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English Writing Lecture 10: Personal Statement (Statement of Purpose) John E. Clayton Nanjing University, 2004-2005 Good Morning! 1. Get Your Resume 2. Staple Your Cover Letter to it and hand in. Syllabus 01 Introduction; Student photos; Overview 02 Information cards; Punctuation; Writing process 03 Paragraphs; Essays – structure, outline, thesis, etc. 04 No Class - National Day Holiday 05 No Class – Education Conference 06 Essays – conclusion 07 Essays – Let’s start again 08 Mid-term exam 09 Review exam, Introduce Business letters 10 Business – Resume, Johnny Lingo 11 Business – Cover letters 12 Business – Statement of Purpose 13 Business – Statement of Purpose 14 Movie – “Wizard of Oz” – if we are caught up 15 Review for final exam 16 Final exam journal 1 journal 2 Journal 1 journal 2 journal 1 journal 2 Grad School Statement of Purpose The SOP helps demonstrate – • your intellectual development • your ability to write and think clearly • your knowledge of your field • that you have the commitment to survive a demanding academic program. SOP - 1 Research the schools Before writing comes research. Each school is different, and each difference may give you a reason to change some aspect of your statement. SOP - 2 Research yourself You may think you know yourself, but it's easy to forget the details you will need to make a complete statement. Assemble everything you have about your school life, personal accomplishments, and work history, if any. These form your “pool of experiences” SOP – 3 Introspect • Why are you doing this? • Why go to school in the U.S.? • Why go to school at all? • What do you really want from life? • Make a name for yourself? • Support your family? If you have anything interesting and honest to say about these issues, it might make a great addition to your statement. But to get these answers out, you will have to reflect, and search yourself - and know yourself. SOP – 4 Think of the reader's point-of-view Your reader is getting hundreds of applications - all fairly similar - from many, many well-meaning people, all containing testimony to their authors' sterling characters, vast accomplishments, burning ambition, high ideals, and other such things Your job is to do better than that - or, at the very least, no worse. SOP – 5 Sell yourself You need to convince the admission committee that you can bring something to the university that no one else can bring. What abilities do you possess? Now is the time to stand out, to explain the unique contribution that you can make to the schools to which you are applying. SOP – 6 Don't be boring. You can't afford to bore them - but don't try too hard to be "interesting.“ Avoid writing "the generic essay." "I am Joe Student. I studied at Boring University, where I earned a 3.7 GPA, and worked very hard. I want to attend your fine university in order to become a (whatever)..." SOP – 7 What have you done? Concrete examples prove your claims. •Did you call yourself hard-working? Then what have you worked hard on? A job? Your parents' business? A sports team? •Do you claim that you are a problemsolver? What problems have you solved? Describe an actual incident, involving a real problem, or you might as well claim to be an astronaut. SOP – 8 What do you want to do? If you don't know, then they won't know, either. And you will have missed a chance to show them why you need an education. You must have well-defined goals and a specific agenda. You are asking the school to use some of its limited resources to help you accomplish something in your life - what is it, and why should they help? SOP – 9 Why should they care? You'd better stand out, and offer some reason for them to care about you. In addition to stating your goals, you may want to explain how going to school fits into those goals. SOP - 10 Why is their school a good match for you? Emphasize how your ambitions and talents match the profile of the school to which you are applying. SOP - 11 Why should they believe that you will succeed? Make it clear not only that you want to go to their school, but that you will be able to handle going to their school. Demonstrate your ability to meet the particular challenges that you will face in their program - and afterward. SOP Keys to Success • Focus on a few specific incidents – don’t give a superficial overview. • Remember: detail specificity concrete examples will make your essay distinctive & interesting. • Avoid generalities that could apply to every other applicant. SOP “Do’s” • Give you SOP direction with a theme or thesis – a main point. • Before writing, choose what you want to discuss and the order in which you want to discuss it. • Use concrete examples from your life experience. • Write about what interests you, excites you. • Start your essay with an attention-grabbing lead – an anecdote, quote, question, or engaging description of a scene. • End your essay with a conclusion that refers back to the lead and restates your thesis. SOP “Don’t’s” Don't include information that doesn't support your thesis. Don't start your essay with "I was born in...," or "My parents came from..." Don't write an autobiography, itinerary, or résumé in prose. Don't try to be a clown (but gentle humor is OK). Don't be afraid to start over if the essay just isn't working or doesn't answer the essay question. Don't try to impress your reader with your vocabulary. Don't rely exclusively on your computer to check your spelling. Don't provide a collection of generic statements and platitudes. Don't give weak excuses for your GPA or test scores. Don't make things up. Sample SOP Introduction I was only a little girl when my Aunt’s toy factory stood on the verge of bankruptcy. Several attempts were made to remedy the situation, but no one in the family could figure out the real cause of the problem, since they had little understanding of accounting. Finally, in desperation, a well-educated professional accountant was called in. He soon found out that the products were priced inaccurately, and subsequently taught my aunt a method of allocating costs according to materials and time consumed by each product. I was astonished by the magic of his skill, and became interested in the s u b j e c t o f n u m b e r s . Homework • THINK about a personal statement • Start pulling information together.