Fun Ways of Tutoring German Language

Fun Ways of Tutoring German LanguageThere are fun ways of tutoring German language. Students are becoming more used to using these methods, especially when teachers are unable to help them properly. Online tutoring is one of the easiest ways of teaching German and it is also very inexpensive. Using these tips for tutoring German language can definitely help you.Learning a language quickly is crucial. You need to make your students understand this simple fact. Online lessons are probably the most effective means of getting students to understand the basics of the language quickly. There are several online resources that provide useful tips on how to teach German.Start teaching them before they get bored. This is an important tip for fun ways of tutoring German. Once students get bored, they will tend to turn to other methods. You need to start teaching them as soon as they get a little bored.Another useful tips for learning a language is to keep students involved with the lessons. Mak e them see how the language works. This will help them understand when you need to speak. One thing that makes language learning interesting is to make them realize how the language works.Teaching students to learn German is fun ways of tutoring German. Kids can always learn from parents, right? It does not matter whether they have children or not. Just let them know that their kids will get to learn a language. They might just be able to understand how the German language works better.Kids love to be involved in learning. This is one of the reasons why they are so good at math. Make your students understand how the language works. If you can, let them participate in the lessons. Let them see how they can communicate effectively.You can easily make your student's study in a traditional way or learn in a fun way. Whatever you choose, always remember that teaching is fun. German language learning is no exception.

4 Must-Have Apps for Guitar Players

4 Must-Have Apps for Guitar Players Suzy S. Excited about learning how to play the guitar? Awesome! Youll need the perfect beginner guitar, a great teacher by your side, and a personal commitment to learning and improving. Using extra resources like smartphone or tablet apps to help you practice efficiently in between lessons can help a ton, as well. But with so many apps available these days, you may feel a little overwhelmed when youre trying to find one to download. Below are a handful that we really like. TakeLessons Live TakeLessons Live offers online classes that are led by live guitar teachers. With the free membership option, you can join a variety of classes from anywhere in the world.  Topics covered include guitar exercises, music theory, scales, song tutorials, and more. If you’re looking for a fun way to practice your skills while getting feedback from a real instructor, this is the app for you! TakeLessons Live is available for both iOS and Android and is free. Guitar Toolkit For any guitar player, having an app that can function as one of the many tools needed for practice and performance is always nice. There are a lot of apps for guitar that serve as metronomes, tuners, and chord reference charts, but what makes Guitar Toolkit stand out above many of the other apps for guitar is that it combines all of these tools and more into one slick interface. If you need to tune your guitar, this app makes it easy, whether youre looking for standard tuning for a 6-string, or an alternate tuning for anything between 7 and 12 strings. It can also help you practice scales and arpeggios to get ready for your next lesson! The Guitar Toolkit app is available in the iTunes App Store for $9.99 from Agile Partners. The cost is a little daunting compared to other apps, but if youre willing to pay for efficiency and not having to switch apps every time you need to reference a chord chart or switch tuning, this is the best option. The Gibson Learn Master Guitar Application The reputation of Gibson in the guitar-playing world is second to none. So it goes without saying that when they create a mobile app to help with mastering the guitar, it would be an excellent resource as well. This app has it all: a fully functional tuner for either chromatic or standard guitar tuning, a metronome, a chord reference chart, and even video lessons. You can also use the in-app links to get to Gibsons website, where you can stay updated with the latest news in the guitar industry. The Gibson Learn Master Guitar Application is available in both the iTunes App Store as well as the Android Market from Legacy Learning Systems, and is free to download and use. Lick of the Day There are a lot of apps for guitar out there that show you how to play guitar  solos and popular riffs. What makes this app different is that a lot of the licks showcased in the app are taught by the guitar players that wrote the riff themselves. Its not every day that you can learn from Joe Satriani! The Lick of the Day app for guitar is free, but the Lick Packs cost $4.99 each. However, you can still get a lot of the features for free, such as a new free featured lick each week! The app is available in the iTunes App Store from Agile Partners. Bonus: Ultimate Guitar Tabs You might already know that Ultimate Guitar has a huge database of online guitar tabs for you to browse through. So it should come as no surprise that one of the most essential apps for guitar is their mobile app, which features the entire library! You can search quickly by song title or artist, or you can narrow your search by a multitude of different parameters, such as difficulty, tuning, and overall rating. And if youre at a loss for what to play next, you can always use the random tab button to find something new! The Ultimate Guitar Tabs app is available in the the iTunes App Store, Android Market, and Windows Phone Store from Ultimate Guitar USA, LLC. It costs $2.99, and there are numerous in-app purchases for add-ons, such as a metronome or tuner. Dont Forget the Best Resource of All! These mobile apps for guitar are fantastic for helping you practice, but dont forget that your private instructor is your best resource of all! He or she will guide you through lessons at a pace appropriate for you, keep you motivated, introduce you to new songs and genres you may not have considered playing, and show you exactly what to practice to improve your skills. Have fun and keep up the great work! Interested in Private Lessons? Search thousands of teachers for local and live, online lessons. Sign up for convenient, affordable private lessons today! Search for Your Teacher Photo  by  ljguitar

