be given the option to accept this spelling by clicking on 'ignore all' to allow all instances of this same spelling wherever they appear in your document.

A word of caution - for all that the spell checker is an excellent tool to employ, it will not identify incorrect spelling of a word in a particular context. For instance, in the sentence, 'The girls dressed in there finest gowns for the ball', the word 'there' would not be identified by spell checker. Of course, 'their' is the correct spelling in the context of this sentence. For this reason, a writer should not rely completely on spell checker to 'fix' their writing, rather, it should be used as one of the several tools every good writer employs.

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How to set your computer spell checker to your language

When using a spell checker, you need to make sure your computer's spell checker is set to the language in which you are operating. For English, there are two possible options - English (US) and English (Australian/UK). Because I am based in Australia, I have the Australian version set on my computer.

To set up your spell checker to use the correct English language dictionary (or to check this is already in place), follow this easy process:

* Open Microsoft Word and left click on the 'Review' tab
* Go to 'Proofing' section
* Left click on the icon with a globe and a red tick, which is 'Set Language'
* Left click and you will see a listing of all possible languages which can be set as your spell checker, from Afrikaans to Yoruba.
* Highlight the language of your choice and click on the default button, which will set up the 'Normal' template for all future documents to rely on the spell checker language you have chosen.

This should take you no more than 30 seconds to achieve. You can rest assured from this point on that your spelling will be correct for the English context in which you are operating.

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When can "AND" be used to begin a sentence?

The short answer to this question is never.

Consider the following sentence examples:

* And the girl followed the stranger without thinking twice.
* And he died at the age of 96.
* And then I took a well-deserved rest.
* And the aliens were never heard from again.

In each of these cases, the choice to begin the sentence with "and" is incorrect.

Two other options exist:

* If it is a continuation of the same idea/event description, adjoin the sentence you have begun with "and" to the previous sentence.

eg. After I returned from the supermarket, I unpacked the groceries and then I took a well-earned rest.

* If it is a separate point on a the same subject, delete the "and" and begin the sentence with the next word.

eg. Harvey Shapiro was one of the greatest cellists of our time and lived a long and fulfilling life. He died at the age of 96.

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A Blessing for Stripeycat

Today is a very exciting one for our family and cause for a shameless plug from me on this blog. My mother has written a book for children, titled, "A Blessing for Stripeycat", and today we have seen, for the first time, the form for customers to use when ordering the book. It is being published by St Paul's Publications in Sydney and will be available from September of this year. Pre-orders are being taken now!

It is a lovely story, in which Stripeycat's owner, Grace (my daughter's name - no coincidence!), tries to take Stripeycat to church for a special blessing on St Francis Day, but the cat has other plans. Children will love this book for its focus on animals and the chaos created by Stripeycat. It is lots of fun (and based on the real pet my mother had as a child!).

The book is in hardcover and retails at $17.95. Don't forget - it is being published by St Paul's Publications and pre-orders are being taken now - go to http://www.stpauls.com.au/ and happy reading to the children in your life!

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When is a 'special' not so special?

Today, I was doing our supermarket shopping and, like a lot of people these days, I had my eye out for 'specials'. I love a bargain as much as the next person. The problem is that 'special' does not always equal 'bargain'.

The particular supermarket at which we shop has a lot of specials where, if you purchase two of the same product, you save a certain amount of money - eg. "SPECIAL - 2 items for $4.00 - save 48c - Single price - $2.24" type specials.

Sometimes, however, it pays to look carefully at how much you will save and work out whether this makes it worth the additional up-front cost to purchase the two items. Today, I could have bought two tins of crushed pineapple for $4.00, where the price for a single tin was $2.02, so I would have saved a grand total of 4c. Call me a spendthrift, but I managed to resist the urge to grab that second tin! It really wasn't very 'special' at all.

There's the rub. How many times are we, as consumers, enticed by the 'special' signage alone, rather than reading the fine print to understand how special the special really is? I know I could have stockpiled that second can of crushed pineapple and saved myself 4 cents in the process, but I certainly couldn't class saving 4 cents (or 1%) as special. For me, a saving is 'special' when it's worth mentioning to a friend. Despite all this, I wonder how many cans of that crushed pineapple moved out of the supermarket today...

