This is true for me also. I did talk with my profs a lot. Sometimes they were very helpful, other times I wanted to bang my head against the wall.
Keep in mind that I am complaining "post application"... Many of my questions were eventually answered, it just felt as if the answers were unduly difficult to obtain.
This goes hand in hand with the in-depth and scope question. Does relevant refer to recent or influential? For example, I could write a paper on Aristotle's poetics using S.H. Butcher, Gerard F. Else, Francis Ferguson, Lane Cooper, or Leon Golden. All of these men are highly influential, but none are particularly recent. I could just focus on more recent articles and books, but many reference or rely on these previous academics.
You are right, it is easy to find information on writing a good SoP. I sort of lumped the SoP in with the writing sample, which I shouldn't have.
Thank you! I need all the luck I can get!
Great link. I had come across this early in my application process and it was very helpful, but for some reason I forgot about it. The survey is particularly nice (Especially as I go through my "I am doomed" phase.