College Essay

College Application Essay John Saxby
12/18/10
      As the great linguist Noam Chomsky states, “Language is a process of free creation; its laws and principles are fixed, but the manner in which the principles of generation are used is free and infinitely varied. Even the interpretation and use of words involves a process of free creation.”   Chomsky not only defines unique attributes of language in his statement, but he also captures what has attracted me to my English courses and inspired me to want to major in English during college.   Chomsky encapsulates the paradox of writing and reading:   one must follow certain limits; in doing so one exercises a freedom that creates meaning for the reader and the writer.
      Over the past two years of Advanced Placement English I have developed a desire to major in English.   Those courses have taught me skills that will serve me well in life and (I hope) professionally: they have taught me to interpret, to analyze, and to communicate clearly. English classes offer the greatest surprises while at the same time they make great demands on students. The reading and writing surrounding English literature have focused my analyses dramatically and improved my process of thought. The classes have helped in subtle ways like how I may consider my words before I format a conversation or a professional email – at times, admittedly,   I have caught myself trading a certain degree of colloquialism in conversation for a sentence that sounds more like the recent prose I have read.
      Given the exposure to various pieces of literature an English major experiences, reading skills are obviously improved. Already I have noticed purposes writers make that I might have missed prior to my recent English classes; with more time and a college learning experience on the horizon, this awareness can only thrive. Interpretation benefits from how effectively one can pick up on the bigger picture a passage might propose. In The... [continues]

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