Sample Statements of Purpose

A Statement of Purpose usually is meant to show the committee who is in charge of the admissions, that you are a good candidate to choose. You may opt to show that you are having the relevant experience, so that it is highly likely that you will succeed in this particular study or field; or you may choose to demonstrate that your ability and motivation is more that strong enough to do well.

When you want to write a great statement of purpose, it is important to stick to a couple of rules. They will make it easier for you to get across your message, and you will spend time and energy on the relevant pieces.

Not reading the guidance statements or questions for the required Statement of Purpose detailed enough.

Schools phrase their prompts for the statement of purpose in a variety of ways. They even name them differently; what is a statement of purpose at one school is a letter of intent or a personal statement at another. Some schools will even call it an autobiographical statement. Nonetheless, they're all asking for pretty much the same four pieces of information:

1. What you want to study at graduate school.
2. Why you want to study it.
3. What experience you have in your field.
4. What you plan to do with your degree once you have it.

Most graduate and professional schools offer guidance statements or questions. They will also impose different restrictions on length, and some will give you more guidance than others will. Start studying them. It is not only important to answer them in detail, it is also important to analyze them: They will tell you what kind of ideas the committee members have about what they want to hear from you! There is a lot more information in these guidance statements and questions than you think. Let's take an example.

For example: "What are the strengths and weaknesses in working through people and setting and achieving goals?" In this question there are actually six parts to be answered 1) strengths in working through people, 2) strengths in setting goals, 3) strengths in achieving goals, 4) weaknesses in working through people, 5) weaknesses in setting goals and 6) weaknesses in achieving goals. Pay attention to small words. Notice: This example question says through people not with people, if it says with people, answer that way.

Repeating your resume in your Statement of Purpose.

To avoid repeating your resume, start writing that first, so you can use it as a reference you point to from your essay or statement of purpose.

There are various sites where you can get help and good tips on writing your resume, you can check the internet, and you can get books about the subject in your local library too.

When writing your Statement of purpose, you will use various experiences from your resume, to explain your specific interests and talents. Make sure you include those instances in your resume.

While your resume has as objective to give a more or less extensive list of what you have done and learned until this moment, your essay has the following objectives:
- Demonstrate your interest in the specific subject of the study you apply for by showing what you have done in this field;
- Show that you have thought carefully about further studies, that know what it implies, and that you have the confidence that you will go through with it.
- Demonstrate a rounded personality. Make sure you also get across what you like to do outside of your professional life. However, if you apply for grad school, do not include an undergraduate-style paragraph about how well-rounded you are. Colleges are interested in this stuff, since they're trying to build communities of creative, interactive individuals, but this is not true of graduate schools. Grad schools are looking for the best minds in one subject area that they can round up and are trying to build a department of at least a few people working in every major field.

All these points are going to have a place in your essay, so do not put them in your resume. And make sure that your essay does not take on the role of resume. There should be a very clearcut distinction between your resume and you essay!

I have compiled a report about "The 11 mistakes to avoid when writing your Statement of Purpose".

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