Story SoPs Cliche?

[b c]

I've been trying to get my hands on a lot of SoPs lately, and have also read Donald Asher's "Graduate Admissions Essays", and a recurring theme seems to be telling a story with a hook (and usually starting the SoP with an interesting anecdote to get the reader more interested from the outset). However, having found a few different examples online, it seems like a lot of the more "bland" yet research intensive and "to-the-point" SoPs were the ones from students that made it into top 10 schools, although my sample size is far too small to really say this with confidence. Thus my question is this: Isn't it now seen as cliché by graduate admission committees to write your SoP in the form given by Asher's book, especially for top 10 schools who get a lot of applicants, and is there a preference for SoPs that are "to-the-point" and free of interesting hooks and anecdotes? 

Edited October 12, 2014 by b c

[lyrehc]

I have not read that book. My attitude is that a SoP should introduce you to the graduate committee. Why do they want to accept you? Why are you a good fit? It doesn't have to be cut and dried and boring. I told the committee where I applied that I wanted to attend because a) I wanted to work with a specific professor and I wanted to be in tornado alley because I wanted to conduct studies about risk perception in a place where there was perception of risk. I made sure that my personality came through what I wrote. And I got in, with funding.

[arrowoblio]

I'm having the same dilemma. My thought is, if you're going to open with a story, it has to be extremely well-written and relevant. I think the overarching point is to make sure the adcomm gets to know you, and if you can do that in a straightforward way without a story or 'hook', they wouldn't respect you any less, I would think. Any story I begin with tends to come off as editorial and ultimately irrelevant to the question. My prompt is fairly basic, in essence: Why do you want your degree here, and what are your research and career interests? If you're like me and after months of thinking on why you are fascinated by authoritarian regimes and civil society development, it might be better to just jump right in.

[bsharpe269]

I am doing something in between these two approaches... I do have a hook but it isnt related to some childhood story, it is research related. Basically my hook is a really interesting quesiton that was proposed in my subfield a while ago. The community started answering the question in detail about 20 years ago but tons of research still needs to be done. My research interests fall into all of this stuff so I discuss the intriguing question and some of the awesome discorveries inspired by the question. I then present my research interests in the context of this problem. This is my into.

 

So basically I like the idea of getting to the point but you can do that in an interesting, hook sort of way. Your first sentance doesnt have to be a boring "My research interests are blah blah."

[GeoDUDE!]

Statement of Purposes are no mystery: state the reason why you are applying to their program.