Six Things Students and Tutors Should do BEFORE an Initial Tutoring session

Six Things Students and Tutors Should do BEFORE an Initial Tutoring session Improving Academic Performance Six Things Students and Tutors Should do BEFORE an Initial Tutoring Session The initial tutoring session is perhaps the most important tutoring session. It’s a critical opportunity to establish good rapport, set expectations, develop a study plan, and set a precedent for constructive sessions. Waiting until the second or third session to truly establish expectations or a study plan can lead to students feeling as though the tutoring isn’t proving productive. In fact, in many cases, the primary reason a tutoring session “fails” is because objectives weren’t set in advance and thus expectations weren’t aligned. Here are six things that you can do to ensure that an initial tutoring session is highly effective and productive. 1. Share details on the student’s (or your) situation for full context Before you arrive to the initial tutoring session, your tutor will try to get as much academic information and context about the student’s situation as possible. Make sure to discuss with your tutor why you are seeking out tutoring and what you hope to gain from tutoring. Be prepared to answer the following questions during your initial tutoring session. Providing answers to the following questions will help your tutor get a good sense of what’s going on with you and will provide a solid basis for how your tutor should prepare for the initial tutoring session, and develop study plan. What course are you struggling with now? Do you struggle with the course content? Or is your academic performance based on test-taking anxiety, lack of confidence, attention deficit, etc? What is your learning style? Do you have strong auditory skills? Or are you more of a visual or kinetic learner? What is something you like about the course that you are struggling with? What is something that you dislike about the course? How do you take notes and prepare for tests/quizzes for this course? Having the answers to these questions will allow your tutor to prepare a strong lesson plan for the initial tutoring session, and will allow more time for learning course content versus diagnosing the situation during the tutoring session. 2. Share materials electronically or provide an overview of current class topics (to help the tutor prepare) Be prepared to provide an overview of your current class topics so that your tutor may get a sense of the content you are learning about in your course. Tests, quizzes, past homework assignments, and projects help your tutor get familiar with the course and how it’s being taught. It provides insights into what a teacher expects you to know, how tests and homework assignments are designed, and how well you answer short-answer or essay based questions. Based on the provided information, the tutor can review content that you should know (based on the covered topics) and work up to content that you are currently learning in class, or struggling with. 3. Set clear objectives for the sessions and articulate a good outcome In order for tutoring to be effective, you must dedicate time to reviewing material and completing tutoring assignments outside of tutoring lessons! It is a good idea to outline the expectations that your tutor has specified in order for the lesson objectives to be met and for you to advance towards your academic goal. While your tutor is specifying the amount of work and time he/she expects you to dedicate to completing tutoring assignments each week, make sure to you let your tutor know whether or not you think that their expectations and objectives are reasonable for you to uphold based on your availability outside of school, extracurricular activities, and time need to complete school assignments. If you do have a limited amount of time to dedicate to completing tutoring assignments, try to work with your tutor to adapt tutoring assignments to fit your availability. It is imperative that you have this conversation during the initial tutoring session with your tutor so that you understand what needs to be done in order to reach your academic goals. 4. Establish a specific place and time - and don’t be late It goes without saying that you and your tutor should have clear communication about where and when the initial tutoring session will take place. If the tutoring session is to take place in the your home, make sure that the area where you will hold the tutoring session is clean and quiet to promote a good learning environment. If the tutoring session is taking place at a public space, such as a library or cafe, your tutor should try and arrive a few minutes earlier to secure a workspace in a quiet corner that is away from any distraction or loud noise. While this may seem obvious, you’d be surprised how many students and tutors we’ve worked with at MyGuru who call us frantically asking for the other party’s cell phone number, because they are running late, lost, or at the location, but realize they don’t know what their tutor or student looks like or where exactly they are meeting 5. Discuss cancellation and rescheduling policies Before the initial tutoring session takes place, you should make sure to understand your tutor’s cancellation and re-scheduling policies. It’s best to discuss these policies before the first session, as opposed to when a cancellation occurs, so as to avoid an awkward conversation. It’s also a good idea to ask your tutor to send an email communication documenting his/her cancellation and rescheduling policy so that you have a copy that you can refer to at anytime. 6. Share contact information to communicate in case one party is late/lost, etc. This one is, again, obvious, but so important that we call it out separately. Go back to #4 above. If you are late, or you are lost, or you don’t know where to meet your tutor, the situation is much less stressful if you’ve shared your respective phone numbers. It’s best practice to share your email address and your cellphone number with your tutor, and obtain their contact information so as to communicate effectively. By having each other’s contact information, you can quickly notify your tutor if you are running late, if you are lost, or if you have to cancel a tutoring session at the last minute. Taking the time to do these six simple things will ensure that you and your tutor are prepared for the initial tutoring session, and it will set a good precedent for accomplishing your academic goals.

