11/8/2015 HowtoWriteaStatementofPurpose

HowtoWriteaStatementofPurpose

I.BasicOutlineFormatforEssay

**Saywhatyouwanttodo...doit...saywhatyouhavedone**

A.Introductionandthesisstatement(Saywhatyouwanttodo)

1.Beforewritinganessayyoumusthaveathesisstatement.Thisisonesentenceannouncingthecentral
ideaofthepaper.Itmustbespecific.Thisstatementshouldsumupthebasicmeaningoftheessayand
signaltothereaderwhattoexpect.

2.Thefirstsentenceisthemostimportantonebecauseitget'sthereader'sattention.

3.Thefirstparagraph(introduction)isveryimportant.Itshould"hook"thereader,i.e.makehimorherwantto
continuereading.

B.Thebodyofthepaper(Doit)

1.Eachparagraphshoulddealwithonecentralidea.Thisideaisintroducedearlyinatopicsentence,telling
thereaderwhattoexpectintheparagraph.Severalideasinoneparagraphwillonlyconfusethereader.Ifthe
centralideahasseveralsupportingpoints,breakitintoseveralparagraphsratherthanhavingoneverylong
paragraph.

2.Itisnotenoughtosimplystateideas,youmustsupportthem.Bygivingevidence,youconvincereadersof
thetruthandaccuracyofyourideas.Ifyousuccessfullyproveyourstatements,thereadershouldagreewith
yourconclusion.

3.Asawriter,youmuststructurethesequenceofideascarefullyandlogically.Youaremappingacourse,
leadingthereaderthroughthepointsthatsupportyourthesis.Youdonotwanttoconfusethereader.
Transitionsbetweenparagraphslinkthemtogetherlogically.These"connectingsentences"keepthepaper
flowingsmoothly.

Ex.Themanwassick,andmyfatherwasmortifiedthathecouldnothelphimbecausehedidnotspeak
English.Duetomyfather'sexperience,Ivowedtolearnaforeignlanguagefluently.

C.Conclusion(Saywhatyouhavedone)

1.Restatesthethesisandmainpointssupportingit.Intheconclusion,thewritershouldgivesomenewideas
orinformationtochallengethereadertothinkfurther.

II.WritingtheStatementofPurpose

**"Graduateschoolsandcompetitiveundergraduateprogramswantstudentswhoareabletothinkclearly,
withoutconfusion.Thestatementofpurposewilldemonstrate,fortunatelyorunfortunately,whetheryou
possessthatquality.Whenonereadsaproposalthatispoorlyorganized,filledwithEXTRANEOUSdetails,
andfoggilyfocused,onegetstheimmediateimpressionthatthemindthatproducedsuchconfusioncan
neverbedisciplinedenoughtoregardfactsobjectivelyandpresentthemlogically."**

A.StepOne:KnowYourself

Withthestatementofpurposeyoucanpersuadetheadmissionscommitteetoacceptyou.Inorderto
convincethem,youmustbeconvincedyourself.Youmustbesureofwhatyouwant,whyyouwantit,and
whythatparticularprogramcanhelpyou.Whyshouldtheschoolselectyouoversomeoneelse?YOUMUST
KNOWYOURSELF.Knowyourstrengthsandweaknesses.Beforebeginningtowrite,think.Reviewyour
intellectualandpersonaldevelopmentoveryouracademiccareer.Whenyoucanclearlyarticulatethehistory
thatledyoutodecidetoapplytoaparticularAmericanprogram,youarereadytobeginwriting.

B.StepTwo:AnOutline

1.Thisdoesnotneedtobewrittenincompletesentences.Theoutlinebelowisjustanexample.Thepoints
youwanttodiscusscanbeinadifferentorder,aslongasyouhaveanintroduction,body,andconclusion.
Youneedtodecidewhatorderofideasisthebestforyouressay.Youwantthestrongestandmostlogical
essaythatyoucanwrite.
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11/8/2015 HowtoWriteaStatementofPurpose

2.EXAMPLE

I.Introduction:Stateyourgoals

II.BodyofthePaper

A.Explainbackground(Provethatyouareacademicallypreparedforthisstudyprogram)
1.Whereandwhatstudied
2.Pastresearch/diplomaproject
3.Ifapplyingtoaprograminadifferentfieldofstudy,explainhowskillslearnedinearningyour
degreecanbeappliedtothenewfield.

