Autobiographical Sketch

My writing is not bad. I have always been a good speller and I learned at an early age how to formulate a sentence. Noun, verb, adverb, prepositional phrase. Once my elementary school teacher explained all the parts and pieces along with the rules for fitting them together, I was able to write proper sentences. Soon afterward, I was taught how to organize information into an introduction, body, and a conclusion and could turn out a half-way decent paper on most any subject. I credit my high school English teacher with giving me a foundation that made college-level research writing something that I could do easier and quicker than most of my fellow students.

I am an avid reader. I learned to read at an early age and can remember being thrilled to visit the local library and check out books. I have actually imagined myself starting in the “A’s” and reading every book there (nerdy, right?). I love the power of words and have always admired writers who could use words to describe something so vividly that you could see it in your head. Character development in fiction writing has always fascinated me. How is it possible for someone to explain without pictures exactly what a person actually looks like? How can they formulate a description so lucid that as a reader you actually have feelings for a fictional character? The best book in the world is the one that you hate to see end and find yourself wishing you hadn’t read it quite so quickly. I admire and envy the talent to produce a piece of work like that.

So, what is the connection between my writing and the kind of writing that I love to read and most admire and appreciate? Besides the fact that they both contain the written word, nothing at all! My writing style is technical. Memos and e-mails are my best work. Give me something to say and I will do it succinctly and to the point. I find it most difficult and confusing to attempt to use more words than necessary when just getting to the point seems the simplest and easiest way. Paper page requirements make me nervous and I tend to lean toward the minimum. Big words make me sound obnoxious and uppity.

The writing of the dissertation is a large task looming before me. I have already begun collecting and reading related research and have an idea starting to form in my head of the organization and direction this paper will take. I am almost anxious and excited to get started. Nevertheless, I can’t imagine that my dissertation will be interesting at all and that anyone would ever want to read it again once it is complete. It will be complete. It will be organized. It will be written simply and will be easy to read. It will accurately reflect my research and will contain every required section. I cannot guarantee that it will be free from error, but those errors will certainly not be intentional and will be there because I am too familiar with the subject and have looked at it too many times, not because I didn’t proofread it enough or have someone else look at it.

I often wish I was a different type of writer. I would be thrilled if I could work on and develop a writing style that is less technical and more descriptive (and therefore probably more interesting). On the other hand, I have often been told by others that they are envious of my ability to say something in a few words but still make a big impression. Not everyone has that talent either and I appreciate that. In the everyday life of a community college administrator it comes in handy. So, maybe I’ll just stick with what I have. Hopefully it will serve me well in my doctoral journey and in my professional career. I’ll never be a J.K. Rowling or a John Grisham. But, hopefully, one day, I will be Dr. Betsy Jones.