Writing a Statement of Purpose

Module 1

Audience

Audience

Evidence

Audience

Evidence

Tone

Audience

Addressing Audience Needs

• Build a connection

Addressing Audience Needs

• Build a connection

• Avoid stating the obvious

Addressing Audience Needs

• Build a connection

• Avoid stating the obvious

• Write honestly

Addressing Audience Needs

• Build a connection

• Avoid stating the obvious

• Write honestly

• Distinguish yourself from other applicants

Evidence• Represent yourself

accurately

Evidence• Represent yourself

accurately• Showcase your

individuality

Evidence• Represent yourself

accurately• Showcase your

individuality• Use vivid details

and anecdotes

Evidence• Represent yourself

accurately• Showcase your

individuality• Use vivid details

and anecdotes• Concrete examples

are essential

Evidence continued

Move beyond narration:•Analyze•Explain•Make connections and draw conclusions for readers

Examples

I have wanted to be a doctor ever since I can remember. The happiest moments of my childhood were spent diagnosing my dolls’ “illnesses” using the pretend doctor’s kit that I received on my fourth birthday. I have always wanted to help people, and I cannot wait to start helping real people, rather than dolls.

Examples I have wanted to be a doctor for as long as I can remember. The thrill that came over me as I tore off the paper on my very first “doctor’s bag” on my fourth birthday and knew that hours and hours of patient examinations were in my future can only be matched by the horror on my mother’s face as I cried out, “I’m going to examine you, and you, and you, and you!” Until that moment, I don’t think she had realized how many spare minutes of her day would be devoted to having her temperature taken with a plastic thermometer, having pretend bandaids applied to non-existent boo-boos, or being told to lie down on the floor so I could push on her tummy and see if it hurt. As a child, I never felt so useful or happy as when I was diagnosing my family’s “illnesses,” and now, as an adult, I cannot wait to feel an even greater usefulness as I diagnose real patients’ illnesses and help them to heal.

ExamplesOur cattle ranch was isolated and the only school available for my brother and me was the McDermitt Combined School just across the border in Nevada. This school was a reservation school, set up to serve the Fort McDermitt Indian Reservation, which at the time was ranked second in the nation for the most unsolved violent crimes. While the school received a great deal of government funding, money alone could not correct the deep hatred and prejudice that roamed the hallways. The student population was approximately 85% Native American, a mix of Paiute and Shoshone tribes, 10% Hispanic, and 5% Caucasian. Poverty, drug abuse, and teenage pregnancy were everywhere. These challenging circumstances taught me to take personal responsibility for my education, to initiate taking college prep classes in school, to search out scholarships, and to take additional classes via correspondence so I would be adequately prepared for college.

ExamplesOur cattle ranch was isolated and the only school available for my brother and me was the McDermitt Combined School just across the border in Nevada. This school was a reservation school, set up to serve the Fort McDermitt Indian Reservation, which at the time was ranked second in the nation for the most unsolved violent crimes. While the school received a great deal of government funding, money alone could not correct the deep hatred and prejudice that roamed the hallways. The student population was approximately 85% Native American, a mix of Paiute and Shoshone tribes, 10% Hispanic, and 5% Caucasian. Poverty, drug abuse, and teenage pregnancy were everywhere. These challenging circumstances taught me to take personal responsibility for my education, to initiate taking college prep classes in school, to search out scholarships, and to take additional classes via correspondence so I would be adequately prepared for college.

Examples

It was my responsibility to pay for all of my college myself. Using grants, work study, student loans, and a combination of working several part time jobs, I was still able to earn my bachelor’s degree in four years, magna cum laude, and write a 100 page honors thesis to graduate with highest honors. I became the first person in my family to graduate from college.

ExamplesIt was my responsibility to pay for all of my college myself. Using grants, work study, student loans, and a combination of working several part time jobs, I was still able to earn my bachelor’s degree in four years, magna cum laude, and write a 100 page honors thesis to graduate with highest honors. Not only had the tenacity I had learned on the ranch paid off, I learned to thrive under pressure, to excel in challenging circumstances, and I became the first person in my family to graduate from college.

ExamplesIt was my responsibility to pay for all of my college myself. Using grants, work study, student loans, and a combination of working several part time jobs, I was still able to earn my bachelor’s degree in four years, magna cum laude, and write a 100 page honors thesis to graduate with highest honors. Not only had the tenacity I had learned on the ranch paid off, I learned to thrive under pressure, to excel in challenging circumstances, and I became the first person in my family to graduate from college.

Examples

Hard work and tenacity continue to be driving principles in my life as I’ve worked full time and taught evening courses as an adjunct professor in order to put my husband through culinary school. Now it is time for me to continue pursuing my own dreams of saving the American West. Attending law school and receiving my J.D. is the next challenge that lies before me, one that I know I will overcome. By mitigating the vast and contrasting battles that are fought over land use, I am determined to help achieve this delicate balance, to both keep the land pristine for coming generations and to maintain a stable economy.

Your Turn: Practice