Sigaba

FWIW, I like this approach for getting someone to respond. (Although I have phrased such requests differently.) However, what if there is no response? Can silence be construed as the necessary approval? Could the professor, who, based upon the OP, doesn't seem to be inclined towards team work, turn around and burn the original poster a second time?

No worries, bedalia.

Who are you asking and how (that is, through which medium--phone, email, letter)?

GC-- Check your PMs. S

I recommend that you first determine if she holds office hours or if she's teaching a class. If she does either, you can do a "pop in."

IK-- If you really want to cut costs, consider the utility of pre-paid calling cards. The usage rates can vary greatly by the type of land line you're using (e.g. a friend's phone versus a public pay phone) so you'll want to read the fine print before you dial. If you're concerned about emergencies, you can follow the guidance offered above by getting a 'pay as you go' cell phone and using it only when you absolutely must. If you already have a cell phone, the FCC requires that even deactivated phones must have access to 911.

That's a pretty broad generalization. I've seen directors, project managers, and product managers who work at software development firms who take notes with run of the mill Dell laptops. Just because some cannot simultaneously listen, point and click, and type at the same time doesn't mean that everyone else has those same limitations.

FWIW, for studying, I used wirebound computation notebooks by Ampad <<LINK>> and green tinted engineering paper along with Sanford Expresso pens, medium point, black ink. As a left hander with poor penmanship, it was very hard to find the right combination of ink and paper. Overtime, my writing deteriorated and Sanford changed hands (and with it, the ink formula.) The latter meant that the black ink would become greenish over time. The former meant that I couldn't really read my notes anymore. Along with the above, I used--and continue to use--Post its. (Size 1.5" by 2"). Generally, I'll get a multi color pack to code my use. (For example, pink for when I disagree with a point.) If I have a comment, I'll scrawl it on the post it before slapping it on a page. When working in the private sector, I used Microsoft OneNote when it first came out. The 2007 version was a nice improvement but I don't know how comfortable I'd be using that program for academic applications. If you do go this route, please remember to back up your files regularly and to print out copies...just in case. Over the last few years, I've used Moleskine square notebooks (both large and pocket sized). They're a nice size if one's holed up at a coffee house, the paper is of good quality, and the hard covered notebooks are well bound. (The soft covers, not so much.) A change of topic. Nehs, I understand that you're apprehensive about the transition to graduate school and I appreciate and respect the steps your taking to be a successful student. That being said, I think it is important that you don't become so preoccupied with your concerns that you re-invent the wheel and fix what isn't broken. Just my ink smeared two cents.

Precisely how do you know that comparing numbers is "obviously" more helpful? Do successful applicants get in primarily because of their numbers? Are other factors--including academic pedigree, LoRs, the SoP, interviews, correspondence, and behind-the-curtain discussions--that display an applicant's potential, punctuation, and personality are less important? What about the departmental politics and economic calculations that factor into the deliberation? Do successful applicants get a debriefing that tells them why they were admitted and others were not? Or are they left to read the tea leaves and make guesses that, no matter how well founded and educated, are still guesses?

Will your intended audience understand the difference between a sketch and a skit?

@ Sparky The post exam hand out is not a rubric, but an evaluation form that allows students to give feedback on exam itself and on the support you provided them in their preparation for it. FWIW, I agree that specific evaluation rubrics should not be disclosed to students. They should get a heads up as to what are the basic components of a successful answer. (An argument that is well written, features multiple examples that are succinctly desecribed, discusses several causal factors, an evaluation of those factors head to head, and an awareness of ongoing historiographical debates).

I see your point. The focus I had when going through the application process, the notion of getting that kind of support was beyond my imagination. I viewed the writing of SoP's as a personal experience and that the task was to give readers a sense of who I was at the time. So even if someone had made the suggestion, I think I'd have declined. But then, they don't call me stupid for nothing.

Nice, long_time_lurker! To dovetail with your point, one could also work at summer programs (day camps). Even if the pay were not as lucrative, one can gain experience, have fun working with the program participants, and maybe qualify to take meals served during program days.

justnomore.3x5s If you take Sparky's guidance (and, IMO, you should) pay attention to the acknowledgements and the footnotes. If a scholar focusing on gender and women gets useful feedback and support from her peers at her home institution and if those peers focus on different types of history, you may be seeing evidence of a close knit department. In such departments, methodological, philosophical, and political differences are put aside so that historians can help each other write better books. If you think you will want to continue your focus on contemporary mass popular culture, you might be well served in figuring out how a department over all feels about such a perspective. There are some intense debates going on out there (some of it is behind closed doors). If you're going to swim in those waters find ways to avoid the orca that might bat you around like a tennis ball. (Yes, of course, it is all in good fun. And I'm not bitter.)

IMO, asking a professor to "help" write a better SoP runs the risk of undermining the integrity of one's own application. The SoP is a task designed so that applicants can speak for themselves.

