Any college or grad students mind letting me read a paper or two?

[Brackis]

I'm going to be attending school in the fall for the first time in two years. I basically dropped out of highschool after my junior year, got my diploma, and went to get a job/volunteer. That is not to say I wasn't challenged with lots of work in HS (I was writing around 2 papers a week @ 5-7 pages each), but I am skeptical that what I was writing in HS is going to cut it in college especially when I went to a school where it was about getting to a "top" college because people could afford it rather than challenging people in a sink/swim environment. One area in particular that worries me is sentence structure and the accompanying grammar (or should I would I be better suited to say the grammar that accompanies it?).

Now that I'm headed back to school, it would be great to see what the quality and style of writing/presentation those in college possess. I'll be focusing mainly on social sciences, social policy, poli sci, maybe some economics. If anyone who has taken a college or grad level course in one somethined related to this general area of study and wouldn't mind letting me read a paper that they got a strong grade on (or at least knows what needed to be improved on their mediocre paper) in a serious subject at a four year university or graduate level program, it would help me prepare myself very well over the next month before classes start. I don't care if the topic is over my head, as I will be focusing on the language/structure rather than the content of the topic.

Muchos gracias!

 

[Blazin Trav]

Well if you can wait till I start school again, sure.
(Sept 25th)

 

[CollectiveUnconscious]

PM me your e-mail...I have some articles I've authored/co-authored for a few psych journals. They might not be quite what you are looking for, but they are papers.

 

[dullard]

Go to any university library. Grab any random journal. Read any random article in that journal. That is the quality of writing that is expected for grad students. Undergrad students get away with far, far, far less in most cases. However, the quality needed will vary significantly from professor to professor.

 

[Brackis]

Originally posted by: CollectiveUnconscious
PM me your e-mail...I have some articles I've authored/co-authored for a few psych journals. They might not be quite what you are looking for, but they are papers.

Haven't read them in full yet, but they look very well done!

 

[veggz]

Originally posted by: dullard
Go to any university library. Grab any random journal. Read any random article in that journal. That is the quality of writing that is expected for grad students. Undergrad students get away with far, far, far less in most cases. However, the quality needed will vary significantly from professor to professor.

QFT... also depends on the school

 

[dullard]

Originally posted by: veggz
QFT... also depends on the school

That is implied by my post, because there are not too many professors who teach the same class at more than one school.

However, the average quality expected probably doesn't vary as much from school to school as it does from professor to professor. There is way too much hype on the school name, second tier schools require just as much work and just as much learning as first tier schools.

 

[altonb1]

Umm...so you just want to "review" the paers? Un-huh...<wink wink>

Okay...where's Loke?

 

[veggz]

Originally posted by: dullard

Originally posted by: veggz
QFT... also depends on the school

That is implied by my post, because there are not too many professors who teach the same class at more than one school.

However, the average quality expected probably doesn't vary as much from school to school as it does from professor to professor. There is way too much hype on the school name, second tier schools require just as much work and just as much learning as first tier schools.

Check out your post count

Anyway, to the OP, if you are worried about your level of writing I would recommend reading as many books as you can before you get to school and don't have time to. The best way to improve your own writing is to read that of others, or at least that is how it has worked for me.

 

[Brackis]

Originally posted by: veggz

Originally posted by: dullard

Originally posted by: veggz
QFT... also depends on the school

That is implied by my post, because there are not too many professors who teach the same class at more than one school.

However, the average quality expected probably doesn't vary as much from school to school as it does from professor to professor. There is way too much hype on the school name, second tier schools require just as much work and just as much learning as first tier schools.

Check out your post count

Anyway, to the OP, if you are worried about your level of writing I would recommend reading as many books as you can before you get to school and don't have time to. The best way to improve your own writing is to read that of others, or at least that is how it has worked for me.

Reading novels is something I do often, and I am not concerned with my creativity nor imagination when it comes to writing, although I agree 100% that this is a great way to gain style and vocabulary. What I am unsure about concerns methods, formats, and tone for graded papers.

 

[veggz]

A fellow Northwesterner (I graduated this year)! If you were given admission to the university then you are clearly capable of handling the work at Northwestern. I wouldn't worry too much that your writing might not be up to par; if you are enrolled in arts and sciences (which I assume you are) you will take two freshman seminars during your first academic year, most of which focus on improving your writing and easing the adjustment to college level papers. While the level of sophistication is certainly held up to a higher standard, most people don't have a problem adjusting; plus, professors are readily accessible to look over your work before you turn it in (and many freshman seminars utilize rewrites).

Try to enjoy your summer; btw, what book do they have you reading this year?

 

[EyeMWing]

I can't find my psych papers, sorry. I have a ton of IT papers if you want, but it's mostly practical stuff, like contracts, proposals, etc. Nothing research-ish, like you get in the traditional subjects.

 

[EyeMWing]

Originally posted by: Brackis

Originally posted by: veggz

Originally posted by: dullard

Originally posted by: veggz
QFT... also depends on the school

That is implied by my post, because there are not too many professors who teach the same class at more than one school.

However, the average quality expected probably doesn't vary as much from school to school as it does from professor to professor. There is way too much hype on the school name, second tier schools require just as much work and just as much learning as first tier schools.

Check out your post count

Anyway, to the OP, if you are worried about your level of writing I would recommend reading as many books as you can before you get to school and don't have time to. The best way to improve your own writing is to read that of others, or at least that is how it has worked for me.

Reading novels is something I do often, and I am not concerned with my creativity nor imagination when it comes to writing, although I agree 100% that this is a great way to gain style and vocabulary. What I am unsure about concerns methods, formats, and tone for graded papers.

Methods? Whatever works for you.
Formats? APA for most things. MLA for english.
Tone? Depends VERY highly on the professor. Some of them are stick-up-the-ass serious sh!t only, some of them actually appreciate the rest of the spectrum.

 

[jagec]

You want to improve your writing? Stop posting NOW. This place will corrupt you beyond any hope of redemption

 

[ScottyB]

Wow! You wrote more in high school than I did in college. And I was an English major.

 

[Brackis]

Originally posted by: veggz
A fellow Northwesterner (I graduated this year)! If you were given admission to the university then you are clearly capable of handling the work at Northwestern. I wouldn't worry too much that your writing might not be up to par; if you are enrolled in arts and sciences (which I assume you are) you will take two freshman seminars during your first academic year, most of which focus on improving your writing and easing the adjustment to college level papers. While the level of sophistication is certainly held up to a higher standard, most people don't have a problem adjusting; plus, professors are readily accessible to look over your work before you turn it in (and many freshman seminars utilize rewrites).

Try to enjoy your summer; btw, what book do they have you reading this year?

I'm actually in the School of Education & Social Policy, so I'm without a seminar. I believe the book WCAS folks are reading is Othello.