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Exclamation Marks!!!!

There seems to be an indiscriminate overuse of the exclamation mark at present. Especially, this is the case in electronic communication, like blogs, emails and social networking sites. What is the point?!? (yes, pun intended)

The REAL use for an exclamation mark is in the place of a full stop, as follows:

* following a command - eg. Stop thief! Go away! Come here now!

* after an exclamation(who'd have thought?) - eg. Well done! No way! Congratulations! That's crazy!

* to show sarcasm or irony - eg. With small children in the house, who needs sleep!

Most commonly, the exclamation mark is found in dialogue to indicate the speaker's tone of voice. This is the likely explanation for its prevalence in electronic communication - in a medium which has been stripped of verbal tones (volume, pitch, pace) and complementary body language, the exclamation mark picks up the ball and runs with it.

The problem is that, if it is employed too often (eg. Hi!!! Great to hear from you!!! We're great!!!!!! I'm in love!), the reader can end up missing the really exciting part of the message. So, use your exclamation mark sparingly and, when you do, let it have the impact it deserves!

!!

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One or two words?

There are certain words in the English language which cause confusion:

Always written as two words:

* thank you
* in front
* all right
* in fact
* on to

Always written as one word:

* today
* tomorrow
* tonight

Can be either depending on context of use:

* all ways, always

eg. I tried all ways out but they were blocked.
I always take my umbrella out with me.

* may be, maybe

eg. She may be unable to attend the party.
Maybe I'll have a coffee.

* every one, everyone

eg. The toddler ate every one of her peas for dinner.
We asked everyone we knew to come to the celebration.

* all together, altogether

eg. The students gathered all together for the principal's address.
Altogether, the boys had enough money to buy three packets of lollies.

* some times, sometimes

eg. There are some times when the tide reaches the base of the bridge.
Sometimes he skips his morning jog and sleeps in.

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Beautiful Blogs

It's Easter Monday and it's wet! I've just spent the last hour or so browsing the blog "Absolutely Beautiful Things", created by Anna Spiro, and, at the risk of you never wanting to come back to this blog, I found it truly beautiful. The appeal of the blog is undeniable.

I first heard of Absolutely Beautiful Things a month or so ago, when I read (maybe in Q Weekend magazine??) that after a couple of years of writing her blog, Spiro had decided to take a break from it. As a fellow blogger, I can empathise with her on the level that keeping a blog on a daily basis can be pretty demanding, and understand her decision to try to take a step back from blogging. If you've had a massive day doing all that family, work, and home entails, there is not a lot of time left for relaxation, let alone the time it takes to write a blog.

However, the outcry from blog followers was such that she has felt compelled to return to blogging. Thank goodness she has. Absolutely Beautiful Things is a feast for the senses. I must admit to a little bit of 'blog envy', though. I'd like to think that my Word Write for Success blog could attract followers to the extent that it would make news if I was to stop in a year or two! Fingers crossed...

http://www.wordwriteforsuccess.com.au/

Word of the Week - TWILIGHT

For those who read yesterday's post, you'll know it's a lucky thing I'm still here and able to blog! To continue the theme, however:

Word of the week - TWILIGHT

Definition

- the period from sunset to dark
- any growing darkness
- a period of decline

Pronunciation - twi-light

Word origin - 1387 The exact connotation of twi- is unclear, but it may refer to "half" light. Originally used in English to refer to evening twilight but occasionally used to describe the period of time between sunrise to day (morning twilight).

Word type -

1. noun

eg. The twilight hours were often a time for reflection upon the day's events.

2. adjective

eg. She had entered the twilight years of her career as an actress.

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Twilight Tension

There is a tense stand-off occurring in our household at present, revolving around the 'Twilight' series and the happy relationship I have enjoyed, up until now, with my daughter.