She may be trying to remake you in her own image. Is there any way you can get copies of what she's published and see if she's giving you nudges so you can be more like her? Simultaneously, you can arrange to have face to face meetings with her so she can clarify her comments. At the end of the meeting, make sure the two of you are on the same page as to what changes you are and are not going to make. If you make the changes she wants and then she still gives you feedback, the dynamic may be more complicated. Concurrently, take another look at how you're reacting to this situation. While you should be proud of the fact that you have two M..A.'s, they are in different fields. Sometimes, the fact that the fields are related makes it harder (not easier) to adjust to a new field. Could it be that you're bringing interdisciplinary sensibilities and she has a more conventional/traditional approach to the field? If you've not done so already, you may need to decide that the two of you simply don't have good chemistry and that you may need to find a different adviser. If it goes this way, please make sure that your reasons for making the change have nothing to do with what anyone else thinks of her--good or bad. Base your decisions solely on your ability to work with her AND your ability to work with your new DA. If you make this transition, I strongly recommend that you remain professional in how you discuss this with grad. students and faculty members in your department. If you make a switch, and someone asks you why, just talk about your relationship with your new DA and say NOTHING negative about your old one. Keep in mind that faculty members have relationships and those relationships can be very complicated. So, even if everyone thinks Professor B is the biggest jerk in the world, that doesn't mean they're going to tolerate doctoral candidate F straying from his lane and running his mouth. HTH.

Donnyz89-- For me, there's nothing like the bone crushing force of an impending deadline. The edge of terror can be heightened with an ice cold can of Coca Cola chased by a cup of coffee, and a snicker's bar. Reading the autobiographies and memoirs of established historians also helps.

Always go to the source. Find and read the research projects' relevant documentation.

My suggestions are these: Before the assignment Give students as much guidance as you can on what they need to do to earn high marks. Provide study questions that help them focus on the relevant course materials. If you're the one writing the assignment, use these discussions to figure out the class's overall strengths and weaknesses. So if you realize many members of the class don't understand G, you can either provide additional instruction or decide not to put G in a graded assignment. (You can always circle back to it in a subsequent assignment.) Expand office hours so students can get guidance Facilitate the formation of study groups. If possible, go the these study groups and provide additional tutorials. During the assignmentDevelop rubrics that you'll use to evaluate the students' performance. If the assignment is an exam, observe the students as they take it. If students are really struggling, you may be in for a long couple of nights. [*]Discuss with the professor the guidelines for evaluation he or she has in mind. [*]As students hand in the assignment, provide them an opportunity to complete an evaluation form. When grading the assignments [*]Figure out how you want to approach the work. [*]Do you want to grade one assignment from beginning to end? [*]Do you want to look at everyone's' response to Part I before going on to Part II? (I recommend this method.) [*]Another method is put aside assignments that are proving difficult to evaluation. In my experience this category includes work that is going to fall between a -/+ for a B or a C. [*]Resign yourself to the fact that you've got some grinding to do. [*]As much as possible, pay attention to how you feel. Do not take out your anger over the situation on your students. In my experience, the pre assignment prep work was the most helpful. It helped students to get focused on the assignment and to allay some of their concerns. It helped me to understand where they needed additional support and to get a good sense of how they'd respond to specific questions. When it was time to pitch questions with my boss for the exam, I would offer a bunch of fastballs, but no curveballs. (And certainly, no softballs.) HTH.

Sabrinamichelle-- Check out this link << HTH.

The advantage of a visit is that face to face encounters allow opportunities for chemistry checks. The disadvantage of these chemistry checks is that you may get some information that is misleading if your field is one in which graduate students can have up and down relationships with their advisers. When you talk to the contact at the institution you plan to visit, listen very carefully. And do listen more than you talk during the visit itself. Do not let your apprehension prevent you from hearing key bits of information--such as clear cut cues that you are going to be admitted and that the visit is about sizing you up for the type of financial support you're going to get (fellowship or teaching assistantship).

Have you read anything by a historian who has a similar focus on the forest and specific trees? Could you cull through some her writings, maybe find an interview or an autobiographical essay and see how she balanced her interests?

Please consider the mutual benefits of having each and every one of your students come to your office after they get back the first graded assignment of a term. Or, at the very least, have the ones who receive grades below a certain mark. In my experience, this is a very time consuming task but worth it.

Imagine yourself writing a formal letter to a friend who is well educated but doesn't quite understand what history is and why you want to be a historian. Use the specific questions (if any) in the SOP form as talking points. Tell this friend a story--a narrative--in which you cover the points. An aside. Never delete anything. If you're going to start over, archive what you've done. A suggestion. Assume that you are going to be a titan who makes significant contributions to the craft. Write with a certain swagger because you know that your papers and letters are going to be published, and that down the line graduate students will be trying to figure out how to write SoPs so they can come and work with you. Write with a purpose because you know that are taking steps down a path that sees you claiming your legacy as an academic. Write with a sense of fun and passion because you're writing about something you love. Write with a sense of comfort because you're communicating with a trusted friend.

If a LoR needs editing, is there any way you can get a third party to perform the task and then to send the translated version and the original along? Or maybe the person writing the letter can first express him/her self in the native tongue and then in English? If an admissions committee thinks an applicant has seen a LoR they may give it less credence. The logic is that a LoR written in confidence will reflect a higher level of condor by the person writing it.