Published on
April 2, 2025
by
Nicole Routh, M.Ed
Revised on
November 18, 2025
A resume summary is an overview of your main qualifications and professional characteristics. It’s the first section of the standard resume format and summarizes your background and experience level as well as your most relevant qualities, skills, and/or accomplishments in 2–4 lines.
For each job application, your resume summary should look a little different because the purpose of a resume is to quickly show employers how well your background aligns with the job requirements.
The tips and examples below will help you customize your resume summary for different employers and job applications.
Published on
March 26, 2025
by
Nicole Routh, M.Ed
Revised on
October 23, 2025
Sentence starters are transition words or phrases that begin different types of sentences. They show readers what type of information to expect in the rest of a sentence. For example after the sentence starter “however,” readers expect an exception or contradiction to the previous sentence.
The best sentence starters for essaysdepend on a few factors:
The genre of writing (e.g., the various academic essay types)
The type of information the sentence will include
The sentence’s relationship to the previous sentence (e.g., a contradiction, explanation, or additional piece of evidence)
Sentence starters like the examples in this article are also helpful for overcoming writer’s block and getting your ideas flowing.
Published on
March 26, 2025
by
Nicole Routh, M.Ed
Revised on
November 27, 2025
A preposition of place (e.g., “in,” “on,” or “at”) begins a prepositional phrase that describes a location (e.g., “under the sofa”). The prepositional phrase shows where a noun or action from another part of the sentence is located in relation to the object of the preposition (e.g., “The sock was under the sofa”).
The location can be physical (e.g., “in Paris” or “on the table”) or abstract (e.g., “on the radio” or “in the TikTok video”).
The English language has at least 22 prepositions of place and detailed rules about which preposition to use with different types of locations.
The examples and practice exercises below will help you choose the right preposition of place in conversation and writing.
Prepositional phrases of place examples Maria left her wallet at home, so she couldn’t buy food at the store.
I read about the eclipse in the New York Times and on the internet.
Published on
March 19, 2025
by
Nicole Routh, M.Ed
Revised on
November 27, 2025
A main clause (also known as an independent clause) is a group of words in a larger sentence that could stand alone as a complete simple sentence. It contains a subject and a verb. In most cases, a main clause expresses a complete idea.
The term “main clause” usually refers to the independent clause in a complex sentence, which also contains at least one subordinate clause (also called a dependent clause). All clauses include a subject and a verb, but not all clauses are independent.
For example, a subordinate clause doesn’t communicate a complete idea because it begins with a dependent marker (e.g., “if” or “which”). A subordinate clause needs a main clause in order to make complete sense.
Main clause examples If Moira can’t babysit, Jocelyn will miss the movie.
Alexis started a businessafter she finished high school.
The hotel got a great reviewbecause the staff was so friendly.
Published on
March 13, 2025
by
Nicole Routh, M.Ed
Revised on
November 18, 2025
If you’re wondering “Is a cover letter necessary?” you’re not alone! This question is widely debated among recruiting experts. The best approach is to find out if the job posting or application site mentions a cover letter. If the employer doesn’t specify, submit a cover letter to be on the safe side.
Until recently, a cover letter and a resume were standard protocol for professional job applications. Now, employers don’t always expect or require cover letters, but they usually can’t hurt, even when they’re not required.
The tips and insights below will help you decide when a cover letter is necessary so that the job applications you submit in today’s market have the best possible impact.
When you need a cover letter, use QuillBot’s free cover letter generator to instantly draft a letter that will stand out to prospective employers.
Published on
March 7, 2025
by
Nicole Routh, M.Ed
Revised on
November 27, 2025
A double negative is a sentence that uses two negatives—such as “not” and “nobody.”
In formal English grammar, double negatives are incorrect because the two negative words cancel each other’s meaning. For example, “I didn’t talk to nobody” technically means “I talked to at least one person rather than zero people.”
