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Everything posted by Timshel
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I also uploaded the document back with my comments. I learned that you ALWAYS should give back work with comments because A. they should be learning from their mistakes B. they can never question your grading.
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Finding a Significant Other while in Graduate School
Timshel replied to ZeeMore21's topic in Officially Grads
I would like to add, from my own experience, that dating someone outside of academia can be difficult in itself, which is why many of us inter-marry. (not necessarily in the same field/department, but academia nonetheless) It is hard for an outsider to understand the stress and pressure that goes into grad school and the job, and they often don't understand our "work." They think we only have to "work 12 hours a week" or only have to "write a paper." My husband is also a graduate student, and it has helped that we both understand what is asked of us. It also helps that we have the same schedules. Many of my friends who aren't with people in academia list the differences in their careers as a huge issue in their relationships--it's just hard to understand our work from the outside looking in. -
You are definitely over-estimating the other presenters. I've seen some terrible ones even at professional conferences. Trust me, you're over-thinking it.
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I say just go for it! You are only presented it in front of other undergrads who will think that it's genius regardless. I mean, honestly, at most student conferences, they're all "shit." I look back on papers I presented at student conferences and cringe, but at the time, either the listeners (which rarely exceed 5) either have no idea what you are talking about, or they think you are a genius. The point is to feel confident with your work and getting more comfortable sharing it with your peers. It shows initiative and dedication to the field, and it will make you feel more comfortable when the time comes to present at more prestigious conferences.
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Suggestions for a second-time applicant
Timshel replied to cquin's topic in Literature, and Rhetoric and Composition
Cornell is my reach school this year. *Fingers Crossed* -
I always use Excel for myself because I give everything points so it makes it easier to give them their final grade. The class is out of 1000 points, so if at the end they have 867 points, they have a B+. I used to also put the scores on Blackboard so they could see them, but then it was twice the work for me and half of them never even looked. So, I just decided to do it for me, and I told them that if at any time they wanted to know about their specific grades, they could email or make an appointment with me. I maybe got 2 a semester who asked, so it worked. However, everything I handed back had comments and grades, so it's not like they didn't know. As for the daily, in-class assignments, I just made those worth their participation points, so I never had to give those back. I told my students if they were curious how they were doing for participation at any time in the semester, they could ask me. In the 3 years I have taught (1 year as assistant to another instructor, 2 years as primary instructor), I've never had one student ask.
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Well, my primary interest is pscyhoanalysis, specifically trauma studies, so Cixous, Irigaray, and Lacan will definitely work for the French, but I was told that no one hires someone to do "psychoanalysis," and I was told that I need to pick a period or an area, so I am planning on applying my interests of trauma studies to ethnic american lit, and most of my projects as of right now are latino/a, which is what makes me worried that they will want me to know Spanish. More specifically, I have been working with Dominican lit, which is definitely Spanish, although I am working with diasporic writing, not actual Dominican lit, if that makes sense.
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Suggestions for a second-time applicant
Timshel replied to cquin's topic in Literature, and Rhetoric and Composition
Also, since you said your specific area was in Southern lit, I would definitely recommend schools in the south. I know there are a few in Georgia, South Carolina, and Louisiana that really focus on that. -
Suggestions for a second-time applicant
Timshel replied to cquin's topic in Literature, and Rhetoric and Composition
I hear you! I would be do. Hell, I'm embarrassed to ask mine to write me letters for some of the top tiered schools because I'm afraid they're going to be thinking "uh, yeah right." Not that I'm a bad student or anything, I'm just insecure. LOL -
I am asking this question again, but on this board, because I didn't get that many responses on the letter of recommendation board. Here is my original question: Okay, I have a question about who to ask for my LOR. I already have my Master's in English, so I have written a thesis. My question is, does it look bad if I don't have a letter of recommendation from my thesis director? I mean, I could get one from him if I needed to, but I feel that there are other professors who would write better ones, especially ones that pertain more to the area I am hoping to focus on. My thesis director turned out to be a bad choice for my thesis as he wasn't as knowledgeable on my subject because I changed it midway through, which is why I would think other professors would be better. 2 of the 3 I plan to ask were on my committee, but neither were the director (the third being our latino/a lit teacher which is where I am shifting my focus a bit). I could ask my director, but he's incredibly hard to get a hold of, and he's not very reliable (he takes weeks to respond to emails and frequently misses appointments), so I'm scared to ask him. I know he really likes me, and would definitely recommend me, but he is like a semester away from retiring, and I only had him once, where as the other person I was thinking to have instead of him has had me several times, and I'm afraid he's a bit apathetic and wouldn't be as enthusiastic as she would (coincidentally his wife). However, I do not want it to look bad if I don't have a recommendation from my thesis director. So basically, I'm just not sure if it is better to get letters from instructors who know me better and are more reliable, or if it's more important to get information from my thesis director. I really don't know what to do, so any advice is much appreciated. The person who I was thinking of asking instead of my director was on my committee, and is my director's wife, so I could always ask her what she thinks, too, but I thought I would try to get some advice from others on here.
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Really stupid question about the info screens before the test begins
Timshel replied to e i j i's topic in GRE/GMAT/etc
I guess I'm confused by what you guys actually did. In the beginning, it asks for your undergraduate institution. I asked the testing moderator if they were asking where I wanted to send the scores, and he said no, that was just a survey for statistical info, so I didn't have to answer any of it, which I didn't. -
Suggestions for a second-time applicant
Timshel replied to cquin's topic in Literature, and Rhetoric and Composition
I've been told by professors that it helps when asking them for a letter of recommendation to give them a little packet of sorts that includes papers you wrote for their classes, a copy of your CV, a blurb about what your interests are and how it connects to each school, and anything in particular you want them to make sure to mention. I've heard the easier you can make it for your recommenders, the better. -
I wish I could take an introductory class here at my campus this year, just because I think it would be beneficial to learn Spanish regardless, but they will not let you teach undergrads if you are enrolled in undergrad courses. Boo.
