Comments on: A fugitive piece on reading and writing, Part I

By: The Great Whatsit » A fugitive piece on reading and writing, Part II

The Great Whatsit » A fugitive piece on reading and writing, Part II — Tue, 13 Mar 2007 13:46:20 +0000

[...] « A fugitive piece on reading and writing, Part I A fugitive piece on reading and writing, Part II by Bryan Waterman Posted on Tuesday, March 13, 2007, under Words andWork [...]

By: Bryan Waterman

Bryan Waterman — Tue, 13 Mar 2007 04:22:38 +0000

I found it amusing that Caleb was coming at some of these same issues from a different direction this morning. We were probably composing at the same time.

By: Bryan Waterman

Bryan Waterman — Mon, 12 Mar 2007 23:30:45 +0000

one major difference between the two situations, though, is that a grad school entrance committee isn’t necessarily looking for the nicest people but the people who seem to have a blend of decency and the ability to read and write well. we make those determinations on the writing sample — 20 pages or so of academic writing. The sample may be the most important thing in the end, but the statement of intent is usually the first thing I read. It gets your foot in the door. the best statements do a good job of telling me how the applicants think about their own thinking — how self-conscious they are about why they read and write the way they do. another major difference in our two scenarios: we don’t meet the people we admit until after we’ve already extended an offer and they come visit to see if we’re the right fit for *them*. it’s an interesting dance, but one i enjoy.

By: Marleyfan

Marleyfan — Mon, 12 Mar 2007 23:07:23 +0000

BW, I appreciate your taking the time to explain. As I review applications for potential employees, I use grammar error, and the inability to follow simple directions as the initial “weeding out” criteria. However, most of the applications are so very professional yet dry, that I can’t really get a good feel for what the candidate is really like without an interview (but obviously we can’t interview scores of people). Although I don’t want a sob/sentimental story, I appreciate a candidate who makes it personal. We work in entirely different fields, but probably look for similar core characteristics. And, I ordered David Simpson’s book.

By: Ruben Mancillas

Ruben Mancillas — Mon, 12 Mar 2007 21:58:31 +0000

Bryan, this was great.

I find myself pondering the whole “I want my kid to do whatever makes them happy/you know what a nice career for you might be?” issue quite a bit lately.

Anyone else remember She’s Having A Baby? that awkward John Hughes attempt to move beyond the teen years? The scene I loved was when the grandfather is reading a children’s book about some bunny to a young Kevin Bacon and the story spells out the evils that will fall the rabbit if he doesn’t go to college and get a masters degree.

Sounds like your folks at least prepared you for some of the realities of academic life.

As a beauty school dropout myself, I wonder if other people had similar motivations/experiences.

I remember just kind of drifting into it. This degree of rigor, of course, mirrored my leaving as well.

I liked to read, watch movies, and write (in that order) and enough professors said that a PhD might be the next logical step.

Do you feel your applicants are more aware of issues like crowded job markets or are there still plenty of dreamy kids with high test scores who don’t want to get a “real job” getting into programs?

Dave, great Gothic cathedral justification for typos.

Scott, similarly impressive advocacy for overcompensating those who truly rock.