Although you should avoid double negatives in formal situations (e.g., essays, cover letters, or job interviews), double negatives are perfectly fine in creative writing and casual conversation. Double negatives are also common in movies, TV shows, pop songs, poetry, and fiction.
Avoiding double negative mistakes is a two-step process:
Know which English words are negatives.
Use only one negative in each clause or sentence.
Double negative example
The Fall Guyisn’thardly the best movie, but I did enjoy it.
The Fall Guy is hardly the best movie, but I did enjoy it.
Published on
March 7, 2025
by
Nicole Routh, M.Ed
Revised on
November 18, 2025
The purpose of a resume is to align your skills and experience with requirements for jobs, internships, or other career opportunities.
You submit a resume with a job application to concisely summarize which of your skills, employment history, and education are most relevant to the job requirements. Your goal is to show recruiters that you’re a great match so that they’ll select you for an interview.
Employers request resumes with job applications so that they can efficiently choose which applicants to interview. Your resume helps them evaluate your qualifications and prepare interview questions that are uniquely tailored to your background.
Understanding the purpose of a resume—as outlined below—will help you make a resume that’s relevant and focused.
Published on
March 7, 2025
by
Nicole Routh, M.Ed
Revised on
November 18, 2025
The mainpurpose of a cover letter is to showcase your qualifications, personality, and enthusiasm for the role.
When you apply for a job, you submit a 1-page cover letter and your resume to convince recruiters that your skills and background are well-aligned with the job requirements. Employers use cover letters and resumes to decide which candidates they want to interview.
While your resume provides a structured summary of your skills and experience, a cover letter elaborates on your achievements and values in a narrative fashion.
The following tips about the purpose of a cover letter will help you introduce yourself and tell your professional story in a compelling and convincing fashion.
TipIf you need to create a cover letter quickly, use QuillBot’s AI cover letter generator to instantly draft a compelling cover letter that includes all the necessary sections.
Published on
March 6, 2025
by
Nicole Routh, M.Ed
Revised on
November 18, 2025
How far back a resume should go depends on your experience level and the job requirements. A resume should go back 10–15 years at most and only include jobs that are relevant to the position you’re applying for.
You don’t need to go back 10 years if you’re in the early stages of your career, and you don’t need to include every past job.
In fact, you might only have room for 3–4 past jobs if you want to achieve a concise resume format and a 1–2 page resume length.
No matter how far back your resume goes, QuillBot’s free Grammar Checker will help you submit job applications that are polished and error free.
How far back should a resume go exampleYou’re a 35-year-old accountant who is applying for an Accounts Payable Specialist position. You have 10 years of experience, starting with your first job out of college working as a tax preparer. For the last 7 years, you’ve worked on vendor invoices.
The main requirement on the job posting is “5–7 years of accounts payable experience with 2–3 years in a senior-level accounting position,” and the job entails invoicing and paying vendors.
On your resume’s “Employment History” section, you only include jobs from the last 7 years, and you focus each job description on the skills that this particular position requires.
Published on
March 4, 2025
by
Nicole Routh, M.Ed
Revised on
November 27, 2025
In English grammar, negatives are words—such as “no,” “not,” and “never”—that show something is untrue, not happening, or of zero quantity. For example, the sentence “Nobody wants this” means “zero people want this.” It’s the opposite of “Everybody wants this” or “Someone wants this.”
Common negatives include “not,” “none,” “nobody,” “nowhere,” and “nothing.” Some qualifiers—such as “barely” and “hardly”—are also negatives.
The main grammar rule for negatives is to only use one per sentence. A double negative is grammatically incorrect because two negatives in the same sentence cancel each other. For example, grammatically, “We never go nowhere” means “We always go somewhere” instead of “We never go anywhere.”
Negative sentences examples Kara has never seen an Alfred Hitchcock movie.
The candidate barely won the election.
Nothing is more important than friends and family.
