Intention to Improve Writing and Research Skills - Admission/Application Essay Example

I have realized that I innately possessed much strength that was extended in a formal direction by this course. However, I have also identified some weaknesses on my part as a student that I plan to work on, with sincerity and zeal.

I graduated in 1982 and after being divorced I remained amply busy as a single mother to a 14-year-old son and first as a county caseworker, and later on as a credit analyst with At&t. Initially, I feared that I had come a long way from my dream. However, since I joined this 1st class, I realized that my experience as a mother and a full-time employee has endowed me with much insight into the essentials of Family & Community work. While studying for my undergraduate degree in social work, back in ’82; my only thought and passion was to help others. I had an innate conviction that a career oriented around working with children, families, and communities will be fulfilling for me. For 15 years I worked as a caseworker with the county, helping families to get and continue on the food stamp program and Medicaid Services. Later on, I shifted to the corporate world in a quest for a better financial scenario, considering my responsibilities as a single mother. Now, when I think that I have the requisite space, opportunity, and time, I want to revert to and work on my original dream of helping families and communities. I expect much help and insight from my experience while pursuing a Master of Education, specializing in Family & Community.

Being away from a formal academic environment for such a long time, I face some difficulty with the essentials and nuances of academics, which are writing and research. Initially, when I joined this course, I was confident that my writing skills were on par. However, soon I realized that my past writing experience was primarily limited to professional and official writing. So writing is one aspect of my academic life that I need to work on religiously. To some extent, I feel the same about my research skills. To begin with, I believed that in the current age of computers, search engines, online libraries and databases, and the internet, I will rarely face any problem locating and researching the required sources. However, it was a surprise to know that all the information published on the internet is not credible, and a credible online source needs to be affiliated with reliable bodies of opinion, government organizations, academic institutions, and authentic publishers (Deane, 2010, p. 41). One more thing I need to focus on is my referencing and citation skills.

Well, so far as my writing skills are concerned, I know I need ample practice and hard work. It is my belief supported by my teachers and superiors that the more I write, the better I will get. I am also working on my citation and referencing skills and taking the help of the concerned texts and experts. Through research and interaction with my teachers, I have realized what constitutes plagiarism and how one can avoid plagiarism in one’s academic writing. I well understand that it is vital to credit a source accurately while pursuing academic writing (Deane, 2010, p. 4). Also, it is a must that the cited source is credited as per the expected formatting style. I am confident that with my enhanced engagement in reading, writing, and research, I will accrue much expertise and growth over time. I am moving ahead with confidence and a positive attitude toward the challenges that I come across in my daily academic writing and research. Read More