Learn English Vocabulary Idioms and Phrases related to Thanksgiving

Learn English Vocabulary Idioms and Phrases related to Thanksgiving Improve your English and learn idioms and phrases related to Thanksgiving. Well kick off with phrases. Scroll down to learn Thanksgiving idioms and share an infographic.By the time you read this post Halloween will have come and gone (arrived and departed) and  thoughts will turn to the next holiday if any before Christmas and New Year. Traditionally in America (and also Canada) they celebrate Thanksgiving Day (thanksgiving always written as one word) near  to the end of November.The exact date changes every year because Thanksgiving is celebrated on the 4th Thursday in November.There appear to be different ideas as to when was the first Thanksgiving day but generally most  believe it was officially decided by President Abraham Lincoln in 1863.As the words suggest people  gathered (came together) to offer thanks for the giving of the harvest. People wish to thank God for  the safe collection of the harvest and the rain to help the crops grow.In those days it was celebrated  in Church es as a specific religious festivity (celebration or feast day) but now it has developed (like  most traditions) in to a commercial holiday.Families traditionally come together for a family dinner which will always include some of the food  they celebrated way back when (hundreds of years ago) so turkey, potatoes and pumpkin pie will  be high on all menus. Usually, the beginning of the meal starts with a Blessing (words of thanks. Dear  Lord we thank you for giving us this fine meal and bringing all the family together on this special day  etc,etc).The Thursday is a national holiday with many people also taking the Friday as an extra day  so that thanksgiving day is actually in reality a 4 day holiday .In the cities across America parades will be held on or around Thanksgiving day. Today it represents  the official opening of the shopping season and traders (shop owners) count the number of  weekends between thanksgiving and Christmas to estimate how good their shopping season will be.  Depending on the day that Christmas day falls (occurs) there may be one extra weekend or one less.For example, if Christmas Day (25th December) is on a Saturday or Sunday then normally they will have one less shopping weekend. This is really crucial (very important) for the big stores and retail  shops. That extra weekend can mean the difference between a successful season or not 6 English Idioms and Phrases related to Thanksgiving Don't keep this to yourself, tell the world: Here are some English idioms and phrases related to Thanksgiving:A BLESSING IN DISGUISE   Usually when something unfortunate happens but actually turns out to be to  our advantage we say that was a blessing in disguise.ex. He says  it was a blessing in disguise, because it forced him to focus on growing different revenue streams.COUNT YOUR BLESSINGS Be grateful for what you have. If something bad happens to someone and we  are moaning someone may say to us.Stop moaning you should count your blessings.ex. We may have had a bad week in work and we are complaining when your partner says you should  count your blessings. Our neighbour lost his job yesterday!TALK TURKEY A very American expression. Usually means we should start talking seriously. You often  hear it in American detective films.ex. Ok you guys we need to hear all the facts. You need to start  talking turkey now otherwise we will lock you up!!COLD TURKEY When someone gives up a bad habit very quickly they often suffer with drawal  symptoms and go cold turkey.  For example, when you give up smoking you will feel very bad for  several days and wish you had a cigarette. You get headaches as part of your withdrawal symptoms.ex. Im  so  impressed  that  you  stopped  smoking  cold  turkey!FALL IS IN THE AIR of course nothing is actually falling in the air but the air and the atmosphere has changed with the cooler air comes the change in leaf colour. Pumpkins are everywhere and theres a renewed interest in hot drinks, fuzzy sweaters and cozy fires. All of these things make people say that fall is in the air.ex. This morning I woke up and it felt like Fall was in the air. It was cool out, a little breezing, I actually wore a fleece zip up jacket.  IM STUFFED my stomach is so full of food that I cant eat anymore. Im like a stuffed turkey.ex. The meal was good, and I was stuffed. After dinner, we went back to the room. Idioms related to Thanksgiving