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Thanks for the insight on Rosetta Stone. I was curious how helpful it would be with that kind of testing. I know some of the websites say "in a language related to your field of study," so that is why I was worried that they wouldn't let me get away with French. I do not plan to do anything comparative, so it sounds to me like I should just wait until (if) I get in somewhere, and then talk to my advisor about what I should do next. I'm totally down for learning Spanish if necessary, but if I can avoid that hurdle, I would like to.
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Okay, so I know this is a popular topic, but I'm new to the boards, so it's new to me. All schools require at least one language and some require two, which is sort of an issue for me. I took 3 years of French in high school and 1 class in college, and I've been to France a couple of times so I think with a little brushing up, I could definitely pass a competency exam. However, I'm still worried because A.) I don't know another language at all, which means I will have to learn a new one for schools that require two and B.) Even for the schools that only require one, my area of interest is ethnic American lit, and I primarily focus on latino/a and Caribbean lit, so I'm pretty sure they aren't going to accept French and instead want Spanish. So, long story short, I'm pretty sure I'm going to need to learn Spanish. So now I'm wondering, what is my best option? Some say to take some language courses now, as an auditor (I teach at the university so I can't technically be a student, too), some say wait and take them at the school you get into, and some have suggested buying Rosetta stone and just learning it from that to take the proficiency exam, especially since buying Rosetta Stone costs about as much as it costs to take a college course anyway. So, I'm looking for advice here. What are others doing or have done? Or, in my unique situation, is there one option that is better for me?
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I would highly recommend doing a conference presentation if for no other reason than a confidence boost. When I was working on my MA, I attended two graduate-only conferences, which was nice, but I knew was far different than a professional one. So, since I took this last year off to work adjunct, I decided that I should try to get my feet wet at a national conference. I presented at the College English Association's national conference in St. Petersburg, and it really solidified that I was not only going to survive this aspect of the job, but it boosted my confidence tremendously. It re-ignited my love of what I do, and I heard some really awesome papers in the mean time. I know that the College English Association encourages graduate students to participate as well, and it's a fairly well-known conference that also has a journal. Several of the professors where I got my MA present at their conferences and publish in their journal, so they are worth looking into, too. Also, their next conference is going to be in Richmond, which is a much easier location for a lot of people to attend. I plan on submitting a proposal for their conference again this upcoming year, so it'd be nice to see face from here while I'm there!
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Actually, you only have until the end of June to join MLA for the year. If you haven't done it for this year, you can't join again until January for the 2012 year.
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I also belong to the College English Association--I presented at their conference last year, and I'm pretty sure I will be joining the Northeast MLA soon, too, as I may be presenting at their next conference as well.
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Okay, so I think others have talked about this before, but I can't seem to find the answer. I took the old version on July 11th, and wasn't super stoked about the scores, so I am going to take my chances with the new version, and I planned on taking it September 8th (the last day to be in the first batch of scores to go out). However, I'm worried if that is enough time. For the old test, you could take it once every calendar month, but for the revised version, it says only once every 60 days. So, does that mean I have to wait 60 days from July 11th, even though that was the old version? I don't want to take the new test and not have it count. September 8th is like exactly 60 days, so I could wait one more day if I wanted to, but I was really wanting to have my scores out first. Does anyone know the answer, or have called ETS about this?
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Really stupid question about the info screens before the test begins
Timshel replied to e i j i's topic in GRE/GMAT/etc
When I took it two weeks ago, I, too, was confused, so I asked the guy at the testing facility and he said it was just a survey for statistical info, so you don't even have to answer them. I skipped half of them. -
okay, I am going to sound like an idiot, but how do you get the powerprep tests? I have taken the GRE twice and didn't know anything about any free powerprep tests that give accurate ideas of scores. No wonder I haven't been doing well on the tests......lol
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when to take the GRE
Timshel replied to indalomena's topic in Literature, and Rhetoric and Composition
Well, all I know is that the ETS site says that if you take the new version by September 8th, the scores will be mailed on November 8th, so that better be enough time for December 1st deadlines! -
Schools That Don't Require Subject Test
Timshel replied to Timshel's topic in Literature, and Rhetoric and Composition
All of the schools that I have personally listed just say "the subject test is not required." It does not say that it is encouraged or that it would have any affect in any way. Some just don't even mention it by saying things like "send GRE general scores" and some said "subject scores are not required." -
Schools That Don't Require Subject Test
Timshel replied to Timshel's topic in Literature, and Rhetoric and Composition
I am probably going to end up taking it, but I did want to keep adding to this list just so people know because if they don't require it, then a lower score won't hurt as much. I looked at a couple of Ivy Schools that didn't ask for, which I can't remember, but I do know Chapel Hill no longer requests it. -
It very much depends on your program. I was a TA in my English department where it was terminal MA. The first year I sat in with a mentor and just took notes, taught a couple of the classes, but mostly observed and helped with grading. My second year, I was on my own. I taught two composition courses a semester on my own: my own syllabi, my own assignments, my own grading, etc. I did have to take a class the year before on pedagogy, and we did weekly meetings with the other TAs and the composition coordinator.