Guimauvaise

The larger issue is that you've plagiarized. Unless you just haven't cited your sources yet, you're going to have bigger troubles than essay structure if you don't take the time to add the appropriate references. A quick Google search pointed me to the original sources of a couple of the phrases you've used: "...despite a social order...all his soul" comes from http://www.wmich.edu/teachenglish/subpages/literature/huckfinn.htm "the greater conflict...Reconstruction" comes from https://scholarworks.iupui.edu/bitstream/handle/1805/1729/L699_Thesis_November.pdf?sequence=1 If you aren't sure how to cite your sources, talk to your professor or go to your campus writing center. They should be able to point you in the right direction.

I finished my MFA in Creative Writing last May (and at my school it's a 60-hour degree), so I have plenty of experience with your situation. My fellow MFAs and I were held to the same standard as the English MA/PhD TAs. We went through the same "boot camp," we shared offices, and we generally taught the same courses. The one exception was that the MFAs could apply to teach a section of lower-level undergrad creative writing courses, but you couldn't apply until your first year was over. ALL of the first-year TAs at my school, regardless of their degree program, were required to teach Composition I. Keep in mind though, that our English department is the largest department on campus (with over 150 combined faculty and TAs), so this may not hold true for your school. Still, they won't "throw you to the wolves" as you put it, or at least they shouldn't. Most of my undergrad friends who have also entered grad school as TAs have had the same experience I had: clearly-defined instructions on teaching expectations, sample syllabi and assignments, small support groups led by a senior TA or faculty member, and often a required course about composition pedagogy. So if you do end up teaching this fall, you shouldn' feel completely unprepared. There are bound to be resources availble to you. Good luck with the interview!

I agree with Ponylevel: ask your department about the situation. When I started my MFA, I was given a TA-ship. Then, when I applied for the PhD program, I was awarded a $20k fellowship. At my school, the fellowships INCLUDE the TA-ship, and we get the full funding of both ($15k or $20k depending on the fellowship level, and an additional $10ish-k for the TA-ship). There doesn't appear to be a funding cap for us. So long as we keep our grades up, we get to keep the funding for both for up to five years. You'll also want to make sure you check the requirements of the fellowship. Mine requires that I take one summer course every year until I graduate. I don't have to teach over the summer -- it's considered research/prep time -- but I still get my TA pay. Speaking of which, if your fellowship pays on a monthly basis, it's possible your potential TA pay would also be structured monthly instead of on the nine-month plan. That's what happened to me. But, regardless, check with your department and/or the financial aid people.

I'm a bit of a pen snob. I sometimes just browse pen websites to see what fancy ones out there. Graff von Faber released a stingray leather fountain pen a few years ago as part of their "Pen of the Year" line. I drooled a bit. As for the pens I use most often while at school: Parker's Urban Premium Chiseled and a Retro 51 Tornado (I have two of their limited edition pens, including their copper aniversery pen). For less snobby options, I really love Bic's Atlantis pens, and Papermate's new InkJoy pens write very nicely. They have the darker ink lines I associate with rollerballs, but have the ink flow control of a ballpoint. Good combination, in my book. http://www.amazon.com/Parker-Chiseled-Ballpoint-Metallic-1774706/dp/B003JTUYDC/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1328062284&sr=8-3 http://www.amazon.com/Retro-51-Tornado-Lacquer-Rollerball/dp/B001TB05VS/ref=sr_1_2?s=office-products&ie=UTF8&qid=1328062631&sr=1-2

My first response to your question: why wouldn't you want both? Then again, your stipend is more than double what PhDs here get (in my program, at least). As Runonsentence said, fellowships tend to be more competitive, and, since they often require applicants to be in the top tier of their class, they are usually considered more prestigious than TA/RA positions. Both would look great on a CV. I have both a TAship and fellowship coming into the PhD program this month. Do I really *need* the fellowship? I can scrape by without it, but if I want to pay off student loans, keep up with bills and credit card payments, and start saving money, and still have a little mad money left over so I don't feel flat broke...then, yes, from a financial standpoint, I need the fellowship. Fellowships here are nomination-based, though, so I'm not sure how well this compares. Regardless, fill out the entire form. You definitely don't want to make a bad impression by leaving some sections blank, even if you do think that the information is already available in your SOP.

That definitely wouldn't be a deterrent right now! It's been well over 100 degrees in much of the region for a week or two. Parts of Texas haven't seen temperatures below 100 in over a month. I hate Southern summers like these, but I'm sure I would hate Northern winters (speaking of which, we had over a foot of snow back in Jan/Feb, which is rare for this area). While I do want to live in an area that has seasons, I'd rather the seasons weren't so extreme. I'm glad to hear that others have seen Southern faculty at Northern school. I didn't think it was impossible for a Southerner to be hired by a Norther institution, but I didn't know if my adviser's statement was at least somewhat accurate.

