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DissertationCoach

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DissertationCoach last won the day on July 8 2022

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  1. It would take an entire book to do justice to this topic (and a good number of books on the subject have in fact been written) but if I were obliged to offer what I consider to be the single most important point about writing such essays, based on more than 30 years of experience assisting hundreds of applicants, it would be this: Unless the specific instructions dictate otherwise (always pay careful attention to the instructions), think of this type of statement as an intellectual autobiography. Writing at its best - ALL writing - is storytelling. Here, you are telling the story of your intellectual development, as it relates to your proposed field of study. If you are wondering about whether to include something, ask yourself whether it belongs in this context. Follow the guidelines of good storytelling. A good story, for example, always begins in a way that gets the reader's attention. It flows logically from one point to the next. It doesn't cause the reader to suddenly stop and wonder what the writer was trying to say. It doesn't seem too long or too short. And the most successful stories are the ones that the reader would likely remember and want to tell to others. The single biggest and most frequently recurring mistake that applicants make is not giving themselves enough time to write this critical and challenging essay. Contrary to an earlier comment, it is NOT the case that the statement of purpose can only help you and cannot hurt you, in terms of your chances for admission. In competitive programs for which admission is selective, these essays are routinely used as a tool for screening applicants out. Don't be afraid to get help. This type of essay calls for a very special skill set, which few applicants have developed, even those who may be considered good writers. Some of the applicants you will be going up against will inevitably have sought out expert assistance. Those who do not will be at a disadvantage. Reading the thread here at The GradCafe Forums is an excellent first step, so congratulate yourself for heading in the right direction.
  2. In your school's library, there should be a section on the shelves where approved theses are stored. Look for recently approved theses, preferably chaired by your supervisor - or at least in your department. If you read them carefully, they will give you important clues. Use them as guidelines in constructing your own thesis.
  3. You are not going to get the answer to your question from a quantitative assessment of your notes. That's because there is no fixed correlation between the volume of notes someone takes and the level of preparedness for doing the write-up. Your notes should be organized around your research question(s). When you have sufficient material to intelligently answer the question(s), that's when you are ready to write. If you've been taking notes for many months and you feel you have many more months to go, there may be an issue with regard to how you are approaching your project. Ideally, there is someone on your committee who will be willing to sit down with you and conduct a frank assessment. The sooner you do that, the better, because simply taking more and more notes may only be delaying your progress.
  4. Many good suggestions have been posted but you must realize that there is a difference between proofing, editing and reviewing. You have used all of these terms interchangeably. To the list, one could add revising and rewriting, which follows realization - in the review process - of deficiencies. Proofing (in essence, catching typos) is the easiest of all of these, as it is purely mechanical. Each time you come back to your paper after having set it aside for a while, if you are conscientious, you will catch some typos or basic errors. You will have a very hard time, however, being your own reviewer or editor - in the sense of duplicating the contribution that a skilled outside party could make. That's why even the best writers, often through their publishers, engage professional editors.
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