Statement of Purpose

[crazedandinfused]

I'm actually finding this harder to write than my writing sample. I've already deleted one draft. Any commiseration or suggestions?

[sandyvanb]

I got mine drafted a couple of weeks ago and that was after months of thinking and agonizing about it. Writing my SoP was incredibly difficult, I just had to figure out what angle I wanted to approach it from. Once I did that, I managed to get it written pretty quickly. My mentor looked over it so now I just need to start making it specific for each program. Are you writing a long version then cutting it for different submissions? The schools I am applying to range in length from 500 to 1000-2000 words so I wrote the long version from which I can cut shorter ones. Hang in there, you'll figure it out soon.

[Sigaba]

Imagine yourself writing a formal letter to a friend who is well educated but doesn't quite understand what history is and why you want to be a historian. Use the specific questions (if any) in the SOP form as talking points.

Tell this friend a story--a narrative--in which you cover the points.

An aside. Never delete anything. If you're going to start over, archive what you've done.

A suggestion. Assume that you are going to be a titan who makes significant contributions to the craft. Write with a certain swagger because you know that your papers and letters are going to be published, and that down the line graduate students will be trying to figure out how to write SoPs so they can come and work with you. Write with a purpose because you know that are taking steps down a path that sees you claiming your legacy as an academic. Write with a sense of fun and passion because you're writing about something you love. Write with a sense of comfort because you're communicating with a trusted friend.

[Sparky]

A suggestion. Assume that you are going to be a titan who makes significant contributions to the craft. Write with a certain swagger because you know that your papers and letters are going to be published, and that down the line graduate students will be trying to figure out how to write SoPs so they can come and work with you.

Yup. This. The SOP is marketing. It's your chance to sell yourself as a brilliant scholar.

For me, at least, it was impossible to know whether I'd written a "good" draft b/c I was so frightfully embarrassed at bragging so much! My rule was that a trusted confidante had to read each paragraph and tell me whether it was actually bad and thus I could wipe it from existence, or whether my modesty was standing in my own way. If I hadn't done that, I don't think I would ever have written the thing. Modesty is nice, but it won't get you into grad school.

[crazedandinfused]

Great thanks to everybody. I guess what I'm really struggling with is the issue of specificity. I'm trying to show that while I have very focused interests -even several potential dissertation topics- I'm still interested in pretty much everything. At the same time I don't want to come off as discombobulated. It's a fine line........

[Sigaba]

Great thanks to everybody. I guess what I'm really struggling with is the issue of specificity. I'm trying to show that while I have very focused interests -even several potential dissertation topics- I'm still interested in pretty much everything. At the same time I don't want to come off as discombobulated. It's a fine line........

Have you read anything by a historian who has a similar focus on the forest and specific trees? Could you cull through some her writings, maybe find an interview or an autobiographical essay and see how she balanced her interests?

[TMP]

Everybody has that problem. Even I've posed this question to a senior professor. You just have to judge for yourself.

What I'm hearing is that you do want to have some kind of focus but the questions you ask (or areas to explore) should be fairly broadly appealing. So let's say you're interested in women's labor movement in China. Your questions should be appealing not just to the Chinese historians but also to gender and labor historians as well (even if their geographical field is in, say, Africa or United States). If you can't expand your topic to other people who make up the grad committee, you may be out of luck. That's too focused and dissertation-y.

[oryantin]

Find a Professor who can help you write a better SOP. This will be better than asking people in the same level as you because Professors know what they are looking at. Of course, bear in mind that every school cares different things. There is no standart! Everyone recommends different points to focus, but you will never know which points they are as long as you do not ask a Professor at the University you are applying to. And, you can not do that

Edited September 16, 2011 by orient

[crazedandinfused]

Anyone want to read a very rough draft? I feel like it might be too heavy on the past and not have enough on future plans..........

Also, if there is a professor whose interests align with my own, but hasn't published anything in almost twenty years, should I not mention him as a potential adviser?

Edited September 16, 2011 by crazedandinfused

[CageFree]

Anyone want to read a very rough draft? I feel like it might be too heavy on the past and not have enough on future plans..........

Also, if there is a professor whose interests align with my own, but hasn't published anything in almost twenty years, should I not mention him as a potential adviser?

I would love to exchange papers. I think I have a decent draft (my third) but it needs to be looked at by someone different.

[StrangeLight]

you should contact any potential advisor, give them a one-to-two sentence summary about your interests, and ask if they plan to take on new graduate students. if they say yes, include them as a PA in your SOP. if they say no, don't.

also, in general, i would recommend working with scholars that have published recently. if you want to be a historian of the next generation, you need to be trained by a historian that is employing current historiographical trends (at the very least) and pushing the boundaries of the discipline in his/her own work (ideally). someone that hasn't published in two decades also probably hasn't read anything new in two decades either, so regardless of how much overlap there is in your topics, they may not be positioning you in the best possible way to make real contributions to your field.

[Sigaba]

Find a Professor who can help you write a better SOP. This will be better than asking people in the same level as you because Professors know what they are looking at.

IMO, asking a professor to "help" write a better SoP runs the risk of undermining the integrity of one's own application. The SoP is a task designed so that applicants can speak for themselves.

[iamincontrolhere-haig]

IMO, asking a professor to "help" write a better SoP runs the risk of undermining the integrity of one's own application. The SoP is a task designed so that applicants can speak for themselves.

That depends on how you interpret "help."

While I think it's uncouth to ask a professor for help writing a statement of purpose--that is, showing up in his or her office with a pen and paper and asking, "what should I write about?"--I don't see anything wrong with having professors read, critique, and make suggestions on a draft. As this is in all likelihood the first SOP applicants write or even read, consulting with an expert as to how to best make use of the limited amount of words one is allotted is not only acceptable but wise.

[Sigaba]

That depends on how you interpret "help."

While I think it's uncouth to ask a professor for help writing a statement of purpose--that is, showing up in his or her office with a pen and paper and asking, "what should I write about?"--I don't see anything wrong with having professors read, critique, and make suggestions on a draft. As this is in all likelihood the first SOP applicants write or even read, consulting with an expert as to how to best make use of the limited amount of words one is allotted is not only acceptable but wise.

I see your point.

The focus I had when going through the application process, the notion of getting that kind of support was beyond my imagination. I viewed the writing of SoP's as a personal experience and that the task was to give readers a sense of who I was at the time. So even if someone had made the suggestion, I think I'd have declined. But then, they don't call me stupid for nothing.