I mentioned a while ago that I had 'Twilight', the first book in the series (as if you need to be told this!), sitting on my bedside table waiting to be read, at my daughter's recommendation. The problem which exists now is that I have read 'Twilight', then 'New Moon' and have caught up to my daughter so that we are both sharing a copy of 'Eclipse'.

As you would appreciate, this is a sticky situation. I have employed all of my negotiating skills to no avail. The only time I have been able to get my hands on the book is after she has fallen asleep at night or before she wakes up in the morning. She has insisted I am NOT ALLOWED to overtake her in reading the series, but, as the two bookmarks sitting in 'Eclipse' attest, I have ignored her command. I know I could be dicing with death to so blatantly go against the awesome might of a 12 year old's will. Such is my fascination with the story, I am willing to take the risk.

Right now, in fact, is my chance! She has a friend over for the day and is suitably distracted. What am I thinking to be sitting here writing my blog, when it's the perfect opportunity to conduct a stealth mission into her bedroom. If you don't hear from me again, assume the worst...

http://www.wordwriteforsuccess.com.au/

The Philosophy of Email Checking

Okay, I have a question for you - how many times a day do you check your email?

Actually, I have a lot of questions for you (and not many answers!), such as:

* Does your email checking depend on where you are? For example, do you check your email more often during the day if you are at work than you would if you were at home? And, if yes, is it your work email you are checking? Would you wait until you are on a lunch break to check personal email if you are at work? Further, are you able to complete a separate task without taking a break to check an email, especially if you have an alert pop-up every time an email arrives?

* Have you ever sent an email to a person in your workplace who is physically less than 3 metres from you at the time? It's okay, so have I!

* Do you check email routinely? I know some people who check email first thing in the morning, then last thing at night. Would you be able to go 24 hours, 48 hours or a whole week without checking your email? Say you went on a holiday and there was no email access available (and you're already saying that you would have ascertained this as a pre-requisite prior to booking that holiday), how would you cope?

* For those of you, like me, with more than one email address, which email address do you check most frequently? Do you check your email addresses in order of preference? Which email address would you check if you only had enough time to check one?

* Now, to replying and sending - do you always reply to an email as soon as you have read it? Does it depend on who has sent you the email?

* Does the frequency at which the same person emails you increase or reduce the urgency of your need to reply? Or, once again, does it depend on who has sent you the email?

* Do you expect an email recipient to reply to you upon receiving your email within a set time frame - what is an acceptable time frame to allow for an email reply to be sent? Do your settings allow you to receive notifications of your recipients opening your email (and can you tell when a sender has this setting for their email message to you)? Under what circumstances, dare I ask, is it okay not to reply to an email at all?

Which brings me to my point - does the human control the email or does the email control the human? I know, I know, more than enough questions for one post...and I haven't even begun to consider the content of the email itself! Maybe some other time...

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How to Address an Envelope

Lately, I've written a number of posts related to letter writing, but I've neglected to discuss the finished touch, that is, the addressing of the envelope. After you've put all that time and effort into the letter, you want to make sure that it reaches its correct destination. These addressing tips apply equally to parcel posting.

The address on the front of the envelope should sit so that the top line is centred on the space available. Each line to follow should begin below the left point of this first line. There is no need for punctuation marks (other than capital letters).

eg.

Mr Ralph Randolph - recipient's name
44 Rudolph Road
RANDWICK NSW 2031 - suburb/town is in capitals

Some envelopes are preprinted with four boxes - if you have this type of envelope, place the postcode into the designated spaces. Australia Post will LOVE you!

In the case of a post office box, rather than a street address:

Mr Ralph Randolph
PO Box 888
RANDWICK NSW 2031

If your recipient has a position in a business, the address may take four or five lines:

Mr Ralph Randolph
Recruiter
Reliable Rakes Pty Ltd
PO Box 888
RANDWICK NSW 2031

A good rule of thumb is that whatever you have used as the recipient's name and address details on the letter should be replicated on the envelope.

