careerchange Posted November 11, 2010 Share Posted November 11, 2010 Is this a horrible idea? The SOP is for master's programs so it's a bit more of a personal approach. As a career changer, I was told by admissions people to make very clear what my "story" is and why I am pursuing this field. The quote is from a poem and reflects the theme of my essay - after exploring different fields, I came back to a field i was passionate about at the beginning of my education: Thoughts? Thank you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheDude Posted November 11, 2010 Share Posted November 11, 2010 All the SOPs I have read have started 1 of 3 ways: With a quote With a vignette or quick story outlining how they decided to enter the field. Right down to business in essence: "I'm interested in this field because... I think it depends on how you work it into your prose and make it you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
newms Posted November 12, 2010 Share Posted November 12, 2010 If you are going to use a quote, make sure that it is relevant to your field and that it is not a common quote. If it's an unusual, but germane (GRE word ) quote the the admissions committee will likely be intrigued by it. If it's a commonly used quote, chances are they would have seen it before and I can almost visualize them rolling their eyes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
augustquail Posted November 12, 2010 Share Posted November 12, 2010 If you are going to use a quote, make sure that it is relevant to your field and that it is not a common quote. If it's an unusual, but germane (GRE word ) quote the the admissions committee will likely be intrigued by it. If it's a commonly used quote, chances are they would have seen it before and I can almost visualize them rolling their eyes. I agree with this! Do not look through books of famous quotes for an opening! I've been struggling with my sop opening for a while now. At first, I just began with "I'm interested in working in ___________field with _________questions about ____, ____, and ____-." then it changed to "in my doctoral studies, I would like to explore..." My advisor thinks that if I can have a more catchy opening that *is* germane (hehe) that'd be great, but getting to the point is ultimately the goal. As of now, I use a quote to begin (it's worked into the first paragraph--it's not hovering above the rest of the statement) from the text I wrote about in my writing sample. It's not a quote I used in my writing sample, because it address broader issues. I think it works. (here's hoping!) I like quotes, so I knew that I was eventually going to have one. Some people have said they're 'cheesy,' and I'm sure some quotes are. I mean, no one should ever quote something that's like "follow your dreams! sparkle:rainbow:unicorns!" or "my life like a long road, and it has led me to study ___" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
careerchange Posted November 12, 2010 Author Share Posted November 12, 2010 Thanks everyone - this is very helpful! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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