Writing a Winning Statement of Purpose

1. Writing a Winning Statement of Purpose Adapted from materials developed by Glenn M. Callaghan, Department of Psychology, San Jose State University (http://www.sjsu.edu/faculty/gcallaghan/graduate/winningstatement.htm), from Maureen O’Brien’s “Demystifying the University Application Process,” and from Ann Sarrafzadeh’s “Writing a Winning Statement of Purpose.”

2. Determine your PURPOSEin writing the Statement Why should the admissions committee choose you? Why will you succeed in your field? -motivation? -abilities? -experience? Pay attention to the purpose throughout the statement so that extraneous material is left out. Pay attention to the audience (committee) throughout the statement. Remember, your audience is made up of faculty members who are experts in their field. They want to know that you can think as much as what you think.

3. Determine the CONTENTof your Statement • SJSU: • You can use the structure… • Who I am. • What I want to do. • Why this university? Private Schools: Don’t want a generic response Write a brief statement (500 words or less) describing reason(s) for pursuing graduate or postbaccalaureate study. Include any additional information concerning your preparation that is pertinent to the objective specified. You may also send a resume and/or letters of reference if required by department. If you have already sent your Statement of Purpose directly to the department/program, please enter the following text in the box below: "Statement sent directly to department/program."

4. Answer all QUESTIONS in your Statement Be sure to answer any direct questions fully. Analyze the questions or guidance statements for the essay completely and answer all parts. For example: “What are the strengths and weaknesses in setting and achieving goals and working through people?” There are actually 6 parts to this question… • Strengths in setting goals • Strengths in achieving goals • Strengths in working through people • Weaknesses in setting goals • Weaknesses in achieving goals • Weaknesses in working through people

5. Determine your APPROACH and STYLE of the statement There is no such thing as “the perfect way to write a statement.” There is only the one that is best for you and fits your circumstances.

6. Considerations about FORM: • Keep to the page limit number! (reviewers have to read hundreds of these applications; don’t overburden them with extra pages.) • Check for typographical errors; if your error is actually a word, the word processing program may not alert you to the mistake. You don’t want to be taken less seriously due to a typo, rite?

7. Usually, graduate and professional schools are interested in the following… • Your purpose in graduate study. This means that you must have thought this through before you try to answer the question. • The area of study in which you wish to specialize. This requires that you know the field well enough to make such decision. • Future use of your graduate study. This will include your career goals and plans for your future. • Your special preparation and fitness for study in the field. This is the opportunity to relate your academic background with your extracurricular experience to show how they unite to make you a special candidate. • Any problems or inconsistencies in your records of scoressuch as a bad semester. Be sure to explain in a positive manner and justify the explanation. Since this is a rebuttal argument, it should be followed by a positive statement of your abilities. • Any special conditions that are not revealed elsewhere in the application such as a large (35-hour a week) work load outside of school. This too should be followed with a positive statement about yourself and your future. • You may be asked, “Why do you wish to attend this school?” This requires that you do your research about the school and know what its special appeal is to you. • Above all this, the statement is to contain information about you as a person. They only know what you tell them. You are the subject of the statement.

8. There are some things the statement should not be: • Avoid the “what I did with my life” approach. This was fine for grade school essays on “what I did last summer.” It is not good for a personal statement. • Equally elementary is the approach, “I’ve always wanted to be a ________.” This is only appropriate is it also reflects your current career goals. • Also avoid a statement that indicates your interest in psychology is because of your own personal psychotherapy or that you want to get an MBA because people in your country with an MBA are rich.

9. Don’t • Flatter the school or focus on the location, size, or appearance of the school. • Criticize other schools or employers you had in the past. • Apologize for your English or your test scores. • Brag about yourself or be too “altruistic” • Be vague or use general words without a follow-up explanation • Try to use a “flowery” writing style with long words, which are not appropriate • Use a statement that you found on the internet • Repeat the same information that is already included in your resume or your application.

10. Words to avoid without explanation *finding better synonyms at www.thesaurus.com may be helpful

11. These are some things the statement should do: • It should be objective yet self-revelatory. Write directly and in a straightforward manner that tells about your experience and what it means to you. • It should form conclusions that explain the value and meaning of your experiences such as: • What you learned about yourself • What you learned about your field • What you learned about your future goals • What you learned about your career concerns • It should be specific. Document your conclusions with specific instances or draw your conclusions as the result of individual experience. • It should be an example of careful persuasive writing.

12. Do • Read catalogues/websites to make sure you and the school are a good fit • Show that you are knowledgeable about your field and this school. • Give an honest and clear picture of who you are, emphasizing your strengths. • Answer the question completely. Be Specific and use examples. • Maintain a positive tone about your own past, including challenges you had. • Write the essay yourself, even if it takes a long time to do so.

13. Statement of Purpose Consultations *I will not re-write your essay; that would be a violation of University ethics. However, I will help you to make it better. • Review this information • Explore useful websites and take notes • Brainstorm before writing a rough draft • Proofread your rough draft for any errors in language use. I will not respond to a paper that is full of basic mistakes in structure. • Send me the rough draft as a Word Document for comments (huma.saleem@sjsu.edu). It may take me up to one week to send my comments back to you. • Using my comments, write a second draft. • Email me to set up a 15-minute appointment, where we will go over your final draft

14. Useful Resources: • http://www.studential.com/personalstatements/ • http://www.accepted.com/grad/sampleessays.aspx • http://www.statementofpurpose.com/essay_samples.html • http://www.essayedge.com/promo/sampleessays • http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/642/02/

15. Getting Started… Academic Qualities:

16. Getting Started… Career Information:

17. Getting Started… Miscellaneous:

18. Getting Started… Why this University?