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Free Sample Personal Statement in Writing Studies
Through six years of teaching experience in the public schools,
nothing has proved more challenging and intriguing to me than the
teaching of writing. My experience in writing instruction has led me to
two principal areas which I desire to research further in my graduate
work: computers in the composing process and writing across the
curriculum. Over the past three years I have become especially
interested in the developing field of composing with computers. I have
used my English classes as informal laboratories to observe different
stages of writing processes on computers. My current experimentation is
in the use of computers as tools for response and revision via a
distance network. In my graduate study, I would like to further explore
the range of possibilities of computers and networks assisting in
revision processes. I am also interested in the design of computer
writing centers and would like to study how these environments both
change our approaches and aid us in our writing tasks.
My second principal area of research interest is cross-curricular
approaches to writing. My personal academic interests have always been
very eclectic; presently I would like to expand my knowledge of
composition modes to encompass the broad range of writing tasks that
occur across the university curriculum. Further, I would like to
research how writing can be used as a tool for learning in diverse
subject domains. My current team teaching in Geography and English has
reinforced my belief that there is a tremendous amount of untapped
potential in the area of writing to learn.
The literature from the University of Decatur impressed me with its
value placed upon the teaching experiences of its graduate students.
Beyond my research goals, I hope that my continued teaching during
graduate study will build and expand my skills for university
instruction. I first became interested in the teaching of writing when
tutoring freshmen at the University of California for a remedial English
course. Their diverse problems and processes in composition fascinated
me, as do those of my current students in English 7 and 12 Honors. By
teaching during the course of my studies, I look forward to broadening
both my teaching repertoire and my understanding of students' diverse
points of development as writers.
When I have completed my Ph.D., I plan to seek employment in an English
or rhetoric department as a university composition instructor or
coordinator of a university-wide writing program. I would like to work
in both instruction and in the development of new programs to help
students to think (compose) more effectively. Further, I plan to work in
my research and development in frequent association with the public
schools so as to aid in the flow of discovery between their world and
that of the university. Among my most rewarding professional experiences
over the past three years has been my frequent involvement in the
Mediterranean Area Writing Project as a presenter to teachers in various
countries. To help mediate between public schools and universities, I
hope to maintain my involvement in the National Writing Project, and my
belief in its philosophy that no single organization or individual has a
corner on the very best ideas. |
