English WritingLecture 11:

Personal Statement (Statement of Purpose)

John E. Clayton

Nanjing University, 2004-2005

Good Morning!

“A brave man is no braver than a

coward – he is just braver a few

minutes longer”

Good Morning!

1.Please turn-in your last journal

2. Pick-up: -- your old journal -- your cover/resume

Syllabus01 Introduction; Student photos; Overview02 Information cards; Punctuation; Writing process journal 103 Paragraphs; Essays – structure, outline, thesis, etc. journal 204 No Class - National Day Holiday05 No Class – Education Conference

06 Essays – conclusion07 Essays – Let’s start again Journal 108 Mid-term exam09 Review exam, Introduce Business letters journal 210 Business – Resume, Johnny Lingo11 Business – Cover letters journal 112 Business – Statement of Purpose13 Business – Statement of Purpose journal 214 Movie – “Wizard of Oz” – if we are caught up15 Review for final exam16 Final exam

Children’s Humor

“Sleep in your clothes so you’ll be

dressed in the morning”

Stephanie, age 8

What Colleges Look For

The primary question admissions committee members ask themselves when they read a Statement of Purpose is:

What does this essay tell me about the person who wrote it?

Self-Knowledge

The people who read your essay want to be convinced that you have thought long and hard about:

- who you are, - what are the things you appreciate, - what inspires you. - what you want out of life, - where you are going from here.

You needn’t have all the answers – but you must show that you have thought about these things, and that your life experiences have taught you something.

SOP Things to Consider

Your interests – what are they? why? how well defined are they? where will they take you?

• How will graduate school help you?• Your experiences that will help you.

“Interests” Exercise

My career interests

1. ____________________________

Why am I interested in this?______________________________

Where will it take me?______________________________

Adult’s Humor

An English teacher wrote the words:

“woman without her man is nothing”

on the chalkboard, and asked the class to punctuate it correctly.

Adult’s Humor

The men wrote:“Woman, without her man,

is nothing”

The women wrote:“Woman! Without her,

man is nothing”

SOP Structure

Read the university application form carefully!

It may contain an outline of what needs to be addressed in your essay.

SOP Structure• Introduction An attention-grabbing lead-in; the theme of your SOP.

• Examples – Illustrations of:Coursework

general skills, knowledge of subject matter, researchVolunteer, Internship, or Work Experiences

• Conclusion (Details about the program that link to your

background and goals)

Children’s Humor

“Mom, today in school I was punished for something I didn’t do”

“That’s terrible. I’m going to have a talk with your teacher. By the way,

what was it that you didn’t do?”

“My homework”

SOP “Do’s”• Give direction and grab attention with a theme or thesis – a main point. an anecdote, quote, question, or engaging description of a scene. • Before writing, choose what you want to discuss and the order in which you want to discuss it. • Use examples from your life experience.• Write about what interests you, excites you. • Conclude by referring back to the lead, and restate your thesis.

SOP “Don’ts”

• Don't include information that doesn't support your thesis.

• Don't write an autobiography, itinerary, or résumé in prose.

• Don't try to be a clown (gentle humor is OK).

• Don't give excuses for GPA or test scores.

• Don't make things up.

Children’s Humor

“Never trust a dog to watch

your food”Patrick, age 10

Sample SOP IntroductionI was only a little girl when my Aunt’s toy factory stood on the verge of bankruptcy. Several attempts were made to remedy the situation, but no one in the family could figure out the real cause of the problem, since they had little understanding of accounting. Finally, in desperation, a well-educated professional accountant was called in. He soon found out that the products were priced inaccurately, and subsequently taught my aunt a method of allocating costs according to materials and time consumed by each product. I was astonished by the magic of his skill, and became interested in the subject of numbers.

Homework

• Assume that you want acceptance to a graduate school.

• Write the first paragraph – the introduction – to your personal statement that will accompany your application