Corniness of SOP

[shai]

still on the subject of the statement of purpose - does any else fear and worry that their SOP will end up regarded as corny ?

oh my god, how i love research.... that sort of thing

[Mraknights]

Yeah, but if you speak genuinely than you should be alright..... its when students begin to write what they think adcoms wanna hear that they begin to sound like every other student........

[rainy_day]

oh my god, how i love research.... that sort of thing

I have heard that the "i love research" claim does not go over particularly well with adcoms, for two reasons. 1) it is assumed that you love research; that is why you are applying to a graduate program and 2) everyone and their mother writes about how much they love research.

I have read that the trick is to "show, not tell," as in show them you are passionate about research by talking about what you have and would like to study eloquently and intelligently.

I'm still drafting my SoP, so I am basing this on the advice I have received from others, but it makes a lot of sense to me.

Good luck!

[Stories]

I think it's fine to elaborate on why you love research and why you see it as an important thing to do. That's what I wrote as a significant portion in my SoP.