The Rookies Map for Learning a New Language How to Start in 5 Steps

The Rookies Map for Learning a New Language How to Start in 5 Steps The Rookies Map for Learning a New Language: How to Start in 5 Steps A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.Weve all heard that one, right?But lets be honest.As far as advice goes, that saying is about as useful as, to borrow an expression from Dodgeball, a poopy-flavored lollipop.Think about it. If youre stranded in a foreign wilderness with no idea about  how to get where you want to go, youll have an extraordinarily difficult time getting there.But if youve got a map and compass, as well as some decent navigating skills, youre likely to be on your way faster than Donald Trumps hair blowing off in a strong wind.In the same way, when youre starting a new language, it helps to have a road map to both guide you along and guarantee that youre still headed in the right direction.And just like physical maps, a map for language learning should be based on what other people have seen. There are a number of polyglots and dedicated language learners  out there who have become the cartographers of the linguistic frontier.Lets take this collect ive language learning experience, along with some scientific know-how, and set out on the path to learning a new language in double time.Heres not just one, but five steps to get you started in a clear direction on your language learning journey. The Rookies Map for Learning a New Language: How to Start in 5 Steps1. Become your own coach: Develop goals and strategiesA lot of the time, when we start something new, we make vague statements like I want to be able to speak well as quickly as possible or Im going to study X language as much as I possibly can.This can be a problem because when we create such vague goals it can be very difficult to achieve any sort of meaningful result. Thats why orienting your language learning odyssey should start with the use of two techniques:  SMART goals and metacognitive strategies.SMART in this case is an acronym which you can see spelled out here. The short and skinny of it is that you need to make  really, really concrete goals that can actuall y be achieved.Instead of I want to be able to read childrens books, say I will study vocabulary every day for an hour and basic grammar every other day for an hour with the goal of being able to read X book in three months time.If you write out something like the second one for yourself it will be blindingly obvious for you whether youre succeeding or failing with your goals.Setting goals like this is an essential skill for anyone studying by themselves, as well as anyone who wishes to maximize their study time.If a fancy business world acronym doesnt impress you then maybe  the evidence of the effectiveness of metacognition  will.  Ive talked about metacognitive strategies before, but to summarize very quickly, metacognition for language learning involves three steps:First, you plan. Ask yourself what your specific goals are and what strategies youre going to use to achieve them.Second, start learning and keep track of how well you do every day. Are you having problems that need ne w solutions? Write that down. Are you consistently succeeding or failing in a certain area? Keep track of that, too.And the third and final step, after a few weeks to a month, maybe, is to evaluate yourself. Were you able to achieve your goals? If not, why? What strategies did and didnt work? Then the whole process repeats again.These two techniques naturally fit together quite well and theyre both indispensable for making sure youre cooking with gas every time you sit down to study.2. Hit the booksBut what should I do about the meat of language learning? you say. Should I pick up a textbook and get a teacher, or should I just book a flight to a country that speaks the language?While immersion is great at any level, and is certainly the ultimate goal to strive for, most of us arent free to move from country to country as we please and must make decisions about when the best time would be for us to go to that oh-so-wonderful country weve been daydreaming about for countless hours.Wit h that in mind, the truth of the matter is that full immersion is far more helpful when youre an intermediate to advanced speaker.This is because we develop by hearing a little bit of something we dont understand within a lot of other stuff that we do understand. You still do this in English. For instance, if youre reading a newspaper or textbook and you come across an unknown word, the first thing you try to do is infer its meaning from context.Luckily, FluentU lets you start learning this way sooner with guided video immersion.  