Writing & Literature

Letter of Intent

Submit a 2-3 page letter, professionally formatted and addressed to the W&L faculty. Your letter should:

  • Briefly introduce yourself. Who you are, where you are from, your interests, and your goals.
  • Describe your most recent reading experience (and here we acknowledge that one can read a variety of texts -- from more traditional books and stories to films, music, and multimedia compositions) that changed your understanding of literature, life, and/or language? Are there any works that you wish to emulate or that inspire you as a writer?
  • Describe your work as a writer so far. What motivates you to write? In what ways have you pursued writing both in school and outside of school?
  • What kind of work would you like to do as a writer or as a student of literature in the CCS Writing & Literature community?

This letter is separate from the essay required in the UC application. Please save and upload this letter as a PDF in order to avoid formatting distortions.

Supplemental Application Materials

Writing Samples: Please submit up to 10 pages total; submissions must include both creative writing and expository writing: for Example: 5 pages of poetry, short fiction, screenplay, etc., and a 5- page essay or analysis

  • Creative Sample: These pages do not need to be one continuous piece, but rather might comprise several pieces of short fiction, nonfiction, etc. The creative sample could include poetry of any form, fiction, creative nonfiction, drama, screenplay, or digital compositions, such as a blog, equivalent to the page requirement.
  • Expository Sample: These pages demonstrate abilities in writing literary criticism or analysis, rhetorical analysis, or other research on writing and literature. These pages do not need to be one continuous piece, but rather might be comprised of several shorter essays. Works Cited will count towards total page amount and can be in any format (MLA, APA, Chicago, etc.)

Transcripts

In addition to the copies you send to the UCSB Office of Admissions, there is a section on the CCS Online Application where you must upload copies of your transcripts from every high school and college you have attended. Transcripts do not need to be official, so a scan or a picture of your transcripts may be uploaded (jpeg or PDF). If you are currently enrolled at UCSB, please submit a copy of your course history, which you can obtain using a screenshot from GOLD. It is your responsibility to ensure that attachments uploaded to your application are clear and legible.

Letters of Recommendation

Letters of recommendation are not accepted for applications to the CCS Writing & Literature major. You do not need to solicit letters of recommendation in preparing for your CCS Writing & Literature application nor should you upload them as supplemental documents.

 

For Transfer Students (additional Supplemental Materials required)

Junior-level transfers to CCS W&L immediately begin work on their capstone projects, which include both creative work and research. Provide a brief abstract (maximum 250 words) that describes what you might want to write for your capstone.