Employing Words: transferring academic
writing skills to the job market
Dr Emily Alder
Edinburgh & Lothians Regional Articulation Hub
Edinburgh Napier University
Skills development
Programme of academic skills development
Piloted ‘Employing Words’ to address gap between academic and
employable writing skills
Aimed to encourage deep learning to promote transferability...
...and students’ confidence in that transferability
Employing words...
are:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
individual
active
evidencing
specific
powerful
demonstrative
reflective
show:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
experience
ability
responsibility
success
confidence
roles
personal qualities
Reflection
Adapted from Cottrell (2008)
Critiquing
faulty
examples
Evaluation
Identifying good and bad examples of a personal statement/
competency answer
A: Outstanding
B: Very Good
E: Further Work Needed
Excellent 
A
B
C: Good
D: Satisfactory
F: Unsatisfactory/ Weak
C
D
E
F
 Inadequate attempt
Presentation 20%
Neatly written or typed
Messy, unstructured
Clear, easy-to-read lay-out
Not easy to read
Appropriate length
Too long or too short
Content 80%
Appropriate quantity of
information and evidence of
suitability is provided
Too much or too little information
is given
Relevant, specific examples of
activities or achievements are
used
Irrelevant or vague examples
Relevant strengths, interest,
and experience are highlighted
No attempt to highlight relevance
to the job
Good use of active language
and focus on positive points
Negative language
Gives truthful, authentic
impression
Appears clichéd
Free of errors of spelling,
typing, grammar, syntax
Many errors
A Excellent statement very likely to be accepted for interview even in a competitive field
B Likely to be shortlisted for interview
C Could be selected for interview in an uncompetitive field but otherwise unconvincing
D Could reach ‘maybe’ pile in an uncompetitive field but unlikely in an area of stiff
competition
E Very unlikely to be selected even in an uncompetitive field
F Destined for the ‘reject’ pile
Adapted from Kumar (2008)
Putting it into practice: writing a good
personal statement
Results of student surveys
I feel confident about sitting down to write a really good job application
I know the type of language I should use in a written job application to
make myself attractive to employers
Student range
Fee status
Level of study
Age range
11 Scottish/ UK
5 other EU
3 non-EU
8 postgraduate
21-54 years
(including 1 PhD)
8 undergraduate
(graduating 3rd or 4th
years)
3 2nd years
How would you describe the way you feel now
about the prospect of writing job applications?
How would you describe the way you feel
about the prospect of writing job applications?
Anxious
Daunted
Nightmare. Always try to delay
Nervous
Apprehensive!
Hesitant but reasonably confident
SCARED. I know the theory, however, it is
very often [hard] to put it into practice
Bad
I find them stressful – I find it tough to strike
a balance between selling myself without
feeling too brash
Weak
Boring
Concerned about the things to input and
those to leave out.
Nervous, daunting, anxious
Still anxious, but more confident!
Less daunted slightly confident 
Better
Confident
More confident
Pretty confident now
I’ve got a list of words/ phrase that I can use
when filling in an application form (and that’s
what I was hoping to get), however, I am aware
that it takes practice to learn to be concise and
to the point. Still not comfortable with that!
Better than before the workshop
Calmer!
FAR BETTER
It still seems boring but I have hope that it will
be at least good. Definitely want to try even
though I do not look for a job right now.
Better equipped!
Much more confident
Some limitations
Small student numbers
Student perceptions: not able to measure actual writing skills...
... Nor track future student performance
What next?
Extend workshop programme
Follow-up with online resources
?
Reference list
Boud, D., (1995). Assessment and learning: contradictory or complimentary? In
P. Knight (ed) Assessment for Learning in Higher Education (1995) London:
Kogan Paul, pp.35-48.
Christie, H., Tett, L., Cree, V., McCune, V., and Hounsell, J., (2008). 'A real
rollercoaster of confidence and emotions': learning to be a university student,
Studies in Higher Education 33 (5): 567-581.
Cottrell, S. (2008). The Study Skills Handbook London: Palgrave Macmillan.
Gibbs, G., Rust, C., Jenkins, A., Jacques, D., (1994). Developing Students’
Transferable Skills Oxford: Oxford Centre for Staff Development
Hager, P. and Hodkinson, P., (2009). Moving beyond the metaphor of transfer of
learning, British Educational Research Journal 35 (4): 619-638.
Kumar, A. 2007. SOARing to Success: Personal, Academic and Career
Development in Higher Education London: Routledge
Thank you.
Questions?
Contact me em.alder@napier.ac.uk