A Day Parallel Structure & turning skills into achievements

Overview
Active and Passive Voice Parallel Structure

Create a list of jobs and/or experiences that will look good to an employer or a college. Then, we will create a corresponding list of skills and achievements to show your experience.

Active Voice
Active voice is how you will write in a resume.
When a writer uses active voice. This is where the subject (you) performs the action. The scientists conducted experiments on the aliens . The dog bit the annoying boy. I studied very hard for the test.
Passive voice is when the subject follows the verb that it performs. Dont write in this form. Experiments were conducted by the scientists. The annoying boy was bitten by the dog.

Active Voice The Implied I

When writing a resume, you do not say I, or anything like that, ex: I did, I went, I won, I achieved, etc. Use the Implied I Ex: Scored 32 on ACT Planned all executive travel to places such as Brazil, Guatemala, and India. Managed 30 retirement accounts averaging more than $600,000 each.

Parallel Structure
Parallel structure means using the same pattern of words to show that two or more ideas have the same level of importance. This can happen at the word, phrase, or clause level.

Parallel Structure Word/Phrase

(WORD) Clark enjoys writing, reading, and flying. (PHRASE) To succeed is to open a new opportunity.
Notice the INFINITIVE = to + a verb

(PHRASE) Clark likes to write, to read, and to fly.

Parallel Structure - Clauses

The coach told the players that they should get a lot of sleep, that they should not eat too much, and that they should do some warm-up exercises before the game.
Structurally, these clauses are parallel. However, the sentence could be shortened.

The coach told the players that they should get a lot of sleep, not eat too much, and do some warm-up exercises before the game.
If you want to use less words, then using this structure would be helpful.

Parallel Structure Quiz -Fix the sentences to make them parallel. The words in blue changed into the same
tense, or one of the words should be eliminated.

Stoics deny the importance of such things as wealth, good looks, and having a good reputation. Sir Humphry Davy, the celebrated English chemist, was an excellent literary critic as well as being a great scientist. The delegates spent the day arguing with one another rather than work together to find common solutions.

Turning Skills to Achievements

Soccer: *Did drills Volunteering at soup kitchen: *Cooked and served soup

Played in games
Went to practice 5 times a week Developed leadership skills

Got other people to go

Went to a different place and met different people Submitted my volunteer hours

Skills to Achievements
Think of skills you developed while doing those duties. Choose precise nouns and active verbs to describe the duties.

Soccer:
Did drills becomes Learned fundamental skills in dribbling and teamwork Volunteering at soup kitchen: Cooked and served soup becomes Assisted in food preparation according to health code and served food to large numbers of people in an orderly, sanitary process

Skills to Achievements
The best way to translate skills into achievements is to enhance the verbs. The verbs should promote your achievements and skills. Notice how did drills is bland and fails to give the reader a sense of what you did? Look at your verbs. Can they be made more precise and active? Problem verbs include the following: did, was, got, had, worked, dealt with, handled, and went.

Todays Assignment
Create a T diagram in your notebook. On the left side of the diagram, create a list of jobs or experiences that you have that will look good to an employer of college administrator. On the right side, list the skills that those jobs demanded. Along with each skill, list at least two active verbs, and the activities in which you performed those actions. It is these actions we will work with during the next few days. Look at your verbs, are they action verbs? Are they in the past tense? Both those answer should be yes. If you dont know what an action verb is, look it up on your phone.