Lauren Berger reports:

"Write the note. I suggest that you always write the thank[-]you note instead of ignoring the situation. You don’t want to be the person who didn’t write the thank[-]you note or the person who was 'ungrateful'...Acknowledge the tardiness. Start the note by saying, 'I know this is a very belated note, but I wanted to make sure I wrote to you and expressed how much I loved your gift' (or something of that nature)...Keep it positive. Don’t worry too much about the fact that the card is belated. Keep the note brief, upbeat, and grateful. Thank[-]you notes only need to be 5-7 sentences...Reference the gift. Since your note is so late, make sure you reference the gift and how much you love it, used it, or continue to use it today...Mail it. Don’t just hand this note to someone[;] send it to them. It will feel more authentic that way and like you put more into it."

Amelia Jenkins reports:

"If you know you need to come in late to work one day, you have a better chance of getting an approval from your supervisor and avoiding any problems later on if you formally request to come in late. By making this request in writing, you can also keep it for your records. Write the date you made the request, formatting the date with the full month, day and full year. Indent the margins to 2 inches below the top of the page and format the text to the left side. Add a double space to the letter. On the second line, address your direct supervisor by name in the salutation...Skip a line between the salutation and the body of the letter. Use the first paragraph to request permission to arrive to work late. Include the date you need to arrive late and what time you expect to come to work. Add a double space between all of the paragraphs. Provide a reason for your late arrival in the second paragraph. Give your supervisor an honest reason, but keep your explanations brief and to the point. Thank your supervisor for his time in the closing paragraph. Include information on how he can contact you if you do not deal with him directly on a regular basis. Add a closure to the end of the letter, such as 'Thank you.' Follow the closing statement with a comma. Type your full name two spaces after the closure, or four spaces if you plan to print and hand-sign your formal request. Deliver the formal request letter to your supervisor. If you frequently contact your supervisor through email, you can simply email the request. Alternatively, you can print the request, add a personal signature and mail or hand deliver the letter...Avoid using a conversational tone when addressing your supervisor. Keep your text brief, sharp and professional throughout the body of the letter. Double-check the spelling of your supervisor’s name and his current mailing address to ensure the request reaches the right person."

Beth Rifkin reports:

"A concept statement clarifies an idea or design in words. Such statements are often used as part of a business plan or when proposing an idea to an investor or potential partner. The entirety of the business or product is summed up in just a few sentences, yet enough details are provided to give audiences a comprehensive understanding of the idea. A well-written concept statement allows the listener to have a clear visualization of the business. Keep the concept statement to one paragraph consisting of three or four sentences. The concept statement is not the business plan; rather the wording is used in business plans to easily explain the idea, product or design. Identify exactly what your product or service is...Explain what your company will do. Marketing, for example, encompasses many factors. Determine if you will specialize in a certain avenue of marketing, such as social media...Clarify the unique aspects of your idea or company. Investors may not want to put their money into something that already exists...Combine all of the factors into one solid concept statement."

Christine Bartsch reports:

"A frame story, also referred to in literature as a frame narrative, is in essence a story within a story. These tales involve a narrator in one setting telling another story that takes place in a different time and place...When writing with a narrative frame, the complexity of juggling multiple settings, time periods and characters requires careful planning and a deliberate structure...Even in its simplest form, the structure of a frame story is more complex tha[n] a straightforward tale with a linear beginning, middle and end. This complexity adds needless confusion to the story if there isn’t a clear reason behind the frame narrative structure. However, in many stories, the frame narrative structure is vital to the telling of the story. When writing a frame narrative, you must first determine why the structure is necessary...Picking a point of view is only one aspect to consider when determining which character should act as narrator. You must also consider how the narrator's presence in the frame story affects the main story...Frame story narrators also require special consideration in regard to their reliability as storytellers...Given the complexity of telling stories within stories, it becomes necessary to first fully structure each story independently before weaving them together into one tale. If not, story details become lost or neglected, leaving the reader confused. Writing each narrative as its own independent story also reveals any plot holes and allows you to see how each story builds and arcs, as well as revealing redundant story beats. This exercise also helps to determine which character should tell each part of the story and when...Since the frame structure provides narrative distance from the events of the main story, the narrator is in a position to comment on and give meaning to the tale being relayed secondhand. This commentary can be interjected throughout the story, allowing the narrator to clarify and interpret the tale as he tells it, rather than saving all reflection and moralizing for the end. Narrator interjections may also be used to foreshadow impending events and update the reader on events unfolding in the frame story."