FluentU takes real-world videosâ€"like music videos, movie trailers, news and inspiring talksâ€"and turns them into personalized language learning lessons for all levels.But whats it like when you go to a country where you dont understand a word? Well, you may as well be trying to understand the language of radio static because youll be bombarded with so many unknowns that picking up on anything just from hearing or seeing something will be quite a struggl e.Consequently, its not such a bad idea to go for the old textbook, classroom or online course option to start with.3. Meet face-to-faceTaking an in-person class as soon as possible can be especially useful. People are social animals, and nothing motivates a social animal quite like peer pressure. If youre learning a new language, peer pressure can really be a useful tool.Once having joined, youll feel a pleasant pull to continue on with your language learning to see your peersâ€"assuming you make friendsâ€"and also a bit of a rougher push to keep you going when the going is tough, such as at one of those times when youre exhausted or even feeling slightly under the weather.Someone studying at home with just a textbook might easily throw their hands up and relax for a day in a situation like the one above. But thats a much more difficult prospect when you know people are expecting you to be somewhere and youll have to explain any excuse to their face.Even beyond the advantage of pee r pressure, theres also the fact that meeting face-to-face facilitates language learning specifically to no end. Thats because one of the best ways to learn is to role play everyday situations.In  meeting up with a class, or even just a teacher, a round of role play with a set of props can easily be  arranged  and got going in no time at all.4. Become immersedAssuming youve had some self-practice and classroom experience, the next step is language immersion. But whats so special about language immersion, anyway? Why is it so talked about?The reason is simple. People placed in immersive environments are likely to learn faster than students taught in the traditional manner and achieve a more native-like understanding of the language. What more could you possibly ask for?The question then becomes not why you should try to become immersed, but how.The obvious choice is to move to the country of your language by any means necessary. But be careful. There are plenty of expats who have liv ed in a foreign country for decades, never to pick up the language.The real key is interaction with the local populace.  One option that I have seen work wonders for my students of English is to join a company where your target language is spoken. If you need your new language to survive, to handle basic everyday tasks, youll progress faster than you ever thought possible.If, however, for some reason going abroad is simply not in the cards for you, there are a couple of different ways to get your immersion fix right in your home country.Perhaps the best option, though also the most expensive, would be to attend one of Middleburys esteemed summer language programs where you take a pledge to speak only in your target language for three months.A less intensive option would be to create something close to immersion yourself via in-person or Skype language pals, local language exchanges with partners or groups and replacing all your usual activities with the equivalent in your target lan guage.For instance, if you like to read, dont buy or borrow any books in your native language(s). If your only option is to read in your target language, youll be much more likely to do so. And in fact, if you take this option to its logical extreme, youll be learning everything new in your target language.Are you a chemist? Read scientific journals in your target language.Are you deeply inspired by history? Read history books in your target language.Its been shown that learning about something outside the language itself, that is to say, not just reading about grammar all the time but studying something youre interested in, can be one of the most effective ways to learn a language.5. Enjoy yourselfLanguages can be quite the untamed beast. Even the easiest of languages for English speakers can take 600 hours to conquer according to the Foreign Service Institute, and perhaps much more than that if you want to do something with it professionally. This is not something you can do day i n, day out without getting some pleasure out of the whole ordeal.Thankfully, language is as human a thing as it gets and is naturally tied to bountiful rewards. Language is the thing that connects us to other people and social rewards are extremely powerful.Just think about how often you check Facebook. Why are social networking sites so popular? Because any information connected to other people is inherently seductive. So from the get-go, make sure that you use your language skills for what they were made for. Socializing.Sometimes, when your schedule is crazy, youll be tempted to jettison the fun things that made you attracted to the language in the first place in order to get some regular practice in. Maybe youll skip your favorite foreign TV show because you cant understand it without subtitles yet, or youll forget to keep up with the newest news on your favorite foreign band.But make time for the things that got you started. Theyre what motivate you and push you through when la nguage learning just seems like a brutal punishment.In reality, its all about balance.The steps are all here, laid out for you.But only by starting out on the journey yourself will you gain that intuitive control, a sense of masterful dexterity like that of a professional athlete.You have your map.Now you just need to take those first steps.

