Should My WS and SOP Match?

[Ambermoon24]

Hi,

This has probably been posted elsewhere, but I'm kind of in a quandary and wanted to know what opinions are about this. My statement of purpose is focusing on my past research in nineteenth-century American and British literature, as well as my intention to enter a composition and rhetoric program. But my most recent writing papers I'm wanting to submit are from a Shakespeare course and a 20th century post-colonialist course. Is it important that my samples match my SOP? Or should I simply send my best writing examples irrespective of genre and era? Thanks! 

Edited July 26, 2014 by Litgirl23

[cloudofunknowing]

I would say, yes, it is strongly to your advantage for there to be a parallel between the subject(s) listed or discussed as your current/future interests and the subject(s) of your writing sample. And, since not all programs - maybe few? I'm truthfully not sure - keep you beholden to the areas you mention in your statement (once admitted), you could use what you feel is your best writing sample and draw from it concerns, problems, areas of interest to discuss in your statement. Opinions may differ here on particulars, but I think most would argue that parallels are very important - for what it's worth. A lack thereof could create a disconnect for committees and/or professors in the fields you state you want to pursue (in the statement) as well as those brought up by the writing sample. Someone submitting a WS on Shakespeare while declaring intent to be an Americanist might suffer in the long run because s/he wouldn't be showcasing - in the WS - what kind of contributions s/he's capable of making as an Americanist to that field. I hope this helps!

[Dr. Old Bill]

Cloudofunknowing is right (as he usually is). It's also supported by a lot of what I've read...both on Grad Cafe and elsewhere.

 

It might not be a bad idea to find a few hours to read through a full year's worth of GC posts. It was immensely helpful to me. Even though you'll need to be judicious about what advice works best for you, and what doesn't, it generally covers a lot of the little nuances and answers a lot of the seemingly vague questions that invariably pop up throughout this process.

[unræd]

Aside from the more general concerns cloudofunknowing mentioned about not showcasing your ability to do solid work in a given field, there are strong practical reasons revolving around the way at least some adcomms work that make it beneficial (but not required) for your writing sample to be in your period/field of interest--the DGS at OSU has put up a handy explanation of why here. The advice to submit your best work holds--I have a professor who got into the most competitive medieval studies program in the country with a paper on a 19th century topic--and the purpose of the writing sample is primarily to show that you can sustain an argument and engage in a critical conversation, but If you say you want to study X in your SOP, at some schools your app will immediately go to that school's X faculty, who aren't really as prepared to evaluate you based on your writing sample in Y.

 

That being said, I know you're applying to rhet/comp programs, and I'm not sure how balkanized the field is compared to literary study!

Edited July 27, 2014 by unræd

[Dr. Old Bill]

Wow, that's a very interesting article, Unraed. I hadn't come across it before...probably because I haven't looked at OSU. But I suspect it must be similar at other institutions as well. I just can't imagine the same group reading 100-300 15+ page writing samples plus the same number of SOPs. It stands to reason that many adcomms partition them out by stated interest.

 

I'm really glad you posted that...and am glad OSU's DGS wrote it. It's quite helpful.

[unræd]

I'm glad it was helpful!

[Ambermoon24]

Thanks for the replies, guys! I'll check out that link; it looks like it would be helpful. But as unraed posted, my decision does seems a little more complicated since I'm wanting to enter a comp/rhet program. Anyone want to jump in on this aspect? I do have one paper from an Advanced Composition class, but it's way too short and not representative of my best work. My best papers are from my upper division literature courses. 

Edited July 27, 2014 by Litgirl23

[rhetoricus aesalon]

In my experience, rhet/comp is a bit different. If only because there still aren't very many undergrad programs in rhetoric, it's unreasonable to expect these two documents to connect when in practice most students don't have substantial experience with the kinds of research being done in rhet/comp as undergrads. For example, I used a paper in medieval lit for my MA applications to rhet programs, and I don't feel like it was a detriment. I should also mention my BA is in rhet/comp.

 

I'm trying to remember, too -- you're applying to MA programs, right? If that's the case, my opinion is you'll have minimal to no issues with a paper in a different subfield. But for a PhD, even in rhet, it will be more to your advantage to have a united SOP and WS. Applications at the PhD level don't just show you're capable of writing and supporting an argument but also that you are knowledgeable in a topic that you are planning to undertake in a dissertation. It's more of a risk for an adcomm to accept you based on a sample that is out of touch with your stated research interests, though certainly not a deal breaker.

 

Best of luck with your applications!

Edited July 27, 2014 by Chadillac

[ProfLorax]

I agree with Chadillac: rhet/comp is a different beast, primarily because so few universities have undergrad programs in writing studies. My BA and MA are both in literature, so when I made the jump, my best seminar paper was a paper from a literature class. However, it did still align with my stated interests. In my writing sample, I looked at the representation of writing in two autobiographies through a feminist disability studies lens. Since disability studies and feminist theory were stated interests in my SoP, my WS wasn't a huge departure from the candidate persona I was trying to present. As writers, we frame our work in different ways depending on our audience; in my SoP, I discussed my previous work in literature in a way that lined up with my rhet/comp research interests. If you want to see how one successful candidate made the switch from lit to rhet/comp, I'm happy to share my materials with you!