This exploration of Darcy's self-knowledge in Pride and Prejudice is some of my best work. I exhibit close-reading skills, the inclusion of philosophy and interpersonal relations in the context of character building, and simple, direct, clear expression of intellectual ideas. Self-knowledge is one of top research interests and has informed most of my work either as subtext or an explicit topic. The essay was created as the final project in Studies in Jane Austen (graduate). Find it here. 

This short reading of the word esteem in Austen's Sense & Sensibility displays my capacity for close reading, analytic thought, more direct, simple academic writing, and well-developed sense of organization in an essay. It reveals my insightfulness and capacity for character comparison. It was written for Studies in Jane Austen (graduate). Find it here. 

For this analysis I used my breadth of understanding of the historical context of literature, and my learned skill at concision. It was for History of the English Language (graduate), which I had also taken in undergrad. You'll notice my attention to detail, inclusion of different sides of a debate, and the little pieces of metacognition sprinkled at the beginning and end. The assignment called for answering several questions, which I neatly separated and combined into sections.
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This project shows my ability to write and present for a public audience while maintaining academic integrity, and my skills as a researcher using various sources, including the OED. I incorporated my private love of cooking with my public-facing academic persona. As my final project for History of the English Language (graduate), I created a website with analysis of culinary words, and a short page with my findings. 

Writing in the brief word count allowed by the professor, I depict a perspective on Sophist Rhetoric and its potential philosophical currents with agility; revealing philosophical and reflective thoughts that can applied to contemporary education and writing. Created for Rhetorical Traditions (graduate). Find it here.

In a cross-listed English class with the WWII studies program, the assignment was to compare two winners of the Nobel Prize in Literature who were relavent to the war. The study shows my capacity for comparative literature, the development of my own ideas (which I show in all of my work), and my understanding of political influences on the literary world. Find it here.

In my rare but strong use of feminist critique, I exhibit critical thought, use of ancient and medieval sources, and application of contemporary literary approaches to older literature. For my undergraduate degree at Lowell, I completed this capstone essay, which I completed in my work in Arthurian Legends (undergrad). Rather than depend on widely accepted feminist theory, I coordinate individual thoughts on the topic from various feminist analyses of the literature.
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For this paper, I use multiple complex theories of literary and social analysis, combining them into a layered and detailed reflection on an important novel in speculative fiction. It reveals my capacity for higher-ordered thinking, synthesis, and academic writing. Unlike my later work, the language is a bit flowery. Later on, I learned how to better express my thoughts in simpler, more active language. This work was created for Intro to Literary Studies at Hunter College (undergraduate).
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There may seem to be few fresh perspectives on Shakespeare, but there are always new ideas available within ourselves and through synthesis of previous research, without innovating just for the sake of being different. This essay started my journey with analyzing and extracting insight about self-knowledge in literature. While there is a hint of paradox, it has a clean argument. It was written for Shakespeare II (undergraduate) at Lowell. Find it here.

Writing

Teaching Prep

My Approach