1. Crafting a Compelling Statement of Purpose
The Honors & Explore Professional
With Dr. Vanessa Corredera, Dr. Shandelle Henson, and Dr. L. Monique Pittman
15 February 2017

2. Suggestions for Statement of Purpose
Show vigorous and specific enthusiasm for your discipline (in terms of learning or research or teaching, etc.)
Craft a coherent story of who you are as a thinker, researcher, and future teacher, professional, physician, lawyer, etc.
Reveal habits of inquiry
What are your governing research questions?

3. Suggestions for Statement of Purpose
Don’t be afraid to “brag” about yourself
Provide specific examples of experience
Discuss your research activities
Mention any teaching experience
Mention awards such as research grants
Mention enriching experiences (study abroad, shadowing, research assistantship, Honors, leadership activities)
Write about activities that show interest in the discipline above and beyond classroom courses

4. Anomalies in Transcript
Take this opportunity to explain any weaknesses in your official record. I had a bad semester because ***. I had a bad GRE score because ***  (had a stomach virus that day?)  I failed such and such the first time, got an A second time, because *** . Getting off to a slow or bad start and recovering with a bang can be a plus, especially if you explain how you pulled it off, what epiphanies you had, etc. Of course, balance is needed here so as not to overdo it in such a way that you come across as a chronic excuse maker.

5. SOP Structure Thesis paragraph
Concrete story/image/experience that sums up your desire to study and your suitability to graduate school
Intellectual biography—classes that have informed thinking and research
Research Agenda
Mention Honors Thesis / Undergraduate Research Scholarship
Teaching Experience/Clinical Experience/ Professional Experience
Fit paragraph
Who would you like to study with?
Why is this program especially suited to your unique interests and talents?
Details about the program that are inviting

6. Knowledge of Program
Do not send a generic letter that you send to other schools.
Do some homework on the Department or Program to which you are applying: what are its research strengths and which ones specifically interest you?  
If possible, name specific professors whose research interest you and with whom you would like to work (or think you would like to work).
Are there some aspects of the graduate program you find unique or that you like (seminars, brown bags, research training courses, etc.)?

7. Knowledge of Program
Mention any professor who might have suggested the program to you (and why) ...especially if that professor has or has had some connection with the program.
Read recent scholarship by professors at the institutions you target
The question is not just why do you want to go to graduate school, but why do you want to go HERE to graduate school? (A nice climate and hiking trails and I love bicycling are not right answers.)

8. Admissions Committees Seek Certain Traits
Polish and clarity of presentation
Potential of your research interests
Current work
Future work
Flexibility in the context of maturation and growth
Flexibility and not rigidity
Confidence tempered by self-awareness
Excellence and rigor (Honors Program, GPA, variety of courses taken)
Familiarity with investigative methods and theoretical schools of thought
Familiarity with the profession (medicine, law, etc.)

9. Admissions Committees Seek Certain Traits
Evidence of Resilience
Global competencies (aspects of personal diversity)
Knowledge of the specific school in question
Interdisciplinarity?
Professors
Programs of interest

10. Additional Tips
Remember when requesting letters of recommendation that you MUST waive your right to see the letter; this demonstrates that you are confident in the letter’s quality and that the letter has absolute integrity and forthrightness
Be sure the uniqueness of your personality emerges in the written text (in a professional manner)
Do NOT overshare personal details
Get started by creating a bullet list of activities and achievements
Get words on the page/screen (do not succumb to the paralysis of anxiety)
Ensure that you draft and revise multiple times (at least 4-5 times)
Proofread ALOUD and BACKWARDS from end to the beginning
Solicit critical feedback from peers and professors
Start several months ahead of the deadline

11. Activity Discuss sample
Create a list of accomplishments or aspirational accomplishments
Start a curriculum vitae (CV)