Graduate School Applications: Writing
the Personal Statement/Statement of Purpose
The
personal statement is one of the most important parts of your application
to a department or scholarship granting institutions. It
is where you can put a personal face on impersonal GRE scores and transcripts. Thus,
writing a good personal statement takes time and requires multiple drafts. A
weak or poorly written personal statement will sabotage your application
even if you have stellar transcripts.
Read
carefully what the school is looking for in the statement. Most
will ask you to explain (through narrative and brief representative examples)
how your personal, educational, and professional history has led you to
pursue an advanced degree at their institution. Your
goal is to make connections between your experience, education, and the
program you have chosen. You are seeking to
persuade them that you belong in their program and that they should fund
your graduate historical studies.
The University of Wisconsin
On-line Writing Lab has an excellent overview
of the process http://www.wisc.edu/writing/Handbook/apessay.html#overview. They
even have brainstorming exercises to get you started or to figure out
how to focus your essay. This resource cannot
substitute, however for talking with people at the school to which you
are applying and making sure you understand what they want to see. You
also should talk with your advisor for guidance on the statement. Ask
several professors to read a draft of your statement. The admissions
committee includes faculty in different fields and you need to communicate
with all of them.
Basic
suggestions:
- Make
sure you are responding to the requirements. If
you have a basic personal statement, you will need to personalize it
for individual programs.
- Avoid
obvious and non-specific statements, e.g. “I want to go to grad
school because I really like learning.” “It
would be really neat to go to Nebraska because
I love football.” Avoid platitudes, "I
want to go to CSULB because I have heard great things about the school."
- Choose
examples that demonstrate your enthusiasm and familiarity with their
particular program as well as your preparation for it.
- Call
attention to your successes and motivation to excel at advanced study. Explain
discrepancies in your record, but do not dwell on them or spend the
entire statement apologizing for them. Your
tone should be confident, but not arrogant.
- Keep
the focus on your research and professional interests. Personal
reasons for pursuing a master's degree should relate to your professional
development.
- Plan
to write multiple drafts of your personal statement. This
is a specific genre of writing which your professors can help you master.
- Make
sure spelling, grammar, and syntax are perfect. Sloppy
errors suggest that you are a sloppy thinker.
- Your
statement should be as concise as possible. Unless
a longer statement is specifically requested, do not exceed two double
spaced pages (or one single spaced page).
History
faculty will be holding Grad School workshops
in the fall (watch for posters and announcements). Faculty
will be available to critique personal statements and give you suggestions
for strengthening them. You should come with
a personal statement that you have revised at least once.
