嘉文博译留学文书/个人陈述

　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　PERSONAL STATEMENT
　　　　　　　　　　　　　　Applicant: L. H. H. Applied Program: PRINT JOURNALISM

The purpose behind this personal statement is to not only gain admission to your well-established and highly respected Master's program, but to impress upon you my passion for learning and my tremendous desire to succeed in the field of journalism. I have based my decision to pursue an academic career not on purely practical reasons, but rather on my own natural interests and aptitude. My personal philosophy is that the biggest loss that a person can suffer is the loss of one's enthusiasm. Without enthusiasm, life becomes monotonous and boring. My enthusiasm for continuous, life-long learning - particularly in the field of print journalism - makes me a model candidate for your Masters program.

Many applicants may claim to be from an underprivileged family, but I freely admit that I was born into a middle class family. My parents are both ordinary citizens that worked for railway companies in China. Through the influences of both my father and my mother, I fell in love with reading at an early age. My mother taught me to read (in Chinese of course) when I was only four years old. This knowledge was the key to the entrance of entire new worlds that I never could have even imagined before I learned to read. By the time that I had entered primary school, I had already finished one of the four classic works of ancient Chinese literature - The Three Kingdoms. Although this was a difficult work of literature for such a young age, I was determined and persistent enough to not only finish the book but to understand and appreciate its deeper meanings. My parents had given me the best gift that a parent can give - the love of reading. My thirst for reading was nearly unquenchable. Fortunately, my family realized the importance of my desire to read and was able to afford all of my book purchasing requests.

My love for reading continued throughout my primary school years. Following primary school, I earned the opportunity to study at Changsha Yali High School, which was founded by fellows from Yale University of the United States in 1906. This particular high school emphasized an English education by providing oral English classes for seventh through twelfth graders and was taught by Yale undergraduate university students. This relatively early exposure to the English language ignited another fire in me, that being the desire to master the English language. I learned as much as I possibly could about the English language during these six years. I became determined to learn even more and vowed to never stop learning as I came to realize that one never really masters any language, including our native tongue.

After high school I was accepted into Central South University in China. Unfortunately, this university lacked a program in journalism, so I chose the most closely related subject to journalism, and therefore majored in English. My favorite classes were those that were affiliated with writing and the media. I did well in class study of video, which featured critiques and discussion of English movies. Oral English classes continued to be among my favorites, where I could not only improve my own English language ability by speaking but also by listening to others in the class. Another class that I particularly enjoyed was called "Images of British and American Culture and Society", which gave me a tremendous insight into the contrasts of British and American cultures and that of my native China. My English writing class gave me the chance to transfer my thoughts to paper in a meaningful and useful manner. The ability to express one's thoughts in two different languages and to have people actually understand these thoughts became fascinating to me.

Through these university courses, I became more exposed to Western culture. The desire to analyze and compare Western and Chinese culture through writing became a driving force inside me. I became absorbed in reading English newspapers and inquisitive about other English language media. I read the China Daily and 21st Century English language newspapers as well as Reader's Digest and Time magazines. I became very resourceful - sometimes purchasing the magazines and newspapers from kiosks, reading the copies that were available in the library, or borrowing issues from my oral English lecturers. I also found that the Internet was a great source of English language news: some of my favorite websites include The New York Times, Boston Globe, ABC News, Fox News, The Weekly Telegraph, The New Yorker, FAIR (Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting) and Salon.com. These sources gave me exposure to a wide variety of writing and reporting styles and have helped me to develop a unique style of my own.

My university years also gave me the opportunity to gain experience as an editor. I served as Editor-in-Chief of the Rising Sun, the campus newspaper. I also worked as the editor for the department television station, with responsibilities including receiving and editing clips of news programs (mostly from CNN and Fox News) and transcribing those scripts that we received. Additionally, I was the editor of the School Literature Association. All of these activities helped me to learn to communicate and cooperate with people. I also learned the fundamentals of news editing and the perspective of Western journalism.

My purpose in applying for a graduate program in print journalism is to 1) earn my M.A. degree in Journalism from your prestigious university and 2) return to China to work for a national English language newspaper. During my Masters studies, I want to gain a thorough understanding of the discipline of journalism. People have the right to know what is happening in the world, with every civilized man deserving of enlightenment by news journalists that witness and faithfully record history. Through the career of journalism, an individual learns to collect, analyze and edit information to make it available and understandable for the masses. Although educational training is important, I realize that training in itself is not sufficient. There are many variables in human communication that may reduce the efficiency and accuracy of reporting. This can subsequently reflect on the quality of the reporting and ultimately determine whether the intended audience correctly interprets it. Working experience is necessary in this field for the intuition and insight that is necessary for successful reporting. Through a formal education in your Masters program and years of working experience, I believe that I can become highly skilled and thus better prepared to provide a quality service to society.

Secondly, with China's entry into the World Trade Organization, there will be more demand than ever for information, intelligence and awareness of the underlying meanings of the world's happenings. International and cross-cultural news reporting will inevitably clash as the values and conceptions of Eastern and Western viewpoints collide. There is a gap that must be bridged by individuals that understand Western journalism but also understand Chinese cultural perceptions. I envision a future where there will be a great need of high-caliber journalists that are unafraid of cultural barriers and that are inspired to inquire into the truth of the matters being investigated. If I am accepted into your program, I believe that I can become that individual.

嘉文博译郑重声明：