One of the first things you might consider when applying to graduate schools is to write the Statement of Purpose or Personal Statement. A personal statement is an essay/letter you write to the admissions committee in the program and college of your choice.
Beyond fulfilling academic requirements, a personal statement helps you and others understand your purpose from (a) pursuing graduate school, (b) applying to a specific program.
Don’t know the answers to these questions? I advise you to read an earlier post I published: 6 Essential Steps to a Successful PhD Application. It will be extremely difficult to write a statement if you haven’t researched other programs or understood their requirements. So, go ahead and do that if you haven’t already.
If know you want to pursue graduate school and why, but just don’t know how to write a personal statement, then read along to learn how to in just a few simple steps.
1. Give yourself ample time
A lot of us don’t write that often, or at all, and find any writing task daunting. It’s completely fine to feel this way as long as it doesn’t stop you from writing.
It’s important to realize that you don’t have to be a good writer to write a good personal statement. However, you certainly need to make some effort.
You don’t have to be a good writer to write a good personal statement. But you certainly need to make some effort.
Making effort takes time. If you procrastinate and leave this task till the month before your application deadline, you will not have time to develop your personal statement as you learn more about yourself and your aspirations.
For this reason, it’s important to give yourself ample time.
2. List the Essay Prompts
It’s a good idea to make a list of all the statement prompts for the programs you wish to apply to. You will find these listed on the program’s requirements page.
A basic table in Excel or Google Sheets will be sufficient to help you organize your search, so you don’t go back and forth between websites.
Essay prompts are extremely helpful and important. They:
- Help you understand the scope of the writing task (i.e. word limit, contents, essay focus),
- Help you visualize the requirements of a program and write a more focused essay. This is how you will show the admission’s committee that you are serious about this application.
So, don’t forget to take this initial first step.
3. Make an Outline for your Personal Statement
An outline is essential for any writing, but sometimes people forget to make one when writing a personal statement. With an outline, you will avoid having a personal statement that looks like a patched-up piece of work.
This is where the list of essay prompts comes in handy. For instance, the table above informs you that most programs want you to discuss the following points:
- Reasons for pursuing graduate studies
- Research topics you would like to explore
- Why you are interested in the program
- Academic and professional goals
Structure Matters
The points above don’t have to be written in any particular order. Anyway you choose to structure your essay, is a choice you will make. Just make sure it all comes together as a coherent whole.
It helps sometimes to look at how others have written their essays to help identify ways in which you could structure your essay.
As I researched ideas for this blog, I came across another stellar blog from Jordan Doston: Check out his advice on structure here.
Now that you have a fair idea of the content and outline of your essay, it’s time to start writing.
A. The First Paragraph: Introductory Narrative
In your first paragraph, your main goal is to show the committee that you are interested in pursuing graduate school. You could do this by mentioning a particular moment in which you realized you needed to pursue graduate studies to accomplish your goals. Write about any troubles or obstacles you faced and how it inspired you to pursue graduate school.
Try to be as specific as you can because that’s how you are going to write something that is memorable and personal. Don’t spend too much time to make an exciting opening. Keep it simple, true, and use your voice.
The goal of the paragraph(s) is to:
- Show your enthusiasm about a subject (one that relates somehow to the program),
- Show the committee that you have thought carefully about graduate school.
Explain your enthusiasm for the subject or course, your understanding of it, and what you want to achieve from it.
If you hit a block and can’t seem to put your interests in words, move on to the next paragraph. Sometimes it helps to just write. Let’s look at an example:
An example of an introductory paragraph(s), and my comments below:
Here the applicant describes what interests her in architecture and writes about the kind of work she had done to showcase her interests. In the last two lines she writes briefly about how her understanding of her work has changed and how this inspired her to pursue graduate studies.
In general, this introduction is alright. If I were to tweak this, I would change the first line, and instead focus on THE moment where my interests in the social aspects of architecture started.
The two sentences that follow provide good detail for her interests. However, in the sentences proceeding that, she mentions her experience giving a public lecture but does not provide details. For example, was it a comment from the audience? How did she come to this conclusion? Those are questions that she has left unanswered.
In the second paragraph the applicant writes about her passion for research and what she has learned so far from her experiences in graduate school. Personally, I don’t think this paragraph was necessary at all, as it doesn’t really serve to strengthen the statement the applicant is trying to make.
It’s a common mistake that applicants make–treating their personal statement as a factual, chronological list of preceding experiences. Applicants should focus on only the pivotal moments.
It’s a common mistake that applicants make–treating their personal statement as a factual, chronological list of preceding experiences.
B. The Second Paragraph: Ideas for future research
Most PhD programs want applicants who know exactly what they want to do in graduate school. What courses they want to take. What problems they want to focus on. Which professors they want to work with.
I came across this incredibly useful document by Jordan Dotson which helps you come come up with a focused interest: Step-By-Step Guide for writing a Personal Statement. Check it out, you won’t regret it.
An example of a second section paragraph:
C. The Third Paragraph: Why THIS program?
In the previous paragraph you showed the committee that you have a clear idea of a problem and subject that you are interested in studying. In this paragraph, you need to show them how their program will allow you to reach a solution to the problem you stated.
- Are there any classes that caught your interest?
- Mention the professor(s) that you would like to work with.
- Mention the facilities and labs (if any) that the program offers.
- Are there any internships that you plan to take during your studies.
It’s important that whatever classes, labs, teachers you mention here are relevant to your interests and the question/problem you hope to solve.
The information that you get from program directors will help you answer these questions. Learn about the program, reach out to current students, attend virtual tours, visit forums, and exhaust all the information available to gain a better understanding of the program.
An example of a second section paragraph, and my comments below:
The paragraph above is well written and brings forward two valid points regarding the program. However, the applicant fails to mention faculty members and course. There needs to be more detail in this paragraph to make it a more compelling application.
D. The Last Paragraph: Academic and professional goals
An example of a second section paragraph, and my comments below:
4. Ask for Feedback
Show your final draft to faculty members (perhaps those writing your letters of recommendation), fellow students, or someone in the family. It’s always best to show it to someone who has gone through the process and has been accepted into a program.
If you don’t know anyone who has, you can always access forums and ask for advice there. Reddit members offer a lot of support for grad students and you will almost always find someone willing to offer advice. I have referred to the gradadmissions community extensively and would highly recommend it to applicants.
5. Final Thoughts
- You are not trying to get a job or show you are smart. You are instead showing you want to build on existing knowledge and fill important gaps.
- Balance experience, opinion, and a desire to learn.
- Show … Don’t Tell!
Do you have any tips you’d like to share?