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• Improving Your Writing Style
• Stages of the Writing Process
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• • Letters and Application Essays
  • Application Essays (and Personal Statements)
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  • Using Literary Quotations
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  • Resources for Proposal Writers
  • Resources for Dissertators
  • Research Papers
  • Planning and Writing Research Papers
  • Quoting and Paraphrasing
  • Writing Annotated Bibliographies
  • Reviews
  • Reading for a Review
  • Critical Reviews
  • Writing a Review of Literature
  • Scientific Reports
  • Scientific Report Format
  • Sample Lab Assignment
• Grammar and Punctuation
• Cite References in Your Paper
• Writing Center Home

Questions to guide your writing*

• Who is my audience?

• What is my objective?

• What are the objectives and needs of my audience?

• How can I best express my objective in relationship to my audience's objectives and needs?

• What specific benefits can I offer to my audience and how can I best express them?

• What opening sentence and paragraph will grab the attention of my audience in a positive manner and invite them to read further?

• How can I maintain and heighten the interest and desire of the reader throughout the letter?

• What evidence can I present of my value to my audience?

• If a resume is enclosed with the letter, how can I best make the letter advertise the resume?

• What closing sentence or paragraph will best assure the reader of my capabilities and persuade him or her to contact me for further information?

• Is the letter my best professional effort?

• Have I spent sufficient time drafting, revising, and proofreading the letter?

*From Ronald L. Kraunich, William J. Bauis. High Impact Resumes & Letters. Virginia Beach, VA: Impact Publications, 1982.