Give the postal service provider another reason to love you by making sure you provide sender information on the reverse side of the envelope, including your name and your postal address. This should appear on the seal flap of the envelope and be set out using the same format as the examples above indicate. This ensures that the letter can be easily returned to you if it is undeliverable. This even worked with a parcel I sent to London last year - yes, it was four months after I'd posted it before it made its way back to me, but, thanks to the return address, it did make it back!

Final tip (and only because I've forgotten to do it myself once or twice!) - remember to put a stamp at the top right on the front of the envelope and then your letter is ready for the red box.

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A Dog with Nine Lives

We have just returned from having our pet dog, Raspberry, a Jack Russell terrier, microchipped, after what have been the most worrying couple of days of our experience as pet owners.

About 48 hours ago, sometime between about 10pm on Saturday night and 7am Sunday morning, when there had been some storm activity, Raspberry went missing. When we realised she was missing on Sunday morning, we didn't know if she was stuck somewhere in the house or downstairs in the garden shed, and we hunted high and low. High because this is the dog who has been known to climb up shelves in a storm and low because her favourite spot to sleep is under our bed. It was all to no avail - she was nowhere to be found.

By mid-morning Sunday, having searched the perimeter of the property, we decided she must have absconded. Still, there was no obvious sign of her breaking through fence lines, so we were completely mystified. I'm not ashamed to say I was starting to consider alien abduction as a real possibility. This theory was debunked, however, when a boy who lives a few houses down from us came and told us at about lunchtime on Sunday that Raspberry had presented herself at their house sometime around 11pm on Saturday night and he had brought her back to our front door, knocked and received no reply, so left her there. While she was still missing, at least this was a positive sighting and gave us reason to hope.

Meanwhile, we put up 'Lost Dog' posters around the neighbourhood and various parties had conducted foot, bicycle and car searches, without success. As soon as we realised she had gone missing, we had telephoned the pound, and, about mid-afternoon, we took a drive out there. There was several very cute dogs waiting to be collected by their owners, but sadly, not our little dog. The pound staff told us that a lot of 'found' dogs aren't reported until Monday because people don't realise the pound is open on a Sunday, which gave us more reason to hope. I must admit, though, by last night, we were all feeling pretty sad. Not knowing where she was or whether she was even alive was the worst part.

This morning delivered the miracle we'd been praying for. I heard a few shouts from out on the street, looked out and saw my son's friend, his dad and a little white dog heading towards our house. It was our little white dog, Raspberry! They had spotted her sniffing around one of their cars in their driveway. No need to say it was a very happy reunion!

If only dogs could talk, we would love to know where she spent the 30 hours or so that she was missing. It's a complete mystery! She was in pretty good condition, too - a few cobblers' pegs and dirty paws only. Considering she could have been hit by a car or mauled in a dog fight, she is so very lucky.

Hence our theory that this dog really is part cat, in that she must have nine lives. She's given us a few scares before, but nothing like this. Today, we have been out to have a new tag engraved with my mobile number and, as previously mentioned, taken her to the vet to be microchipped. Ideally, neither of these precautions will be needed, but, knowing Raspberry, we have not seen the last of the antics.

Did I mention the anxiety medication the vet also prescribed? I must check the label as to whether it's meant for the dog or its owner - after our ordeal, I don't know who needs it most!

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How to Write a Job Application Letter

If you are seeking paid employment, whether it be full-time, part-time, permanent or casual, the first step in the application process is to write a letter of application. Usually, this letter will have a resume attached to it.

Employers use a letter of application for several purposes:

• To assess a person’s ability to express him/herself clearly and coherently
• To assess basic spelling, punctuation, grammar and paragraphing
• To observe an applicant’s presentation skills – layout and neatness
• To discover preliminary information about a job applicant’s qualifications, skills and personality

A sample letter looks like this:

21 Rush Avenue
RINGWOOD QLD 4234

1 April 2009

The Manager
Jobs R Us
PO Box 333
BRISBANE QLD 4000

Dear Sir/Madam, (don’t make any assumptions about gender, unless the name has been given as part of the advertised position)

I am writing to apply for the position as office manager advertised on www.seek.com.au on 30 March 2009. I believe I possess the skills and attributes you are seeking for this position. (state position being applied for, place and date you saw it advertised)

I possess a Certificate IV in Frontline Management as well as….. (provide a brief outline of key qualifications).