?? Growth Mindset - Its about asking the right Questions

?? Growth Mindset - Its about asking the right Questions Growth Mindset - Its about asking the right Questions Intuitively, Growth Mindset sits well with those who teach or tutor. The belief that ability can be improved with effort and learning is q core belief for those who work with young people. The science seems to back this belief up. Numerous peer reviewed researchpapers have found evidence that those with a growth mindset reap many benefits. These include, but are not limited to, coping better with transitions, persisting longer at a task, enjoying their work more, seeking out better feedback. Some evidence suggests that this translates into better grades.Having a growth mindset, however, is not a silver bullet or a quick fix. A whole host of other factors clearly play a part in a child’s success (i.e. socio-economic background, opportunity, access to quality teaching and ability to delay gratification). Genes also play a role. In David Epstein’s excellent book, the Sports Gene, he highlights many instances of how genes/talent/nature (call it what you will) impact on performance. I f in doubt, consider this: The fastest time a woman has ever run the 100m is 10.49 seconds (with many actually questioning the legitimacy of this time). This time is not quick enough to be in the top 3000 times ever run. Genes clearly play a role.That is not to say that developing a growth mindset doesn’t matter. It does. It is just good to set realistic expectations. So if you do want to help a child develop their mindset, where do you start? We now know more than ever about the science of developing a growth mindset. We recommend that you begin a discussion with children using these four key questions, which can act as a springboard for a more detailed conversation. This will begin to develop an understanding of the concept of mindset, and how they can improve theirs:How hard are you willing to work today for tomorrow success?Research suggests that spending just a few minutes with students exploring how doing well at this topic will help them achieve their future goals creates a sense of purpose. This sense of purpose results in students paying more attention and putting more effort in. Combine this with teaching them that their ability can be improve can be a powerful combination.What can you learn from successful people?Psychologists have found that comparing yourself with others can have a negative impact on your confidence, motivation, self-management and academic performance. Learning from others (instead of feeling threatened by their success) is a good way to develop your mindset.Do you spend more time arguing or actioning feedback?Seeking out, valuing and actioning feedback is one of the healthiest behaviours students can adopt in order to improve their learning. Those who see feedback as a personal attack and a threat to their identity. This can quickly lead to a fixed mindset.You had a setback. What would you do differently next time?This is one of our favourite questions to ask. It stops students from dwelling on the past and helps them focus on the now and on the future. This gives them a sense of control over the situation.This sort of question is often referred to by psychologists as ‘metacognition’. In laymans terms, this means being aware and in control of your own thought process. This sort of thinking skills are on the most effective strategies to help students improve their and performance and resilience.Other questions that also tick this box include ‘what do I need to do first?’ and ‘who can I ask for advice?’. You can read more about these sort of questions in our post, ‘9 Questions to Improve Metacognition’.These tips won't help a child develop a growth mindset over night. As with all things in psychology (and when working with children and teenagers) it is much more messy, nuanced and slower than that. But these conversations are definitely a good starting point to help them along the way. Bradley BuschBradley Busch is a lead trainer for InnerDrive, a mental skills training company that helps people develop a growth mindset.

