Writing your admissions essays or Statement of Purpose (SoP) is a long and intensive process - ten to twelve drafts over

a two-month period are fairly common. It is necessary to put in this hard work to come up with an essay that is uniquely yourself, and a compelling read which convinces the admissions committee that you are right for their school. This is a great opportunity to look inside yourself and be rewarded by a better understanding of who you are and what you want. Read the essay question carefully to find out what the university expects you to write about. While you don't have to stick to the questions asked, you must be sure to answer them all in your SoP. Refer to your lists of background research and write about two handwritten pages in response to the essay question. Go through them the next day. Remember that your essay has the following objectives: Show your interest in the subject. Rather than saying that you find electronics interesting, it is more convincing to demonstrate your interest by talking about any projects you may have done and what you learnt from them. If you have taken the initiative to do things on your own, now is the time to talk about them Show that you have thought carefully about further studies, know what you are getting into, and have the confidence to go through with it. Have the admissions committee like you! Avoid sounding opinionated, conceited, pedantic or patronizing. Read your essay carefully, and have others read it to find and correct this. Demonstrate a rounded personality. Include a short paragraph near the end on what you like to do outside of your professional life. Keep the essay focussed. Each sentence you use should strengthen the admissions committee's resolve to admit you. So while you may have done several interesting things in life, avoid falling into the trap of mentioning each of them. Your essay should have depth, not breadth. The resume is where you should list achievements. Remember that you have very little space to convey who you are, so make every sentence count. Pitfalls your essay must avoid: It is a repetition of the resume or other information available from the application form, It could have been written by just about anybody; your individuality does not come through, It is not a honest account in response to the essay question (why you want to study what you do, what you have learned from an event/person in your life and so on) It has embarrassing, highly personal and emotional content that should be avoided unless it makes a unique, creative point. The admissions committee would not appreciate reading about the pain you went through after breaking up with your boyfriend. An account of how you overcame difficult family circumstances, illness, or a handicap, would be a valid point to include in your essay. However, avoid emotional language. Language Guidelines Take another 7-8 days to write 3-4 more drafts. Go through the objectives and pitfalls often. Refer to, and edit your lists as you go along. Flow While each paragraph should make a complete statement on its own, the essay should logically progress from paragraph to paragraph. Read your essay for flow, or have someone else read it, and ask yourself if there seems to be an abrupt shift between ideas in two consecutive paragraphs. Structure This follows naturally from flow. Do all the paragraphs mesh together to form a cogent whole? Does the essay, through a logical progression of ideas, demonstrate your interest, enthusiasm, and fit in the department you have applied to? Language Avoid slang and abbreviations. For acronyms, use the full form the first time and show the acronym in parentheses. Use grammatically correct English and ALWAYS read your essay carefully for spelling mistakes before you send it off - your computer's spellcheck may not flush out all the errors. Try to make your essay crisp, cutting out unnecessary adverbs, articles and pronouns (for instance, a careful reading may yield several "the's" that are superfluous).

Tone Use a consistent tone throughout the essay - it will only confuse the admissions officers if you alternately sound like Ernest Hemingway and Shakespeare, and is hardly likely to endear you to them! While you should avoid flowery language and cliches, there is no harm in looking for the most apt phrase or sentence. Be careful while using humor - it can misfire and harm your chances. POLISHING Polishing your Statement of Purpose for Graduate School So now you have a coherent essay put together. You think the structure is more or less right, the ideas flow, and the language isnt bad. What next? The In their shoes check Put your essay away for a day or two. When you take it out, lay it face down for two minutes while you put yourself in the admissions committees place. Imagine yourself to be a professor or graduate student who is going through a few hundred applications and classifying them into yes, maybe and no piles. Think of how you would look at SoPs and try to read yours through a strangers eyes. What do you see? Detailed description Showing your stuff around It is essential to show your SoP to a few people whose opinion you respect an English teacher from school, a professor, an older friend, a parent or a relative. Include among these, 2-3 people who know you well. Ask your readers to pay particular attention to the following points: Detailed description Ten Tips for Better Writing 1. Express yourself in positive language. Say what is, not what is not. 2. Use transitions between paragraphs. Transitions tie one paragraph to the next. A transition can be a word, like later, furthermore, additionally, or moreover; a phrase like After this incident...; or an entire sentence. If you are writing about Topic A and now want to discuss Topic B, you can begin the new paragraph with a transition such as "Like (or unlike) Topic A, Topic B..." 3. Vary your sentence structure. It's boring to see subject, verb, object all the time. Mix simple, complex, and compound sentences. 4. Understand the words you write. You write to communicate, not to impress the admissions staff with your vocabulary. When you choose a word that means something other than what you intend, you neither communicate nor impress. You do convey the wrong message or convince the admissions officer that you are inarticulate. 5. Look up synonyms in a thesaurus when you use the same word repeatedly. After the DELETE key, the thesaurus is your best friend. As long as you follow Tip 4, using one will make your writing more interesting. 6. Be succinct. Compare: During my sophomore and junior years, there was significant development of my maturity and markedly improved self-discipline towards school work. During my sophomore and junior years, I matured and my self-discipline improved tremendously. The first example takes many more words to give the same information. The admissions officers are swamped; they do not want to spend more time than necessary reading your essay. Say what you have to say in as few words as possible. Tips 7, 8, and 9 will help you to implement this suggestion. 7. Make every word count. Do not repeat yourself. Each sentence and every word should state something new. 8. Avoid qualifiers such as rather, quite, somewhat, probably, possibly, etc. You might improve your writing somewhat if you sometimes try to follow this suggestion.

