English Lit program SOP; thoughts and questions

[Glanton]

Morning, all. I'm in the midst of throwing myself into composing my SOPs, the earliest of which are due Dec. 15. I knew at the outset of the process that this would be the least enjoyable aspect of it, and managed to put it off until after the GRE (740 verbal--woot!). We've all heard the tired cliche: "This is the hardest thing you'll ever have to write." I'm not finding it to be that, exactly, but I am finding it incredibly frustrating to approach simply because of all of the (sometimes self-)contradictory advice out there for writers. I've read threads here, articles all over the web, talked to other successful grad students, my former professors, and have come up with this basic set of constants which seem reasoned and practical:

-Show that you understand that this is not a continuation of your undergraduate work. Talk specifically about your research plans and goals, though not so specifically that you seem inflexible or give the impression of already having everything figured out.

-Talk specifically about what attracts you to the program to which you are applying: note professors whose work you admire, on-campus resources which would be beneficial to your research, and special programs which coincide with your interests.

-Highlight your strengths, what has drawn you to pursue graduate study, and touch upon any instances of adversity or hardship which affected your studies directly.

Beyond these common points, there seems to be little conventional wisdom. Some sources stress that this is a _personal_ statement, and thus should reflect your unique experience. The advice that one should lead with an anecdote seems suspect to me, and a bit contrived, but I also recognize that launching directly into a discussion of your research interests and ultimate goals in pursuing graduate study will not set you apart in a crowded field of applicants.

I'm applying to literature programs, though my degree is technically in creative writing, and I'm quite confident in my ability to craft a cogent narrative. During the course of my undergraduate studies, I had to overcome a lot of adversity, both social and economic: I worked full-time for most of my time in college just to support myself, and it was only in my senior year that I was awarded sufficient scholarship funding to cut back on my work schedule. Beyond that, I also dropped out of high school my senior year, due in large part to problems with drugs and alcohol which started to consume my life after my mother passed away. I earned my GED the winter before I started college, and after a somewhat rocky first term, began to excel almost immediately, eventually graduating cum laude and completing a departmental honors thesis. All of this seems fertile for inclusion in my SOP, but... is it really? Is it even relevant? I'm certain I can relate all of this within a couple of sentences, but does it make my SOP seem over-dramatic? Is it even wise to mention that I didn't finish high school, or does the from-rock-bottom-to-intellectual-redemption narrative get overlooked due to the fact that I'm being overly negative? Should I eschew all of this in favor of writing the most professional, no nonsense, detail-oriented SOP possible? I realize there aren't any easy answers to these questions, but I'd be interested to hear your thoughts.

Beyond the sticky problem of how much of my story to put into the SOP, I'm having difficulty connecting at least one of the programs to which I'm applying to my specific interests and research goals. I chose my schools mainly based on geography, reputation, and funding options. All but one of them have faculty working pretty much directly in my area (post-modern & contemporary American fiction), if not directly with the authors whom I am interested in. How far should one stretch in one's SOP to establish a direct connection with the work of someone within the program? There are conceptual and theoretical overlaps between my work and the work of some of these people; is it acceptable to write about how you feel your work in a specific area might be enriched and informed by working with someone whose interests lie in a tangentially-related theoretical area?

My apologies for the mad prolixity; more than anything I wanted to type these thoughts & concerns out to try and think about them a little more critically. My SOP work thus far has taken the form of freewriting; I'm trying to get everything that seems vaguely relevant onto paper first, and then begin picking apart and assembling the pertinent bits. I just wish I had a better idea of what those were.

[JerryLandis]

I am also crafting an SOP and dealing with some of these questions, and as I have not been through the admissions cycle yet I'm not sure how good any of my advice is, but I suppose it's still worth offering.

I would say that your high school experience really isn't relevant to graduate study. Given that you have excelled in university level studies, why should it matter whether or not you were an excellent student in high school? Your particular story, though, could be useful to mention, because it shows an impressive improvement, as you said. A lot of people applying to postgraduate programs (e.g. me) attended private or well-funded high schools, and had very normal, positive high school experiences which made for easy transitions to college. Pointing out that you had "personal issues" related to your mother's death and got a GED instead of graduating the traditional way would be a good way of demonstrating your motivation. However, I don't think I would mention the drugs and alcohol bit - some people would recognize it as a common enough problem that lots of normal/qualified people have overcome, but some people might be worried about admitting a "drug addict" to their time-consuming and challenging program. If you do mention your GED qualification in the statement of purpose, be sure to keep it brief, as your achievements during college are much more important.

If you aren't sure whether or not to include an anecdote/creative introduction, don't. I am including one that may or may not get deleted in the final edit, but that's because it was what I naturally thought to write when I sat down to compose my SOP.

As for your question about writing for the department, and stretching your SOP to fit with certain peoples' research interests, I'm not sure about that either. Quite honestly, there is not a single professor in the US whose research interests are sufficiently similar to mine - the period/location of history I study is not a popular topic anywhere, especially in the US. However, I have received positive feedback in emails from potential supervisors, who say that I would fit well into the department. I don't think it's too much of a problem to assume that professors would be interested in supervising topics that don't correspond exactly with the themes in their published work. However, to be sure about it I would recommend emailing them to ask if they'd be interested in supervising your kind of research.

[socialcomm]

One thing I think you have to distinguish between is a personal statement and a statement of purpose. Make sure you read exactly what the prompt is asking for. That may dictate what's included in your statement.

It sounds like you're on the right track with connecting interests to schools. I'm not sure about the English field in particular, but with my programs, schools will only admit people whose interests are at least somewhat connected to what faculty are doing in the program. Again, this may not apply to English, but I think connecting your interests to those of the program would be beneficial, even if it is a bit of a stretch.

[hinesaj]

Beyond the sticky problem of how much of my story to put into the SOP, I'm having difficulty connecting at least one of the programs to which I'm applying to my specific interests and research goals. I chose my schools mainly based on geography, reputation, and funding options. All but one of them have faculty working pretty much directly in my area (post-modern & contemporary American fiction), if not directly with the authors whom I am interested in. How far should one stretch in one's SOP to establish a direct connection with the work of someone within the program? There are conceptual and theoretical overlaps between my work and the work of some of these people; is it acceptable to write about how you feel your work in a specific area might be enriched and informed by working with someone whose interests lie in a tangentially-related theoretical area?

I'd recommend finding a different program to apply to if they don't have any faculty members (or only one) in your area of interest. Beyond the fact that it will make your SoP difficult to write, the likelihood that you'll flourish in that program is low. Admissions Committees weigh "fit" heavily not just for the sake of the department but for your sake, as well.