Alchemist for Students Closed Beta

Use the form below to sign-up for the closed Beta testing of Alchemist for Students. If you don't know what that is, click on the video tab and watch. It will explain some of Alchemist's features.

Please note, this is a beta test and you may encounter bugs in the software; 

Requirements for participating in the beta test:

1. You must have a copy of Microsoft Word 2007, 2010, or 2013 (Word is not the same as Wordpad. Do not confuse them).
2. Your computer must run Microsoft Windows (sorry, Macintosh people. A Mac version is possible in the future, but not right now).
3. You will be asked for your feedback (suggestions, reporting bugs, etc.) regarding the software.
4. You agree not to distribute (give out copies) of the software to others.
5. You will be asked to destroy the beta version at the end of the closed test (active participants will receive a full version for free at the launch of Alchemist). 
6. The Beta sign up will be open from 4/30/2014-5/16/2014. The sign up has been extended to allow for students in summer school. Sign up until June 30th.

The Way Things are Written

     An article on Lifehacker entitled Improve Your Resume with This Simple Formula caught our attention yesterday. More specifically, the picture used grabbed us, since the resume is marked up. It's clear that writing is more important than ever because of the internet, and that the way in which certain things are written is becoming more diverse to suit the specific needs of people and businesses.
     Every piece of writing has a desired audience, which helps shape the writing. The business memo is quite different from a reflective journal; the doctoral dissertation is yet different not just in length and format, but in the discipline's jargon.
     What we see emerging in the business world is a general streamlining. Here's what we've been noticing (presentend in time-saving bullet points):

• Use shorter sentences and paragraphs to quickly catch the audience's attention because time is at a premium. 
• Do not obfuscate meaning at all; come straight to the point. 
• Use active voice to highlight actions. 
• Use words and vocabulary effectively; don't try to impress people by digging into the thesaurus. 

    This is just a short list of changes out there. But like with all writing, it takes time to form the habit to become good at it, and feedback in order to know what to change.

Doc's Quick Writing Tips

Doc Markup’s Quick Writing Tips

Do

Set up your computer first.

• Font
• Margins
• Line spacing

Use short, to the point sentences

Write many short paragraphs instead of one long one

Use a dictionary

Use analyzing verbs

• demonstrates, suggests, proves, indicates, causes

Do Not

Use contractions

Use a thesaurus

Use these phrases

• due to the fact that
• my/this essay/paper
• topic that I chose
• topic that interests me
• essay/paper will focus on
• in conclusion
• to conclude

Use passive voice (to be verbs)

• am, are, be, is, was, were, been, being

Proofreading Tips

Read out loud.

Go backwards: read from the end to the beginning.

Run a full spell check.

Run a full grammar check

We'll be posting up a pdf with these tips on a bookmark, free for anyone to print out and keep with them as a handy guide.We'll also do a follow-ups that explain the reasons why these tips are effective.