The 100 Most Important Words in English

The 100 Most Important Words in English This list of important words was drawn up by British rhetorician I.A. Richards, author of several books including Basic English and Its Uses (1943). However, these 100 words are not a part of the simplified version of the language that he and C.K. Ogden called Basic English. Also, were not talking about the 100 most frequently used words in English (a list that contains far more prepositions than nouns). And unlike the 100 words chosen by David Crystal to tell The Story of English, Richards words are primarily significant for their meanings, not their etymologies. Richards introduced his list of words in the book How to Read a Page: A Course in Effective Reading (1942), and he called them the most important words for two reasons: They cover the ideas we can least avoid using, those which are concerned in all that we do as thinking beings.They are words we are forced to use in explaining other words because it is in terms of the ideas they cover that the meanings of other words must be given. Here are those 100 important words: AmountArgumentArtBeBeautifulBeliefCauseCertainChanceChangeClearCommonComparisonConditionConnectionCopyDecisionDegreeDesireDevelopmentDifferentDoEducationEndEventExamplesExistenceExperienceFactFearFeelingFictionForceFormFreeGeneralGetGiveGoodGovernmentHappyHaveHistoryIdeaImportantInterestKnowledgeLawLetLevelLivingLoveMakeMaterialMeasureMindMotionNameNationNaturalNecessaryNormalNumberObservationOppositeOrderOrganizationPartPlacePleasurePossiblePowerProbablePropertyPurposeQualityQuestionReasonRelationRepresentativeRespectResponsibleRightSameSayScienceSeeSeemSenseSignSimpleSocietySortSpecialSubstanceThingThoughtTrueUseWayWiseWordWork All these words carry multiple meanings, and they can say quite different things to different readers. For that reason, Richards list could just as well have been labeled The 100 Most Ambiguous Words: The very usefulness which gives them their importance explains their ambiguity. They are the servants of too many interests to keep to single, clearly defined jobs. Technical words in the sciences are like adzes, planes, gimlets, or razors. A word like experience, or feeling, or true is like a pocketknife. In good hands it will do most things- not very well. In general we will find that the more important a word is, and the more central and necessary its meanings are in our pictures of ourselves and the world, the more ambiguous and possibly deceiving the word will be. In an earlier book, The Making of Meaning (1923), Richards (and co-author C.K. Ogden) had explored the fundamental notion that meaning doesnt reside in words themselves. Rather, meaning is rhetorical: Its fashioned out of both a verbal context (the words surrounding the words) and the experiences of the individual reader. No surprise, then, that miscommunication is often the result when the important words come into play. Its this idea of miscommunicating through language that led Richards to conclude that all of us are developing our reading skills all the time: Whenever we use words in forming some judgment or decision, we are, in what may be a painfully sharp sense, learning to read (How to Read a Page.) There are actually 103 words on Richards top-100 list. The bonus words, he said, are meant to incite the reader to the task of cutting out those he sees no point in and adding any he pleases, and to discourage the notion that there is anything sacrosanct about a hundred, or any other number. Your List So with those thoughts in mind, its now time to create a list of what you think are the most important words. Sources Crystal, David.  The Story of English.  St. Martins Press, 2012, New York.Richards, I.A.  Basic English  and  Its Uses. W.W. Norton Co., 1943, New York. Richards, I.A. How to Read a Page: A Course in Effective Reading. Beacon Press, 1942, Boston.Ogden, C.K. and Richards, I.A. The Making of Meaning.  Harcourt, 1923, New York.

Top 12 Resume Writing Tips for 2012

Top 12 Resume Writing Tips for 2012 In February 2012, the Career Thought Leaders Consortium published their Findings of the 2011 Global Career Brainstorming Day: Trends for the Now, the New the Next in Careers. My particular interest lies in resume trends, and you as my readers expect me to be up to date on these matters!   Here are the Top 12 findings in the resume category from the best of the best in the career industry: 1. Resumes are not dead! Every job seeker still needs one to present to employers, recruiters and network contacts. That said, the LinkedIn profile is becoming as important if not more important as an entry point and must be crafted to complement, NOT duplicate, the information in the resume. 2. Brevity Reigns The 3-page resume, however, is going extinct. Keep your resume succinct and preferably to one or two pages, even if you are a high-level executive. This means concise writing, short paragraphs, brief lists of bullet points, and good organization and branding to assist the reader in quickly assessing your strengths. The top third of the first page is prime real estate. 3. Extra Extra! Leverage Addenda Addenda are welcome attachments to short resumes when you have additional accomplishments to convey that did not make it onto the two-pager. 4. Keep it Chronological Stay away from functional resumes. Hybrids are okay but reverse-chronological resumes are still the preferred format for recruiters and hiring managers. 5. Smart-phone Savvy Keep in mind that some people will be reading your resume on their phones. This means you need good headlines and a compelling top third to half of the resume to encourage scrolling down. 6. RoboResumes Keep ATS systems in mind. Make sure your resume is formatted properly to make it through the system. For more on ATS formatting, check out my article, How to Write a Resume that Beats the Computers. 7. Retro Resumes Resume paper is still in style for when you present your resume in person! And it’s â€Å"retro† – you can send your resume in an actual envelope and perhaps get some positive attention for taking the time to do so in this email-centric world. 8. Hyperlink it! Put links on your resume. QR codes are becoming popular, as well as other URLs that link to additional material about the job seeker. 9. Be human Don’t skip the community service, continuing education, civic background, etc. Your character is being evaluated more than ever! And you are encouraged to put a testimonial on your resume. Why say it yourself when you can have someone else say it for you? 10. There’s no one-size fits all. You need a different resume for each position you apply for, and then you need separate versions for the recruiter, the hiring manager, and the ATS software. How overwhelming can that be? That’s what career professionals and resume writers are here for. Hopefully we can make the process just a bit less overwhelming. 11. Vital Stats You don’t need to include your street address in your resume header anymore! DO include your LinkedIn URL, web address if you have one, your city and state, ONE phone number and ONE email address. 12. Ever heard of Twitrez? If you are media-savvy, you may have used the Twitrez tool to communicate your value proposition in a series of 10 tweets, 140 characters each. The idea is that each message can stand on its own and the combined 1400 characters â€Å"create a cohesive overview of a candidate’s core qualifications and value.† Or maybe you’ve tweeted your twesume? I can see what’s next for The Essay Expert – it’s writing Twitter resumes!   Stay tuned†¦