By: Katherine Francisco

One of the most overwhelming parts of finding a job is developing an effective resume. Added to this is the pressure that an English major will “never find a real job” (or at least that’s what some of our parents- and popular culture- tell us). English majors tend to pride themselves on their writing and communicating abilities, but when it comes to important documents like your resume, you freeze up. Below are the top ten tips for English majors (and everyone), when it comes to developing a resume.

1. Focus on your skills, not your title: Some people will hear that you are an English major and assume that you’re a nerd who spends all day reading books- and while some of us are- that’s not all we bring to the table. We can analyze practically any situation, and communicate its meaning in powerful ways. That is what employers want.
2. Show off your experience: We English majors hold a wide variety of jobs and internships in our undergrad career. Talk about them on your resume; you already have the experience, and if you enjoy it, you might as well get paid for it.
3. Don’t be afraid to brag: While you’re talking about your experience, don’t forget to mention how awesome you are! You have worked hard for your education and experiences, and potential employers should know that. There is no room for modesty on your resume.

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Junior English major Meara Waxman has done some interesting undergraduate research this summer. As a part of her Lumen project, Meara spent the summer studying popular feminist figures from the 19^th century. While this isn’t her main field of study, she has conducted this interdisciplinary work to supplement her research of Bronte novels in a feminist context.

Meara was inspired to conduct research in this field by her mentor, Janet Myers. The two bonded over their shared love of linguistics, and from that point, the Bronte sisters were their focus. The goal of Meara’s research is to analyze Bronte novels at a sentence level to determine if the content either supports or refutes feminist ideals in the 19^th century. Further, she compares these analyses to the theories of prominent feminists of the time to see if there are any patterns between the two.

     Meara is also a Lumen Scholar, a title which she says is amazing and very rewarding. With the funds from the scholarship, she is traveling to Bath, England in the spring to conduct more research. Meara encourages everyone to do research, and especially to apply for the Lumen prize to be a part of a “wonderful community of scholars”. In addition, Meara advises everyone doing research to be open to the research process because “the more open you are, the more excited about your project you will be”.
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By Tim Melton

When we think of fall celebrations, generally time-honored traditions like Halloween and Thanksgiving come to mind. However, for Elon students, October brings with it an additional, unique celebration: the National Day on Writing (NDoW).

Since 2009, NDoW has been held annually on October 20; it was first sponsored by the National Council of Teachers of English to encourage consideration of how writing factors into one’s daily life. In recent years, the event has been sponsored by the Center for Writing Excellence – a collaborative effort between the Writing Across the University initiative and Elon’s Writing Center. Since its adoption, celebrating NDoW at Elon has allowed students to achieve a greater appreciation for writing, especially outside of an academic setting, as well as to learn about the various on-campus resources that can assist them in writing practices.

For this year, there was a wide variety of events held across campus:

Events such as “The Seuss Station” and “Who Inspires You” encouraged students to be reflective of what has influenced their own writing, while “Short Story Station” and poetry events let students create original work. Throughout the day, consultants from the Writing Center ran each station, handing out free gifts, such as t-shirts, buttons, and stickers, to promote both the NDoW and the Writing Center.
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