Mention that I want to be a professor?

[Bennet]

I'm applying to graduate programs for Composition and Rhetoric because I want to become a writing professor at the college level. However, while some of the classes of Comp/Rhet courses are specifically geared towards teaching writing, that's not the entire point of the degree, so I'm unsure of how I should approach my statement of purpose.

I want to mention that my desire to become a writing professor as a result of the work I did as a writing classroom assistant and a tutor in the Writing Center, but at the same time I don't want that to sound like I'm narrow-minded in my goals, looking into graduate school for the wrong reasons, or unaware of the whole point of the Comp/Rhet program. Should I not mention my future goals at all, or how should I go about handling this aspect of my SOP?

[runonsentence]

However, while some of the classes of Comp/Rhet courses are specifically geared towards teaching writing, that's not the entire point of the degree, so I'm unsure of how I should approach my statement of purpose.

Even though not every rhet/comp scholar has WPA or writing-instruction aspirations, I wouldn't hesitate to characterize rhet/comp as a field that places high importance on—indeed, embraces—critical approaches to pedagogy. There's no need to feel like writing instruction would be looked down upon.

You should by ALL means mention that you want to teach writing. The only scenario I can imagine in which it would hurt you would be...if you applied to a school that isn't interested in training pedagogues. But then that's not really the place you want to be applying anyway, is it?

Last, it is not in the least bit narrow-minded of you to have a firm grasp of your future career aspirations. Having a clear intent for not only your path of study through the degree but also for how you will use the degree beyond graduate school is key to writing a strong SoP.

[tanned_girl]

Even though not every rhet/comp scholar has WPA or writing-instruction aspirations, I wouldn't hesitate to characterize rhet/comp as a field that places high importance on—indeed, embraces—critical approaches to pedagogy. There's no need to feel like writing instruction would be looked down upon.

You should by ALL means mention that you want to teach writing. The only scenario I can imagine in which it would hurt you would be...if you applied to a school that isn't interested in training pedagogues. But then that's not really the place you want to be applying anyway, is it?

Last, it is not in the least bit narrow-minded of you to have a firm grasp of your future career aspirations. Having a clear intent for not only your path of study through the degree but also for how you will use the degree beyond graduate school is key to writing a strong SoP.

Would like to show my SOP for anMasters in Rhetoric and Composition to some qualified persion here.  Anyone interested?

[Bearcat1]

The advice one of my LOR writers gave me was to say something like, "At this point, my goal is to become professor at the collegiate level." Then they know you have a goal, but you don't seem narrow-minded or married to that single idea. I can't say whether it worked yet, but that's the approach I took.