Crafting a CV

Overview

In today’s lesson, students learn how to create a clear, professional curriculum vitae (CV) tailored to a chosen job or course. They will practise selecting relevant information, writing impact-focused statements, and formatting their CV for readability.

Learning intentions

Students will be able to:

• identify the purpose and typical sections of a CV for employment and education
• select and organise information from experience, skills, and achievements
• write concise, accurate personal and work/learning details using appropriate tone
• format a CV so it is easy to scan and consistent in style

Success criteria

• I can include the essential CV sections in a logical order.
• I can use action-focused sentences (not lists only) to describe achievements or responsibilities.
• I can tailor my CV content to match a specific job or course.
• I can proofread for clarity, accuracy, and formatting consistency.

Curriculum links

• Irish English Language curriculum: writing for real purposes, audience awareness, and planning/editing texts.
• Literacy across the curriculum: using vocabulary and sentence structures appropriate to formal contexts.
• Developing communication skills: organisation, coherence, and presentation of written work.

Lesson structure (60 minutes)

1. 0–5 min | Starter: CV purpose

• Teacher displays a short, anonymised CV sample (or a mock “good vs confusing” page).
• Class discusses what makes it easy to read and what information is missing.

2. 5–15 min | Model a CV structure

• Teacher explains the typical CV sections and what each section should do (e.g., personal details, profile/summary, education, work experience/placements, skills, achievements, references).
• Students complete a quick “spot the section” activity: match sample lines to the correct part of a CV.

3. 15–25 min | Audience and tailoring mini-lesson

• Students choose (or are assigned) a job/role prompt relevant to Year 10 interests (e.g., retail assistant, sports coaching helper, part-time catering, work experience placement).
• Teacher models how to align skills/experiences to the role, using a simple “role needs → my evidence” approach.

4. 25–40 min | Build your CV draft

• Students begin drafting their CV in their workbooks or on paper templates provided.
• They write:
• a short profile/summary (2–3 sentences) based on the role
• education details (key dates/subjects/achievements if relevant)
• 2–3 descriptions of experience/activities using action verbs and specific outcomes where possible
• Teacher circulates with a checklist for section order, clarity, and relevance.

5. 40–52 min | Peer review and improvement

• In pairs, students use a structured peer checklist to review:
• readability (spacing, headings, consistent font/size if using digital)
• content fit (does each item support the chosen role?)
• sentence clarity and formal tone
• Each student records one “keep” and one “improve” suggestion, then revises immediately.

6. 52–58 min | Proofreading focus

• Whole-class quick refresh: punctuation for lists, capital letters in headings, avoiding informal language, and checking accuracy of dates and names.
• Students do a final edit pass focusing on spelling, grammar, and formatting alignment.

7. 58–60 min | Exit ticket

• Students submit their CV draft (or a finalised page) and answer: “Which CV section will help me most stand out for my chosen role, and why?”

Resources

• Blank CV template (paper or digital) with clear headings
• An anonymised CV sample for analysis (print or board)
• Role/job prompts suitable for Year 10 (one per student or grouped)
• Action verb bank (e.g., supported, organised, assisted, improved, contributed)
• Peer review checklist (readability, relevance, clarity, formal tone)
• Editing/proofreading checklist (spelling, punctuation, dates, consistency)
• Highlighters for matching “role needs” to “evidence”
• Writing paper or laptops/tablets (if available)
• Teacher model paragraph/profile summary for demonstration
• Reference guidance card: what to include and how to phrase “references available on request” (as appropriate)

Assessment

• Formative assessment during drafting using the teacher checklist (section completion, relevance, clarity).
• Peer assessment using a structured checklist to identify improvements.
• Summative-for-now: exit ticket plus teacher review of the CV draft against the success criteria (clear structure, tailored content, readable formatting, basic accuracy).

Differentiation

• Support:
• Provide sentence starters for the profile and experience descriptions (e.g., “I have experience in…”, “In my role as…, I…”, “I developed skills in…”).
• Offer a reduced CV template with fewer fields to complete.
• Small-group check-ins for students who struggle with planning or writing.
• Extension:
• Add a “skills and achievements” enhancement: students include one measurable or specific achievement (e.g., event helped organise, project completed, initiative taken).
• Challenge students to vary sentence structures and include a stronger, more tailored profile.
• EAL:
• Provide a bank of formal phrases and common CV wording.
• Allow drafting in rough first, then conferencing with teacher before final edit.
• SEN:
• Use chunked tasks (one section at a time) and a visual checklist.
• Accept alternative output formats where appropriate (e.g., typed draft on template with scaffolds).