I have worked as an office manager for the past three years in a very similar role to your advertised position. In that role, I have been responsible for ….(list key duties) Although I have been very happy in this position, the reason I had to leave was that our family made the decision to move to Brisbane recently. (if you have left your previous job because you became sick of it or didn’t like your employer, it is important not to present this in a negative manner – eg. ‘I am seeking the challenge of a career change’ sounds better than ‘I got sick of working in retail’) I have attached my resume which provides further detail, including referee contact information.

I would very much appreciate the opportunity of an interview at your convenience to discuss my application further. I can be contacted during office hours on … (show your willingness for the employer to make contact and provide times and contact details – email address and mobile number is best).

Yours faithfully,

(leave room for you to sign your name after you have printed the letter)
Ima Goodworker (type your name)

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10 Uses for a Dictionary

1. How to spell a word, including alternative spellings
2. Part of speech – eg. noun, verb or adjective
3. How to pronounce the word
4. How to break the word into syllables
5. Definition/s
6. History/origin of the word – known as etymology
7. Example sentence – usage in context
8. Possible other forms of the word
9. Any abbreviations of the word
10. In between actual use, having a dictionary on your shelf will make you look smarter to others.

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Word of the Week - SALARY

Today's word – SALARY

Pronunciation – sal-uh-ree

Word type - noun

Definition – the regular pay a worker receives for doing their job, especially for office work

Word origin-
Middle English, from Anglo-French - In Roman times, part of a soldier’s weekly payment was given in salt. The Latin word for salt is ‘salarium’. The saying, ‘worth your salt’ means that you are so capable and efficient that you are thought to deserve your pay.
Salt was a very precious commodity in ancient times, due to the cost involved in its extraction and the high cost of carrying it by river, sea and over land. Traders became very wealthy through the commodity of salt. It was primarily used in the preservation of food, in times long before refrigeration was invented. Salt taxes were introduced by governments and huge revenues were raised.
Prior to the 1700s/1800s and the growth in industrialisation, workers were paid by the hour or by the day. It was at this time that progressive companies began to pay a salary to its workers, especially for office workers, where work could not necessarily be measured by numbers of items produced.

Sample sentence - The worker was paid a monthly salary.

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It's raining cats and dogs...and other well-known cliches

It has been raining really heavily today, or, to use the cliche, it's been raining cats and dogs. A cliche is the term given for an overused or tired phrase or word which has been used so often that it has lost its appeal or meaning. In the case of this cats and dogs example, that is certainly the case - where does the phrase come from and how did it come to mean 'heavy rain'? Of course, cats and dogs have not been falling from the sky today. The most likely origin of the phrase is from the 17th century when heavy rain would cause the filthy streets to be washed clean of their debris, occasionally including corpses of dead animals, such as cats and dogs.

Cliches may be used in conversation, but in formal communication situations, their use should be avoided at all costs, as they show nothing other than a distinct lack of originality.

Common cliches include:

* larger than life
* sick as a dog
* tired as sin
* slow as a wet week

Cliches abound in the sports arena - sports commentators and sportspeople often fall back on cliches to express their feelings about a game or team performance:

* we dug deep
* we had our backs to the wall
* we came into the game as underdogs
* it was a team effort
* they need to orchestrate a comeback
* we had a red hot go
* they're a class act
* we were under the pump

Political and business cliches also proliferate:

* it's been a hard fought contest
* we're going to have to tighten our belts
* we need to take stock
* we need to address the bottom line
* let's think outside the box
* at the end of the day

Be creative in your speaking or writing and find fresh, new ways to make comparisons. I can't claim this one as my own, but the one of the best descriptions I've ever heard, and to continue the dog theme, was - "he's got the attention span of a two week old cocker spaniel".

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