Fall 2014 applicants??

[andrewcycs]

I wish I had wrote a whole new paper! I was taking 3 english classes, working, and applying to many other things as well. So writing a new paper was too much for me! I might be paying for that now.

[despejado]

I'm a sprinter when it comes to writing--I typically need about ten hours, a lot of coffee, and Bon Iver on Spotify and I can churn out a 20 pager pretty easily. After that, it's just editing, polishing, and expanding here and there. I know most people don't work that way though. I just didn't have a writing piece that I both loved and felt represented my interests. I'm a Medievalist and my favorite writing sample is on trauma, 9/11, and a Jonathan Safran Foer book. It didn't mesh well.

Sounds like an awesome sample. I've been doing an internship with a focus on militarism and masculinity, so it sounds like we have some similar interests despite you being a Medievalist and I an Americanist!

[Ozymandias Melancholia]

I did the same thing--or at least, tried to. Who knows how it comes across. I ended up kicking myself though because I wanted to turn it into a thesis chapter...and then changed the scope of that chapter just a few days ago. 

Yeah, I certainly took a risk by doing it. When I finished it, I felt so uncertain as to its merits as a writing sample. Now that I've had some distance from it, I'm rather proud of it in certain areas, and am already working on revising the parts I want to improve. Thankfully it's been received pretty well by my former professors and a POI. 

Edited February 3, 2014 by Ozymandias Melancholia

[Megeen]

Curious; were most of your writing samples papers from classes, or thesis projects...? Mine was a paper from a class that I expanded on with the professor who taught the course after the fact.

 

I still had to write a paper for one of my classes anyway and so I wrote that with the goal in mind to use it as my writing sample. My topic is "The Failure of Surveillance in Charles Brockden Brown's Ormond; or the Secret Witness," and I employed Foucault's Panopticism as a theoretical background. I got stuck a couple of times throughout the writing process, but I was happy with the final version I submitted on December 30. By comparison, the versions I submitted before don't feel so good, but I hope they appreciate some critical theory.

[Horb]

I used a paper I wrote for my junior year English majors course on imprisonment in Jane Eyre, but I expanded it and am using it for a thesis chapter. I had two very good professors who helped me revise and avoid making it sound too undergrad-y (there's no good adjective for what I'm thinking of). I did use a lot of theory, but my analysis of the text was also very heavy. I'm just worried it isn't as intriguing as I thought it was.

[despejado]

I used a paper I wrote for my junior year English majors course on imprisonment in Jane Eyre, but I expanded it and am using it for a thesis chapter. I had two very good professors who helped me revise and avoid making it sound too undergrad-y (there's no good adjective for what I'm thinking of). I did use a lot of theory, but my analysis of the text was also very heavy. I'm just worried it isn't as intriguing as I thought it was.

This is precisely what I was thinking; I didn't get too heavily into theory, although I did use some.. I'm just hoping I didn't write on something (Absalom) that's already beaten to death.

[Horb]

My professors told me I was writing something new and original too the field, so I'm hoping that is good, but idk.

[despejado]

My professors told me I was writing something new and original too the field, so I'm hoping that is good, but idk.

Definitely sounds like you were, although I don't claim to be the authority on Jane Eyre. I wouldn't worry about it too much, I'm sure it's great.

[Romanista]

My writing sample was on Tristram Shandy and does not really match my research interests all that much. I decided what I wanted to study in graduate school the year after I graduated. In fact, I never even had to write a research paper on my proposed area of study. This is why I will likely not get into any school this season. 

[Horb]

Definitely sounds like you were, although I don't claim to be the authority on Jane Eyre. I wouldn't worry about it too much, I'm sure it's great.

Thank you so much! I definitely think it was the best I was going to do, but I'm certain there is always room for improvement!

[aGiRlCalLeDApPlE]

Has anyone here applied to Northwestern comp lit? Am I alone? Last year they notified by the 1st of Feb, I don't know what takes them so long this year. I can't  wait anymore

[Kamisha]

I’m back! Woohoo! Unless I get locked out again, Switters shall cease to exist. 

[Kind_of_blue]

My writing sample was on Tristram Shandy and does not really match my research interests all that much. I decided what I wanted to study in graduate school the year after I graduated. In fact, I never even had to write a research paper on my proposed area of study. This is why I will likely not get into any school this season. 

This is a big worry for me too. The rest of my materials are all fine -- great grades and GREs, multiple publications, etc -- but my writing sample doesn't explicitly match the specific research interests I've outlined in my SOP. It's meant more as a general indication of my capabilities, given that the research described in the SOP is yet to be carried out. I'm hoping adcoms will see past that lack of 'connection' and will recognize the broader thematic / theoretical / historical interests that make my application cohesive. Or at least, I was hoping that. Right now I'm feeling like this poster -- I've made a mistake here, and won't get in anywhere. 

