Our #WeekendWatch focuses on revision strategies that strengthen your writing. Strong verbs can improve everything you write. They are particularly helpful in your job application documents, where strong verbs show off your capabilities.

The ideas in today’s video can apply to your Analysis project. In some of the columns of your table, you will most likely use fragments. Here’s an example for the kinds of writing I do, for instance:

The verbs in the Description column (in bold) strengthen the document. Just as a reminder: Your tables should include more information than just description.

Find out more about how to revise for strong verbs by watching the video (2m10s).

Note: This video has closed captioning, so it does not need a transcript.

Today’s #WeekendWatch video discusses how including clear headings, subheadings, and links helps readers navigate your document by providing information-rich signposts. Listen for a reference in the video to the F-shaped reading pattern, which these document features support.

The video refers to online documents specifically, but most of these features are useful in printed documents as well. Obviously links are not very helpful in printed work. Headings and subheadings certainly are.

Learning to Write for the Web by Chris Nodder (video, 5m22s)

Next week, you will share a draft of your professional bio with your writing group, and then you’ll provide feedback on the drafts of the others in your group. This video from the University of Minnesota Writing Studies program will help you figure out how to provide constructive and helpful feedback.

The MIT video on our Writing Groups page gives you some overarching suggestions for what peer review looks like. This University of Minnesota video gives you six specific ways that you can give your writing group members feedback. If you are unsure how to make constructive comments, spend five minutes on this video. You’ll know exactly the kind of comments I’m looking for once it’s finished.

Peer Review: Commenting Strategies (video, 5m4s)

Note: This video has closed captioning, so it does not need a transcript.

For our #WeekendWatch, we have our first Lynda.come video lesson, Crafting a Strong Message (4m16s) from the Writing Email course.

This video outlines three key strategies that will help you write effective email messages. With a great deal of communication in the workplace taking place in email, learning how these three strategies work will make you a more effective employee.

In addition to watching today’s video, skim the titles of the other videos for others that you can watch to improve your email messages. After watching the video, you can leave a comment on the strategies it recommends, your experience with email in the workplace, or another video lesson that you recommend.

How Lynda.com Videos Work

Lynda.com courses are comprised of a series of video lessons. Typically, I will ask you to watch one or two lessons to learn more about a particular concept or skill.

The site is designed so that you can easily watch an entire course, with the individual video lessons autoplaying one right after the other. It certainly won’t hurt you to watch more than I am recommending, but realize that I do not typically ask you to watch an entire course.

Note: This video has closed captioning, so it does not need a transcript.