How To Fix The Top 10 Cover Letter Mistakes Youre Making

How To Fix The Top 10 Cover Letter Mistakes You're Making Photo Credit: Rachael Cihlar/Trada.com 1. No Cover Letter.  This is one of the most common cover letter mistakes people make. Unless the company you are applying to specifically requests applicants not send a cover letter in with their  resume, a cover letter is needed. This problem has an easy solution:  write a cover letter. 2. Using a Generic Cover Letter. Using one general cover letter to send to each potential employer is lazy and shows you probably didnt follow the directions, as many companies ask you to answer specific questions in your cover letter. Also, by using a generic cover letter, you dont personalize your skills or mention the specific company. Having a rough cover letter template to use and personalize for each job is a much better way of ensuring your  resume is taken seriously and is a great way of avoiding this cover letter mistake. 3. Failing to Personalize.  Whenever and wherever possible, personalize your cover letter. Refer to the specific company you are applying to by name and dont just address your cover letter To Whom It May Concern or Dear Sir or Madam. By personalizing your letter, you show you have done your research into the company and know who will be considering your application, which is a subtle and good way of coming across as competent and detail-oriented. 4. Having Grammatical or Spelling Errors.  These common cover letter mistakes can be avoided by  proofreading, which is one of the most important things you can do before sending a professional letter in for consideration. Rereading your own work can help you catch mistakes you missed the first time around and spot places to tighten your writing. Also, writing in Microsoft Word or another writing application that has a spellcheck function is crucial as it will highlight for you where your spelling has gone awry. Lastly, check your grammar or ask a knowledgeable friend or family member to read it over for grammatical errors. 5. Hogging the Spotlight. Dont use your cover letter to just talk all about you; while this may seem counter-intuitive, potential employers want to read about what you will bring to their  company. So talk about your skills and accomplishments by writing how they would act as an advantage for you and be a  benefit to the business  if youre hired by their company. 6. Summarizing Your Resume.  Contrary to popular belief, a cover letter  does not  just consist of restating the contents of your  resume. The cover letter should provide a more in-depth look into who the company may be hiring if they employed you and you do that by talking about how your past employment experiences and skills would make you a good fit for the job (refer to #3). Photo Credit: iStockphoto 7. Handwriting a Half-Assed Cover Letter.  Writing a cover letter does not mean just scribbling a quick note or sticky to include before your  resume in your application. A cover letter has specific formatting and expectations that come with it and should never be handwrittenonly typed. 8. Formatting Incorrectly.  Your cover letter is a document being used to further your professional aspirations and should look like such. Your margins, font, font size, spacing, etc. should reflect that and relay to your potential employer that you take your job search seriously. Find a cover letter template structure you want to use and follow its layout when writing your own cover letter. 9. Sounding Desperate.  While of course you want to be hired, you dont want to come across as desperate for employment to companies. Do this by coming across as confident in both your abilities and their fit for the job you are applying for. Be concise and clear in your writing and while you dont want to hog the spotlight too much, you do want to make it clear in your cover letter that reading your  resume wouldnt be a waste of time and considering you for the position would be worthwhile as well. 10. Missing Information. Some of the most common cover letter mistakes are actually information left off of the cover letter. Failing to  include your contact information  or your signature could make the difference between getting a job offer or having your application end up in the rejected pile. Your cover letter and  resume could get separated so its imperative you include contact information, like your email address and phone number, on your cover letter. Search through the Uloop job listings to find your next Part-Time or Full-Time employment or Internship opportunity. Employers are waiting to hear from you!