My undergrad adviser told me that people who get their degrees from Southern schools tend to have a more difficult time finding teaching jobs anywhere outside the South. Does anyone know if this is true? All three of my degrees are (or will be) from Arkansas schools, and while I don't currently have plans to move too far outside this area, I would hate for my schools' location to be an immediate strike against me in terms of being hirable. If it is true, do you think it's because there is still a stigma attached to Southerners? I can guarantee you that we are not all inbred, redneck idiots (and most of us even have all of our teeth ), and I would think that my CV or any other Southern grad's CV would be just as competitive as anyone else's. Or, could it be an issue of regional culture? Here's the thing, though. The majority of the profs. in my program are not Southerners. We've got instructors from California, Virginia, Michigan, etc., and there are also a few international profs from Europe and the Middle East. If Southern academics can't get teaching jobs outside the South, then where the hell are they?

I'd ask friends and colleagues before you sign up for a class at a center. After all, it's quite expensive, especially if you want to enroll in an actual test-prep course rather than use the service's online resources alone. I worked for Kaplan as an ACT tutor a couple years ago. From my experience, the service is overpriced, though CloakandSwagger is right to say that the service offers a lot of resources. Price aside, errors sometimes appear in the book (usually in the form of wrong answers), and at times it is not easy to identify those errors. Honestly, you'd probably get just as far on your own with Kaplan's prep book as you would in a class. I don't know that it's my place to say why (as I'm also not sure if this would be a breach of contract or something, even though I haven't worked for them in two years), but I make that suggestion based on what I know about the instructor's version of the prep book. Bottom line: ask for other opinions on test prep services, and consider saving money by studying on your own with a book published by the services.

I used to keep up with Criminal Minds and Grey's Anatomy, but I lost track of those when I canceled my cable a few months before moving in with my boyfriend. After getting my cable back, I just never picked up those shows for some reason. My watch list: Walking Dead The Big C Sons of Guns (my boyfriend's choice) The Borgias Spartacus And I feel like I've left one out. I spend more time playing video games, though.

Not necessarily. It depends on your program, and the score is -- or can be -- a factor in how likely you are to receive funding. At least two fellowships at my school, and maybe a handful of scholarships, require certain GRE scores before a student can even be nominated. For the "distinguished doctoral fellowship," students have to be in the top 10% on the verbal, and MUST have at least a 5.5 on the written. My department also takes GRE scores into account, to some degree, when considering TA applicants. They aren't going to nitpick over the quantitative (thank God), but they do look at the verbal and writing. I'm not trying to dishearten you, and I don't want to frustrate you further, but I would hate for you to brush off the GRE when you might be denying yourself some good opportunities as a grad student. As Kitkat said, the writing sample will be a better indication of your writing skill. After all, your adcomm will actually see that essay, as opposed to just seeing a somewhat empty score on an official GRE record. I'd still study for it, if I were you, and focus on both test-taking strategies and exam content.

I tend to agree with those above. If you are interested in the course, go ahead and take it. However, if you're hesitant to take a new course, ask the instructor if the course will be offered again while you're in the program. Assuming the course is offered at least once per academic year, then you probably won't hurt anything by waiting to take it. The risk you'd take in waiting, though, is having a conflict between this course and a required course. Regardless, I'd talk to your adviser before making your final decision.

Your interests may not be mutually exclusive. My school offers a secondary emphasis for MA, MFA and PhD students who are not in the rhet/comp program. The requirements include teaching five different courses, taking two advanced rhet/comp courses (I'm taking a seminar this fall called "theoretical approaches to teaching writing"), an introductory "TA bootcamp" course called "composition pedagogy," and a one-hour oral exam/presentation on a rhet/comp topic. My adviser told me that if I complete this secondary emphasis (which is my plan...I already have half of the requirements), I would be "extremely hire-able" for a TT position in literature. I don't know how unique my school is in offering this opportunity, but it might be something to keep in mind.

I'll answer with an example. A couple of incoming students in my program thought it would be a good idea to bring a keg to the TA bootcamp meetings. They lost their TA positions soon after, and I'm kind of surprised that they weren't kicked out of the program, if only for a semester.

Dodge ball

I have to plug the new Nook Simple Touch. It has the same base price as the Kindle ($139), so the price won't be the deciding factor. I got a first-gen Nook last February as an anniversary gift, and upgraded to the newest model this summer. There have been some great changes. It's smaller and more stream-lined. There are more user options to customize the interface. Page changes are smoother and faster. etc. When I first looked into getting an eReader, the deciding factor for me was the Nook's expandable memory. You can add more storage by slipping a micro SD card into the slot, and you're good to go. This is also a nice feature if you wish to have separate storage to keep your academic and personal reading lists separate. I also like the fact that the Nook doesn't have a physical keyboard on it. For some reason, that just bothers me about the Kindle...it seems awkward and unnecessary to me. I was also drawn to the Nook because I have a B&N membership, and have been a fan of the store for years. I will say this in favor of the Kindle, though: it now has real page numbers that correspond to the physical copy of the text. This is great from a reference/citation standpoint. The Nook pages are kind of weird, especially if you download a text from another site or convert from one format to the other. It's not uncommon for one "page" of a text to take up three Nook pages, and I'm not always sure if the Nook page number corresponds to the real text. So if your main drive in getting an eReader is to simplify research and citations, the Kindle does have that advantage over the Nook (assuming B&N developers aren't working on a software update that would even the playing field). CNet has a good review and comparison of several eReaders: http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-20009738-1/kindle-vs-nook-vs-ipad-which-e-book-reader-should-you-buy/. The article was published last month, and lists the "best" eReader in several categories. That might help your final decision.