[despejado]

This is a big worry for me too. The rest of my materials are all fine -- great grades and GREs, multiple publications, etc -- but my writing sample doesn't explicitly match the specific research interests I've outlined in my SOP. It's meant more as a general indication of my capabilities, given that the research described in the SOP is yet to be carried out. I'm hoping adcoms will see past that lack of 'connection' and will recognize the broader thematic / theoretical / historical interests that make my application cohesive. Or at least, I was hoping that. Right now I'm feeling like this poster -- I've made a mistake here, and won't get in anywhere.

I think you're looking at it the wrong way, and also the right way. Your writing sample IS an indication of what you can do, and of course your SOP contains ideas that have yet to properly manifest themselves, so I wouldn't worry too much. If I've noticed anything, especially in myself, it's easy to get far too worked up about nothing. Relax, good things are coming

[Horb]

I feel like I won't get in anywhere because I only have one publication and only decent GRE scores (87% verbal, 93% writing). My school didn't really stress publishing as an undergrad and though I tried to find journals/source to publish in, I found very few. I'm hoping I get in somewhere though.

[despejado]

I feel like I won't get in anywhere because I only have one publication and only decent GRE scores (87% verbal, 93% writing). My school didn't really stress publishing as an undergrad and though I tried to find journals/source to publish in, I found very few. I'm hoping I get in somewhere though.

You and I are the same person. How many places did you apply to?

[Kamisha]

I feel like I won't get in anywhere because I only have one publication and only decent GRE scores (87% verbal, 93% writing). My school didn't really stress publishing as an undergrad and though I tried to find journals/source to publish in, I found very few. I'm hoping I get in somewhere though.

 

Never underestimate the important of “fit.” Honestly, your qualifications are good and so long as you are the right fit for the university, you’ll be good. I’ve seen people with 3.0GPAs, 154 verbal scores, and zero publications/conferences get into awesome schools because their interests matched that of the department. 

[toasterazzi]

Curious; were most of your writing samples papers from classes, or thesis projects...? Mine was a paper from a class that I expanded on with the professor who taught the course after the fact.

 

I used two different samples, both of which are from classes I've taken in my Master's program. 

[Horb]

You and I are the same person. How many places did you apply to?

 

I applied to 11 and one international fellowship. I'm coming from a pretty big public research uni, but they do not value humanities at all, so it has been a struggle. What about you? 

[despejado]

I applied to 11 and one international fellowship. I'm coming from a pretty big public research uni, but they do not value humanities at all, so it has been a struggle. What about you?

In the same boat as you with the huge public research institution that doesn't value humanities. They didn't push publishing on me until earlier this year, so there are no publications to speak of on my apps. I applied to sixteen schools, so going with the "if I throw enough shit at the wall, something is bound to stick" approach.

[Kamisha]

I used two different samples, both of which are from classes I've taken in my Master's program. 

 

Mine was from a class in my Master’s program, as well. I tried to adapt part of my thesis and it just didn’t work, so I bagged it at the last minute. I’m not happy with my writing sample, but I hope it’s enough to get me an acceptance or two. 

[Horb]

In the same boat as you with the huge public research institution that doesn't value humanities. They didn't push publishing on me until earlier this year, so there are no publications to speak of on my apps. I applied to sixteen schools, so going with the "if I throw enough shit at the wall, something is bound to stick" approach.

My department didn't even mention it. I got published freshman year because I put myself out there. I don't even know how to do it now, especially because as an undergrad, I feel like no one would take my work seriously. I started my own research journal at my school so that others might have a place to publish. 

[despejado]

My department didn't even mention it. I got published freshman year because I put myself out there. I don't even know how to do it now, especially because as an undergrad, I feel like no one would take my work seriously. I started my own research journal at my school so that others might have a place to publish.

Wow, that's a pretty cool thing to do. I feel you about people not taking your work seriously, I have definitely felt that way before. Sometimes, as an undergrad, it's hard to take my own work too seriously. Glad to have met someone in the same situation, definitely makes me feel better. I'm inclined to say we'll both be fine and find somewhere that appreciates us swimming upstream in non-humanities driven universities haha.

[Horb]

Wow, that's a pretty cool thing to do. I feel you about people not taking your work seriously, I have definitely felt that way before. Sometimes, as an undergrad, it's hard to take my own work too seriously. Glad to have met someone in the same situation, definitely makes me feel better. I'm inclined to say we'll both be fine and find somewhere that appreciates us swimming upstream in non-humanities driven universities haha.

 

I have faith I'm just curious as to how others went about publishing as undergrads and in what journals. I'm sure we'll both get in somewhere and then we won't have to worry!

[despejado]

I have faith I'm just curious as to how others went about publishing as undergrads and in what journals. I'm sure we'll both get in somewhere and then we won't have to worry!

I'm curious as well. I know if I had published some things I wrote as a sophomore or even as a junior, I might be worried about other people seeing them haha