Chapter . Case 1: Using the Measures of Excellence in Evaluating a Résumé

You work for the U.S. Network for Education Information (USNEI), an office in the U.S. Department of Education. The USNEI provides information for international students and professionals who want to study in the United States, as well as for U.S. students who want to study in other countries.

Your supervisor, Sonia Reynard, has asked you to help her with a project. “What I’d like you to do,” she says, “is to work up a design for a one-page flyer for international students who are interested in grad school in the United States. The subject is standardized tests they’ll have to take. I’ve got the information, but it’s in a word-processing document” (Document 7.1).

“Are these tests specific to international students or to the kind of grad school they want to go to?” you ask.

“Both,” Sonia says. “Some are required for people whose first language is not English. Some are subject-matter-related, like for law school or dental school. Anybody who wants to apply to those schools, regardless of their nationality, has to take the subject-matter tests.”

“Okay, so the audience is international students considering grad school. Where are these students located now?”

“They could be here, finishing up in a U.S. undergraduate program, or they could be overseas,” Sonia replies.

“And we want to be able to post this flyer on a bulletin board.”

“Yes, that’s right. We’ll be sending this out to schools and government offices here and all over the world; they won’t have to print it themselves.”

“So, we’ll go with U.S. paper—8.5 ×11—right? What if all the info doesn’t fit?”

“If you need to edit it for length, try to shorten the descriptions, without eliminating any of the tests. Be sure to leave 1.5 inches at the top for our logo, and add at the bottom a note telling people to visit our site for more information”

Download the document below, and then begin your assignment.

Download a copy of Document 7.1.

Your Assignment

Once you’ve familiarized yourself with the case background and document, complete the assignment below. Your instructor will tell you how he or she would like you to submit your work.

1. Review the concepts discussed in Chapter 7, including page layout, columns, typography, and the design of headings. Then review Document 7.1 and think about what the best organization might be for this information. Write a memo to Sonia Reynard describing the design you plan to use and explaining why you think the design would work well for this audience and purpose.

2. Revise Document 7.1 and implement the design you described. Be sure to set aside 1.5 inches at the top for the USNEI logo.

Reflecting on Your Work

Once you’ve completed your assignment, write a reflection about your work using the prompt below.

Question