deciding

I will be teaching a course called Technical Writing for Chemistry at a university to Chemistry students who speak English as a second language. However, I am an English teacher. My question is, does anyone know what topics I should focus on or texts I could use? I'm not sure whether to teach them research paper format, general English, or writing equations. I'm completely lost. And help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

I think this is totally normal. Time away would get you excited, but I don't think it's necessary. I think you'll get over your burnout over the summer, just make sure not to read any books If you can get into a good program right away, I'd say go for it. There's a lot to be said for getting your education over with while you're young. Once you're in graduate school, you will still have summers off and you can manage your time so that you don't get burned out, if you're smart and don't overload by taking on unnecessary posts and responsibilities. Academics is awesome because you will get paid to do what you love. It's totally normal to feel burned out. Just don't make school your whole life (I mean once you get into grad school), relax a little, allow yourself time to chill away from books, and you'll be fine. Anything you do in the real world will probably also burn you out!

Sorry, this is a wicked old post, my bad.

Don't worry, you've got to do what's right for you Don't lose sleep over it, they'll understand.

I'd go by U.S. News English rankings and Times Higher Education rankings for overall reputation. Irvine has a good program. Did you get accepted to other schools? You can't always trust the NRC rankings. For instance they rank Maryland at the top with Harvard etc, but that's not really in line with its reputation.

sebastiansteddy, I'd go for Ohio State or Irvine. It's a tough call. Both great schools, congrats on getting in. Good luck!! Let us know what you decide.

Okay, I'll decide for you. I'm making the decision based on what's best for your career and your future. Buffalo. Ranked higher in times higher education overall and us news english. Better reputation overall. Don't think, just do it, you can trust me. Now if someone will decide between Illinois Austin and unc for me I'll give them a life supply of chocolate.

Thanks, that helps a lot, I didn't know about that site. I just found the job placement site for UNC - it was hard to find for some reason. It's not half bad. Surprisingly, Comp Lit has a better job placement record than English. http://englishcomplit.unc.edu/english/job-placement-record

Thanks for all the great info about the program! Congrats to all who were accepted. Austin sounds fantastic. Does anyone know how UNC Chapel Hill compares to Austin in terms of reputation and job placement? I'm trying to choose between the two. It seems that U.S. News ranks Chapel Hill's English program slightly higher. On the other hand, Times Higher Education ranks Austin higher overall and ranks them higher in the humanities as well. ARWU also ranks Austin higher overall. QS ranks Chapel Hill higher. Any thoughts? I really want a school with a good international reputation so I can work abroad. I am so far from making a decision! Did you guys have this much trouble deciding?

Thanks Smellybug. I got accepted to Austin today. I'm going to choose between Austin and Chapel Hill, but it's a hard decision... I appreciate the input

Thanks for your comment, ghijklm. I'm on the wait list for Austin and I've been accepted to the rest. I'm most interested in English Lit. I can't visit right now so I have to make my decisions without seeing the schools first-hand. Congrats on Northwestern, that's fantastic (I saw your post on another thread)! I applied there but was rejected. Very nice

Of the following, which Comparative Literature program do you think has the best reputation and prestige? Which university has the best reputation overall in literature or the humanities? I don't care about quality of life or the town. I just want the school that has the best reputation so I can find a job easily afterward (I'll most likely find a job abroad as an English or Comparative Literature asst. prof. after I finish my Comp Lit PhD). Thanks so much for your help! Decisions decisions... Maryland; Austin Texas; Chapel Hill; Indiana-Bloomington; Illinois-Urbana Champaign; UC-Davis Best wishes in your studies