WRITING ASSIGNMENTYour employers will want you to produce completed, well edited documents in a timely fashion, and theywill judge you by the quality of your work. Your word processor contains a numbe

Headers are appropriately clear and easily designated by line width and color, and as the Figure 1 Polished Resume, Designed by MOO (Word) audience of a resume is likely to skim through many resumes at any given time, seeing these key points at a distance is more important than in other documents (Markel, 2015).

According to the document’s description, ribbon colors can be easily changed to match the needs of the user; in some industries, especially t hose that are design - oriented , color can certainly be a good way to make one’s resume stand out, but in others, it may be less than preferred or seem unprofessional (Smith, 2014). As such, the ability to customize color schemes is a boon; I would likely pr efer a more subdued blue for the purposes of a resume, as it adds a pop of color without appearing too ostentatious or unprofessional. As it stands now, the color scheme could be interpreted as being a bit garish if presented in the wrong industry. Anot her interesting point in this resume template is found at the bottom of the template: the links. There are four headings for four links at the bottom: email, Twitter, phone and LinkedIn. Providing a wealth of contact information to the prospective employer is a must, and the addition of specific sections for these links is an interesting choice (Smith, 2014). Personally, I tend to prefer having contact information up near the name so that it is immediately associated with the owner of the resume; while I th ink it is important to have these links somewhere in the template, space on a resume is at a premium, so perhaps these artistic interpretations might be better suited in headers, footers or up in the name ribbon (Jarvis, n.d.). N a m e d e l e t e d | 2 The second template that I examined was on Excel and called the “Inventory list with reorder highlighting”. Excel presents a greater level of complexity when compared to PowerPoint or Word temp lates, as Excel, by its very nature, includes a lot more variables and can serve many more functions than its other counterparts. The inventory list could serve several functions for several companies, both large and small, and it can be expanded to serve larger lists more efficiently. This list is capable of highlighting items to reorder, if required, and can cross out discontinued items from the order list. While the template is clean and simple with good spacing to prevent eye -clutter, I feel as though the distinction between reorder items and regular items — light orange and light blue respectively — should be more defined for the sake of improving that all -important clarity aspect of the document (Markel, 2015). As it stands now, especially from a distanc e, the faded colors present on the template now are not that easily distinct — or at least not for me — and I think that the overall look of the template could be improved if the difference between them was more noticeable. Figure 2 Inventory list with reorder hig hlighting (Excel) Figure 3 Triple circuit lines presentation (widescreen) (PowerPoint) N a m e d e l e t e d | 3 The final template is one from PowerPoint by the name of “triple circuit lines presentation”.

PowerPoint offers the greatest level of customization and design ability of the three analyzed mediums, and in that sense, it can also offer the greatest margin of error and difficulty of use, especially in a professional format (Lane, n.d.). One important thing to note is that this theme is designed for a widescreen format, so if the use r required something in a different aspect ratio, he or she could encounter distortion problems or may need to consider another template. Right away, one can notice the contrast between the white lettering and the dark background; it is bold and stands out, and in many ways, the design is sharp and clean. The angular edges frame the contour of the text and imagery that will be stored within, keeping the viewer’s eye within the frame and on target. The color palette is soft, subtle and does not cause eye strain, and the darker neutral colors are suitable for a more professional environment (Lane, n.d.). For the most part, this presentation template can serve many needs, but in some professional environments, a more plain presentation may be preferred or e ven required. This presentation also does not allow for easy, clean integration of one’s logo, which may be a deficit in business environments. Some issues may arise in the finer details of the presentation; on one of the slides, a graph is presented to ma tch the style of the overall PowerPoint, but the graph is difficult to read and could be easily misinterpreted. Choosing another graph design or style would probably be preferable for the sake of clarity rather than prettiness. Other issues with PowerPoint s in general can often be a result of user over -design or error, and while the presentation template itself is adaptable to the needs of the user, it is up to the user to maintain its inoffensiveness and style (Lane, n.d.). In the end, that is the v ery nature of these templates; while they all provide excellent starting points, it is up to the user to adapt the template to their needs without compromising the document’s clarity or inoffensiveness. N a m e d e l e t e d | 4 Bibliography Jarvis, A. (n.d.). Simple Microsoft Word tricks to improve your resume . Retrieved from Ladders: https://www.theladders.com/career -advice/simple -microsoft -word -tricks -to- improveresume/ Lane, R. (n.d.). Combining colors in PowerPoint - mistakes to avoid . R etrieved from Microsoft Office Support: https://support.office.com/en -us/article/Combining -Colors -in- PowerPoint -%E2%80%93 -Mistakes -to-Avoid -555e1689 -85a7 -4b2e -aa89 -db5270528852 Markel, M. (2015). Technical communication. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's. Smith, J. (2014, April 2). 12 ways to make your resume stand out . Retrieved from Business Insider: http://www.businessinsider.com/12 -ways -to-make -your -resume -stand -out -20144