B.Descriptionofprofessionalgoals

1.Whythatfieldofstudyinteresting/whatinfluencedyoutochoosethatfield
2.Anyrelatedexperience/researchafteruniversity
3.Futureplansafterreceivingdegree

C.Whatandwhystudyingraduateschool

1.Whatyourspecificinterestsareinyourfield
2.Whythisprogramisneededforyourprofessionaldevelopment
3.WhyU.S.
4.Whythatparticularuniversitycourses,faculty,researchprojects/facilities

III.Conclusion

A.Summingupthemainpoints
B.Whatyoucancontributetotheprogram

Ex.GrowingupinSiberiaduringtheperiodofperestroikahasgivenmefirsthandexposuretothe
transitionfromacommandtoacapitalisticeconomy.

C.StepThree:WritingtheStatement

Ifyouhavedoneagoodjobwithstepsoneandtwo,thewritingshouldcomeeasily.Keepthefollowingpoints
inmind:

1.Thefirstsentenceisthemostimportantone.Youwantthereader'sattention.

2.Cutoutanysentencesthatarenotabsolutelynecessary.Everysentenceshouldbeimportantandclearly
stated.Mostpointscanbemadewithoutalotofnecessarybackground.

3.Beselfconfident.Frameeverythingpositively.Usephrasessuchas"activelyparticipatedin"ratherthan
"althoughIwasonlyanassistant".EvenifyourEnglishishorrible,doNOTtellthem.YourTOEFLscoreswill
indicateyourEnglishability.Donotwriteanynegativestatements.

4.Theyarelookingtoseeifyourbackgroundandexpectationsmatchwithwhattheyoffer.Themorespecific
youcanbewitheachinstitutionyouareapplyingto,themoreconvincingyouwillbe.

5.Ifwrittencorrectly,thestatementofpurposeshouldshowthatyouaregoaloriented,thatyoucanidentify
whatyouwant,andthatyouhavetakenstepstoobtainthosegoals.

III.DifferentPrograms

Theemphasisinyourstatementofpurposedependsonwhereyouareapplying.

A.UndergraduateProgram

Putemphasisonyouasawholeperson,notjustacademicability.Theyarelookingforawellroundedperson
whowilladaptwellintotheschool'ssocialaswellasacademiccommunity.Besuretomentionsports,
volunteeractivities,danceormusiclessons,hobbies,etc.

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B.GraduateSchool

Theemphasishereisonscholarshipandyourresearchinterests.Whileyouwanttocomethroughasa
person,youwanttofocusonthoseaspectsofyourpersonalitythatrelatetoyourintellectualandacademic
interestsandgoals.

C.Grants,Fellowships,andScholarships

Whatyouincludeinyouressayshoulddependonthepurposeofthescholarship.Whomdoesthe
organizationwanttosupport?
a.Ifitisawomen'sorganization,emphasizehowyourgoalsrelatetoyouasawoman.
b.Ifitisascientificorganization,explainyourscientificachievmentsandfuturegoals.
c.Ifthefellowshipisforabusinessprogram,yourworkexperienceinthebusinessworldwillbemore
importantthanyouruniversitycoursework.

D.Internships

a.Emphasizepracticalworkexperience.Youwanttoincludeyouracademicaccomplishments,butthisis
secondary.Itdoesnothavetobepaidworkorganizations,committeework,andclassroomprojectsatthe
universityarealsoimportant.
b.Demonstratehowthatinternshipwillhelpfurtheryourprofessionalgoals.
c.Highlightthequalitiesthatmakeyourightforthatjob.Ifthejobinvolvessales,youwanttostressyour
abilitytogetalongwithpeople.Ifthejobinvolvesresearch,emphasizeyourpowersofconcentrationand
persistence.

IV.FinalComments

A.Behonest.Beconfidentandpositivewithoutbeingpushyordemanding.

B.Thereisasaying,"Nothinggoodiseverwritten,itisrewritten".Nooneeverwritesaperfectfirstdraft.

C.Donotbediscouragedifyouarenotaccepted.Beconstructiveandanalyzethepossiblereasonsforyour
rejection.Couldyourstatementofpurposehavebeenstronger?Areyouracademicqualificationsstrong
enoughforthatprogram?Maybeitreallyisnottherightprogramforyourgoals.

D.Anothersayingis,"Ifatfirstyoudon'tsucceed,try,tryagain".IfyoureallywanttostudyintheU.S.,look
intootherprograms.Ifyouwererejectedfromaschoolthatyoufeelisreallythebestforyou,improveyour
weakpoints,workonnewprojectsthatshowyouareseriousaboutyourgoals,andreapply,dothis.

ClosethisWindow

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