Best way to balance personal aspects, academic achievements, and school fit in a statement of purpose?

[klader]

Hi Everyone,

I'm currently in the process of writing 8 personal statements/statements of purpose for 8 different schools, and I'm having a hard time determining how to best balance the different parts of them, especially since each school's statements have their own requirements. For example, School 1 wants a 3 page statement of purpose, School 2 wants a personal statement AND an academic statement, School 3 wants a 2 page letter of intent, School 4 wants a statement of purpose AND an autobiographical sketch, etc.

Basically, I have a compelling personal story that I feel makes me stand out, but it's hard because I also have significant experience with my prospective MA field (Rhetoric and Composition) since my undergrad institution has a very rhetoric-focused program. One of my professors encouraged me to directly mention certain scholars and their theories and how they have influenced me as a rising scholar of rhetoric, and another has mentioned to clearly and strongly state what I'm specifically interested in and how School X and Professor Y can help me (though I don't necessarily know SPECIFICALLY want I want to do yet...).

So, is there basically any kind of rule on how much you should focus on what you've already done academically vs. what you want to accomplish in the targeted graduate program? I know that a couple of the schools are great fits because they focus on classical rhetoric, which is something I really like and could see myself studying further. For those schools, then, would I make reference to my course work dealing with classical rhetoric and perhaps give them a writing sample that relates to it? I'm also interested in writing center studies, though, so if I see that the university has a great writing center and that some of the faculty are involved in its operation, should I focus more on the work I've done for my university's writing center and on research relating to it? Should I focus on the writing center work even if it's NOT directly related to the program?

I would appreciate any tips and advice as deadlines are approaching and I am really starting to feel the pressure!! Thank you!!

[ProfLorax]

Hi klader! Unfortunately, there's no real formula for this. I focused a lot on my past, but did so in a way to demonstrate how my past experiences shaped me into the scholar I want to be. I just want to chime in that you should absolutely mention the writing center interests! Any good rhet/comp program would be stoked to have a student who is interested in classical rhetoric and writing centers (btw look at UMD). That's the great thing about our field: it's rhetoric and composition, so teaching writing (which happens in classrooms, writing centers, communities, etc) is central to our field's identity.