Holly Langton

Justin Jory
ENGL 1030
September 15, 2014
Media Document Analysis
Analyzing documents to determine how they function for writers and readers in professional
contexts requires delving into them from a number of different angles. It takes understanding the
particular documents purpose, content, and target audience, as well as any ethical considerations
related to both the writer and the reader. This process differs for each document created depending on
genre and whom the document circulates to, which in turn affects how the content that is developed. As
readers, we connect to particular writings based on how we relateor dont relateto all of the above
information. An effective writer needs to consider multiple aspects related to the writings that they
produce.

Tune: A Case Study of Avian Zooarchaeology and Taphonomy

The purpose of this research report is to inform readers and other researchers on aspects of the
faunal remains of bird bones found in Tunel, Argentina. In effect, it deals with why archaeologists ignore
bird bones, and why they should start paying attention, and new information related to this area of
science. When writing in this genre, a writer/researcher is trying to answer a question or solve a
problem in their field of study. It is one thing to have all the proper research information and
documentation for this kind of project, but if the writing is flawed or inaccurate, the hard work of the
researcher goes down the drain, as well as their reputation and maybe even their future. On the other
hand, good writing/research can catapult someone to the top of his or her field and open many new
doors in the future.

The papers ideal target audiences are paleontologists, archaeologists and others in various
related fields. The report uses the language of anthropologyvocabulary and terminology that the
average reader might not understand, but is typical in this area of natural history museums, biodiversity
research, and anthropology. Writing in the language of your readers is an important technique to
establish credibility. To be effective, research needs to be credible and reliable.
In order for research such as this to be trustworthy, a writer must take the ethical issues
seriously. These issues include plagiarism, fabrication or falsification of data, conflicts of interest,
confidentiality and authorship issues, and more. If a writer does not take care to address these areas of
research properly, they could mislead others who rely on their information and/or lose credibility and
their relationships within their research community. The report being analyzed brings into question
other research data, so it needs to have all its is dotted, and ts crossed.
Jude Higgins, the author, incorporated information from 51 different sources in her report of the
bones she found in Tunel. She uses graphs, charts and diagrams to support the text she writes. This too
is a common aspect in this sort of writing. The format of the report follows the typical conventions of
research, which connects it further to what its readers have come to expect. Following the standards set
forth for research writing in general gives readers what their used toanything outside of that brings
the information into question.
Employment Documents
We all know what cover letters and resumes are for: We use them to land an interview. Is that
all? David Lore from the Rockport Institute (an organization that helps people get jobs) explains that a
cover letter or resume can do more than get you in the door. It can also do the following:
establish you as a professional person with high standards and excellent writing skills,
based on the fact that the resume is so well done (clear, well-organized, well-written,
well-designed, of the highest professional grades of printing and paper). For persons in

the art, advertising, marketing, or writing professions, the resume can serve as a sample
of their skills.
Resume writers, such as Barbra Stencel, look at job experience, education and volunteer work, and
highlight whatever information best fits the position that an applicant is applying forwriting their
documents all by means of the most persuasive and concise writing techniques available. A good
employment document writer is succinct because employers usually have limited time and generally
unlimited applicants. These documents are short and to the point, and a reader can scan them easily.
Writers must sandwich into these micro profiles all the pertinent facts and requirements. In effect,
employment documents are a compilation of what the employer wants and a convincing argument
regarding why youre the person that can provide itall this must be done in the limited format of the
cover letter and resume.
These documents do not scream ethics concerns at first glance. Misrepresentations when
applying for a job, however, could have detrimental consequences. The costs might just be monetary. I
say just because a company losing money in unrecoverable training expenses by hiring an unqualified
applicant, or lost profits because a new hire does not have the skills required to produce the needed
results, is nothing compared to the dire consequences that might occur in a hospital or emergency
services setting. It is one thing to make yourself look your best when applying for a job. It is another
thing to falsify your skills, education or related experience to get it. If the writer of the employment
documents is not the applicant, as in this case, the writer might find that an applicant is falsifying their
qualifications, experience or credentialsthat brings in a slew of other ethical concerns for the writer.
Could an employment document writer be liable for some mishap caused by the applicant if he or she is
hired based on their product? The representations of someones qualifications by a writer can be tricky.
On the other side, an applicant might blame the writers writing if they do not get the interview.

Getting an interview sometimes hinges not on a persons qualifications, but how that person
presents those qualifications. The common practices involved in great resume writing are easily
accessible if the Internet is handy. Just Google resume writing and up pops over 21 million search
results. As Lores Rockport Institute article suggests, a resume can function as an illustration of
someones abilities and talents. A writer in this genre would need to be up-to-date on the language used
in certain industries, as well as what certifications and terms are appropriate to use. Writing a resume
for a job as an illustrator would be very different from writing one for an accountant. It is not as easy to
find those subtle differences in resume writing in a simple Google search. This genres documents are
formal business documents and the writing should reflect this. The documents should use complete
sentences and avoid slang words, use proper format for writing lists, and avoid contractions and
acronyms, if the reader would not be expected to know them (and who knows if they would).
Unfortunately, one of these documents lacks a few of these standards. One of the resumes (Name RN,
MSN) has a list where each bulleted sentence fragment starts with a different type of word and the
fragments end in periods. It also has a number of acronyms under the certification section. These are
little errors, but can make a big difference to some employersmaybe the difference between a job and
no job.
There are also many differences involved in writing professionally in all the various genres and
situations. However, many aspects of writing remain the same. A writer must always consider who is
going to read their writing, why they are writing in the first place, what information they need to include
and why they need to include it. A writer will always need to consider the ethical concerns related to the
writing they do and how the genre affects what they write and how they write it. As different as writing
is in so many ways, its actually more the same than people might initially think.

Sources Consulted
Resnik, David. "What Is Ethics in Research & Why Is It Important?" National Institute of Environmental
Health Sciences. USA.gov, 1 May 2011. Web. 14 Sept. 2014.
Lore, Nicholas. "Resume Writing - How to Write a Masterpiece of a Resume." Rockport Institute. n.d.
Web. 15 Sept. 2014.