A.L. Kennedy reports:

"A durable power of attorney document gives another person the power to make your healthcare or financial decisions if you become incapacitated. The power to handle your affairs for you lasts for as long as you are unable to make decisions yourself. Writing your own free durable power of attorney may be a good choice if you are trying to handle your own end-of-life affairs at minimal costs...Write or type the date, your full name, and a statement that the document is your durable power of attorney and that you understand the powers the document gives another person if you are incapacitated. Put this information at the top of the page...Name the person to whom you wish to give power of attorney. You may also wish to include additional identifying information, such as his relationship to you or his address. Specify whether he should have durable power of attorney for healthcare decisions, financial decisions, legal decisions or all three. Specify that the power of attorney should last only as long as you are unable to make decisions for yourself, and that it should expire once you regain the capacity to make your own decisions...Write down any specific instructions you wish to leave with the person to whom you are giving power of attorney...Sign and date your durable power of attorney at the bottom of the page. In most states, a durable power of attorney must be witnessed by at least two witnesses in order to be legal. Your witnesses should be of sound mind, at least eighteen years of age, not related to you and not the person named to receive power of attorney in the document. Some states also require a durable power of attorney to be notarized in addition to being witnessed."

Chris Daniels reports:

"Write an effective meeting reminder to make sure that everyone arrives at your meeting at the right location and time. E-mail will be your main method for sending a meeting reminder[;] however, you may also print a reminder in the same format to post in a high[-]visibility location...Choose a succinct and informative title for the meeting reminder. Indicate whether the meeting has a changed time or location...Open your reminder with a summary of the meeting goals and who is required to attend. The first sentence might read, 'Group C members involved in account management need to attend today's status meeting to discuss customer feedback,' or, 'All department heads need to attend Monday's meeting to analyze last quarter's revenue figures.'...State the location, date and time of the meeting. Set this aside in a list on separate lines for higher visibility...Close the reminder by stating details of the meeting such as agendas, speaker names, minutes from previous meetings or anything else that readers may need to do to prepare for the meeting."

Natasha Hochlowski reports:

"Although you may write individual resumes for different jobs to which you're applying, it saves a lot of time to have a universal resume to use as a template. Additionally, if you've ever attended a career fair, you may have struggled to craft a resume that you could hand out to potential employers, as it needs to be specific to the industry but not specific to any one job. Discovering how to make your resume universally applicable will make the job application easier and less time-consuming...Start off by providing your name and contact information, with your name in a bigger font...If you want to include a purpose, make it very general...Don't be too specific about the job title so that the purpose can be applicable to any job to which you are applying. Next, present your relevant experience in the industry, education, skills, awards and presentations/publications. If you don't have any experience in the industry, list any other employment experience, community service or leadership experience. Since your resume is universal, don't focus on any particular qualifications that would give you experience for a specific job title, but rather focus on your qualifications as a whole...All employers want to see that you've produced deliverables, so provide exact numerical values to show your accomplishments. Saying, 'edited several documents' won’t have the same impact as 'edited 45 reports and case studies.' You don't necessarily need to use complete sentences as long as you use appropriate grammar and are able to convey the pertinent information. Avoid difficult[-]to[-]read fonts and keep your text between 10 and 14 point font for better readability...Keep your resume to no more than one page so that the recruiter or potential employer will have time to review all of your qualifications. If you feel the need to provide further information about any of the job experiences you've listed, do so in two or three brief bullet points. Don’t embellish or exaggerate, as this simply wastes space that you could have used for conveying factual information. Even if employers don’t see through the exaggerations initially, later in the application process you may be asked to provide proof of the items on your resume...After composing your resume, wait at least an hour and take a second look. Review your resume to be sure that it is applicable to any job to which you might apply and [which] doesn't focus on your qualifications for one particular job. Your resume is the first impression the employer will get of you, so check that all of the information is accurate and there are absolutely no spelling or grammar mistakes. Ask a friend or family member to read your resume and offer any suggestions for improvement. If you know someone who works in the industry in which you're interested, have them look over your resume so you can make sure it's applicable to the jobs in the field."

The Pen & The Pad reports:

"Learning the art of proposal writing is essential in academia, the non-profit field and the business sector. The Statement of Need section is crucial to a successful proposal because it documents your need for funding. In it you have the opportunity to justify your research and its necessity. Address only one problem in your proposal. The problem needs to be clearly defined. Use specific information to justify your need for research and funding...Use logical reasoning and start as globally as possible. Convey that you have a solid understanding of the problem you are investigating. Make it clear that you are up-to-date with all of the contemporary developments that surround the issue you intend to research. State how a national issue affects a regional issue, which then impacts the community you are interested in. This illustrates an in-depth understanding of the topic and gives the potential client confidence in your skills. State other research that has been done or is currently in progress regarding your topic. Explain why your proposed research is better. If you are expanding upon research previously conducted, explain and justify its necessity. Describe the people or population you hope to help, study or work with. Include documentation that supports your proposed project and how it relates to the community...Do not include any assumptions that are not supported by facts."

