The Discursive Construction of Writer Identity in the Statement of Purpose (SOP): A Case Study of Two Korean Students

The Discursive Construction of Writer Identity in the Statement of Purpose (SOP): A Case Study of Two Korean Students

This study explores the notion of writer identity in the construction of the Statement of Purpose (SOP). A total of five SOPs written by two Korean graduate students were analyzed by the researcher; in addition, the SOPs were reviewed by two native speaker TESOL professors who provided open-ended comments afterwards. Findings of the study indicate that the writers' identities were multiple and contradicting throughout the texts. Furthermore, while the native speaker professors felt that the writers had focused too much on themselves and not enough on audience expectations, a closer analysis of the SOPs revealed that the writers may not have focused on themselves enough, and that they may have been overly concerned with audience expectations, representing conflicting perceptions between the two groups. This study suggests that critical perspectives play a key role in understanding writer identity and that L2 writing instruction will benefit from including a variety of genres in the curriculum, especially those that are useful for specific purposes in the real world.