Branwen daughter of Llyr

very true - I do know it's paramount in the humanities, and in some social sciences (for example, you can't get in to a good International Relations program without a spectacular paper of some sort). I'm the first to admit that I have no clue what the hard sciences construe as a "writing sample". and yes. it's also funny about the contacting professors bit.

I actually have to agree with diethc0ke here - despite my personal weakness in American lit - after all, most American undergrads are required to take at least one British lit course while at school. During my undergrad, while I was exposed to some American lit (in an intensive 6 credit upper division survey class required of all English majors), most of my focus was on British - perhaps due to the time period I focused on - there aren't any American medieval and renaissance writers . I perfectly understand that there are time constraints and a limit to the courses that an undergraduate student can be exposed to, but I think that even in the British system, requiring one course in American lit as part of the undergraduate degree is warranted, just as US schools usually require at least some exposure to literature written across the pond (and no, it's not necessarily canonical literature). Considering that there was a lot of cross-influence between the literatures of the US and Britain it makes sense to have some exposure and study of American literature in some capacity. While I agree that perhaps that course shouldn't necessarily be a course specifically on DuBois (I am very weak at African-American lit myself), it could be useful to have a class on slave narratives in general - considering that early slave pamphlets and stories were published in the UK as early as post restoration 17th century, influencing and shaping the abolitionist movement - and within that include the American side as well.

this is actually encouraging. It means my 630 really isn't too horrible!!!

no, I'm at the APs for the holiday - I'll try to get to it on Friday or Saturday - between my own revisions and the essays I have to check for my stupid GRE students who can't seem to fathom how to formulate an argument and what are FACTS (just today, I checked on essay that claimed that Galileo's ground-breaking theory was that the earth was round, and not flat in support of their thesis, while another student stated quite seriously that Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr. didn't want to point an accusing finger at society and "rock the boat", they "only had a dream they wanted to share with the rest of humankind". hrm. I'm seriously concerned about the level of general education in this country.) My SAT students, however, are doing much better. They have now managed to NOT MAKE ANY ERRONOUS fact writing in support of their argument 2 essays in a row!

I second this very strongly (+1) Sparky! to the OP: I'm currently working on my SoP for Lit programs (PhD only, pretty much, unless I do end up sending out MA apps as well) - what Sparky said above is pretty much dead on. No cute childhood stories, keep it straightforward, thoughtful, and focused. Don't use TOO much jargon (just enough that you appear knowledgeable), and make sure that you are NOT SUCKING UP. I.e. - I'm applying to Yale. At no point in my SoP do I discuss Yale's prestige as a reason I'm applying there. I do discuss, in great detail, the professors I'm interested in working with, and how their particular research can help mine (and in what aspect), how the facilities (library and colloquium) can further my scholarship, and how their M.Phil in Medieval Studies on route to the PhD is the main reason I'm applying. And yes. State that you want to teach and research in an academic setting post PhD. Doesn't matter if it's true or not. Just state it, and believe it as you type it .

I don't think there are old English translation questions. There ARE middle English translation questions, but not many - maybe 2-3 in the entire test (of 230 questions). Personally, as a medievalist, I would ask how they expect us to identify some obscure contemporary poet and to be able to distinguish between two similar critical theories that use nearly identical jargon in the same question (and yes, I had one like that in April). No one is expected to know and answer the entire test. It's quite possible to get an 800 on this test without answering every question. It's just a very wide scope. So while I had loads of trouble with 20th century literature, critical theory, and African-American lit, I had no problem with most things from before 1900, loved the middle English questions, and jumped straight in to the Spencer/Milton/Shakespeare (i.e. Dead White Men) stuff. But yes, ETS ARE a bunch of bastards. That has been firmly established (I even tell my GRE students that!)

The writing sample is a piece of scholarly work (usually a research paper), ranging from 10 to 25 pp (depending on the program you are applying to), which shows your scholarly and research capabilities (obviously, your writing level, as well). A 1 page thesis proposal is definitely NOT considered a writing sample. I don't know how important the writing sample is in the sciences, but in the humanities and most social sciences, it's paramount - one of the most important parts of your application.

We'll be 3 English PhD candidates!! Englysshe Rulez!

hrmph. May their gonads be cursed for their inconsistency between application requirements. I suppose I'll end up having to write two versions - a 10-12 and an 18-22. Since I have loads of themes I want to discuss in the paper, the long one isn't as problematic. It's cutting it down while still making sense that worries me...

I think pretty much all English MA's are that. You are normally required to take something like 30 hours of class + write a thesis.

That's actually good to know. I was slightly worried that I'd have to knock out 10 different versions of my writing sample (writing one is tedious enough now - especially getting it started. I should really sit down and start formulating my thesis and reading the articles so I can start writing the d*mn thing next weekend...) So you say that 1 15-20 pager should cover all bases? No need to adapt each one to specific length requirements?

not necessary. After all, there's barely enough room in the SOP to portray our research interests, our scholastic history, and why the program is perfect for us - why weigh it down with explanations on previous application cycles? The App has a check-box asking if you've applied before, that should be enough.

Heh, the guy you're talking about dropped out of Hollywood altogether and devoted himself full time to studying at ONE program. This is hardly the same thing. Especially since Franco is already going around saying how he'll be teaching at Yale already - as a first year (Yale starts TA programs year 2), and is talking about attending another program simultaneously, while still acting in movies (and apparently, jerking off 4-5 times a day, LOL). Busy guy! And not really devoted to academia, I don't think.