Melody Ciria reports:

"Every single hotel has their own story to tell, so as a hotelier, it is your job to really give readers a taste of what they will expect when they stay with you, specifically what amenities your hotel offers and how your staff will best accommodate their needs. Luxurious five-star hotels ha[ve] the advantage of relying on beautiful photography to sell their hotel[;] however, smaller independent hotels that may not have the most impressive rooms but have a great location, find it more challenging to rely on photos to sell their rooms. If[,] say, you are a roadside budget-friendly hotel, then relying on photography to sell your rooms may not yield as many conversions [as] if you were to focus on telling your hotel’s story and providing a personalized experience through your content. Coupling beautiful photography with compelling content that sells, will give your hotel an edge over competitors and yield higher conversions. Now, let the writing begin...We see that many hotels face the challenge of high bounce rates from their website and low engagement (page views, session duration) even with the addition of new photography. A big reason for this is because hotels fail to focus on telling their story effectively. It isn’t enough to add high[-]quality photos without any substance to your website copy. In your hotel’s story, be sure to differentiate yourself from your competitors in the area. When visitors read your content, do they get a clear sense of what to expect from your property[,] and can they tell what they will get from your hotel that they won’t be getting if they [choose] another hotel down [the] street[?] If you answered ['No'] to these, then it is definitely time to rewrite your entire copy and focus on creating personalized content. Before you start writing your hotel’s copy, gather information on what your ideal guest is and create their buying [persona]. To get some insight into your potential guests’ buying personas, you will need to look into analytics. For further insight, you will want to send out an online or on-site survey. By tailoring your hotel’s message to your guests’ buying persona, the better the engagement and the more conversions will be generated...As you may already know, location is the top attribute that travelers look for when booking a hotel. If your hotel is in a prime location, then be sure to play up that characteristic and use it to up-sell your property. Make it apparent how close you are from a particular demand generator and mention that throughout your website’s copy. Position yourself as a local expert in the community by providing valuable information to your target audience. Answer potential questions that guests might have when deciding whether to book with your hotel or not...If you’re able to address all these questions in your copy, then you’ve made it much easier for the potential guest to make a decision to book with you. A great way to portray yourself as a local expert is through social media and blogging. Your posts should be about a variety of topics including things to do around the area, travel tips, and upcoming events. When you become a local expert, you also become a helpful resource for travelers...Don’t forget to incorporate an SEO strategy into your content marketing. When it comes to writing your hotel’s story, you must be able to balance between writing for the user as well as for search engine bots. The way to build your story for SEO is by providing great copywriting while incorporating long-tailed keywords. Come up with a list of keywords that guests might use to find your hotel on the website and include those search terms in relevant pages of your website...Don’t waste your time focusing your keyword strategy on short[-]tailed terms because these will actually yield less qualified traffic. Instead[,] focus on using long[-]tailed keywords that [are] much narrower and specific to the searcher’s intent. You will see that targeting long-tailed keywords will generate less traffic volume[;] however[,] because it is more specific to the searcher’s intent[,] it will yield higher conversion rates. When you finally decide to revamp your website, don’t forget to [reevaluate] the existing copy on your website. If you find that your copy is mundane and provides little to no value to the reader, then that should be a clear indication that a rewrite is necessary. Before you start rewriting your content, take some time to research what people are saying about you on review sites and social media and take all that [criticism] into consideration when rewriting your hotel’s story. Remember, your hotel isn’t what YOU say it is, but rather it is what your GUESTS say it is. Be as genuine and truthful about what your hotel offers and avoid giving readers a false expectation of what your hotel is not."

Patti Richards reports:

"Writing a paper about your beliefs, as part of a creative or essay writing course, requires knowing your thoughts and organizing them. Usually assigned as a personal essay, this topic is also used in social studies, philosophy and psychology classes. Personal essays about beliefs share the same essay structure as essays on other topics, and following an outline can keep you on point throughout the writing process...The thesis statement should encompass your overall life’s philosophy as well as at least three major points that support that belief system. Your thesis statement guides your writing and is included as the final sentence of your introductory paragraph. Begin developing your thesis statement by making a list of words that describe your personal belief system. From that list choose three to five words that best encompass your entire philosophy and work those words into one or two sentences that explain your beliefs. Keep the ideas in the thesis as broad as possible to allow for specific examples and explanations throughout your paper...Once you have a thesis statement that gives an overall view of your personal beliefs, it is time to organize your thoughts into an outline. Your outline should have five main headings that talk about your belief system as it relates to things like faith, family, relationships, community and worldview. Each main heading needs three to five subheadings that provide examples of how your belief system informs each area of your life. Organize your headings as follows: introduction, three to five body paragraphs and a conclusion. The introductory paragraph introduces your topic and contains your thesis statement. The body paragraphs explain the points of your thesis, and the conclusion summarizes your paper and leaves the reader with some final thoughts about your belief system...Use your introduction to let your reader know some background information about how your belief system has developed and how you plan to explain your beliefs throughout your paper. Your introduction should be conversational in order to draw the reader in and make her sympathetic to what you have to say. Remember that the goal of a personal essay about beliefs is to inform the reader and inspire empathy, not to persuade...The body of your paper should be three to five paragraphs in length depending on your thesis statement. Each paragraph should cover one aspect of your belief system...as outlined in your thesis and should contain three to five well-crafted sentences giving examples of how your belief system impacts each area of your life...Your final paragraph should summarize what you have written and include any information that further illustrates your personal belief system. Use quotes from people that personify your worldview or examples of behaviors from others that you admire. Your conclusion should leave your reader with a firm grasp of who you are and what you believe in three to five sentences."