The example contains nonsense. Deleting unnecessary qualifiers will strengthen your writing 1000%. Equivocating reveals a lack of confidence. If you do not believe what you write, why should the admissions officer? 9. Use the active voice. Compare: The application was sent by the student. (Passive voice) The student sent the application. (Active voice) They both communicate the same information. The active voice, however, is more concise; it specifies who is performing the action and what is the object. The passive voice is wordier and frequently less clear. 10. Read and reread Elements of Style by William Strunk, Jr. and E.B. White. Containing basic rules of grammar, punctuation, composition, and style, this indispensable classic is available in paperback and is only eighty-five pages long. Whew! That's a lot to remember. And failing to follow these writing rules may make you appear sloppy or cast doubts about your communications skills. Our seasoned editors will make sure that your essay displays your communications skills at their best without you going cross-eyed reviewing the essay over and over and over. See how Accepted.com can critique and polish your essay. The money you spend will save you time and ensure that you are writing your best. But don't take our word for it, read what our clients have said about Accepted.com. Now Accepted.com tips and services can help YOU with your essays and writing. But what about your recommenders? Would you like to give them some tips. The proceed to 10 Tips for Recommenders and print out these tips for your recommenders.

Writing Your Statement of Purpose for Grad School The graduate school statement of purpose is your chance to demonstrate your unique qualifications for and commitment to your chosen field by discussing those experiences, people, and events that compelled you to pursue it. That's a lot to accomplish--especially in the typical two-to-three pages allowed for your statement. You can find the key to success by focusing on a few illustrative incidents as opposed to giving a superficial overview. Remember: Detail, specificity, and concrete examples will make your essay distinctive and interesting. Generalities and platitudes that could apply to every other grad school applicant will bore. If you use them, you'll just blur into one of the crowd. Following "Ten Do's and Don'ts for Your Statement of Purpose" will help you write a compelling, focused essay -- one that will transform you from a collection of numbers and classes into an interesting human being. Ten Do's and Don'ts for Your Statement of Purpose The Do's Unite your essay and give it direction with a theme or thesis. The thesis is the main point you want to communicate. Before you begin writing, choose what you want to discuss and the order in which you want to discuss it. Use concrete examples from your life experience to support your thesis and distinguish yourself from other applicants. Write about what interests you, excites you. That's what the admissions staff wants to read. Start your essay with an attention-grabbing lead -- an anecdote, quote, question, or engaging description of a scene. End your essay with a conclusion that refers back to the lead and restates your thesis. Revise your essay at least three times. In addition to your editing, ask someone else to critique your statement of purpose for you.

Proofread your personal statement by reading it out loud or reading it into a tape recorder and playing back the tape. Write clearly, succinctly. The Don'ts Don't include information that doesn't support your thesis. Don't start your essay with "I was born in...," or "My parents came from..." Don't write an autobiography, itinerary, or rsum in prose. Don't try to be a clown (but gentle humor is OK). Don't be afraid to start over if the essay just isn't working or doesn't answer the essay question. Don't try to impress your reader with your vocabulary. Don't rely exclusively on your computer to check your spelling. Don't provide a collection of generic statements and platitudes. Don't give mealy-mouthed, weak excuses for your GPA or test scores. Don't make things up. So far we've emphasized content, but of course, persuasive writing requires good style, grammar, vocabulary, usage, etc. You know, those nit-picky details that most people prefer not to think about. Well if you prefer to continue not thinking about them or if you don't think you know enough about them to ensure good writing, check out Accepted.com's review and editing service. If you just want a quick brushup on writing fundamentals, visit Ten Tips for Better Writing. But wait. Before putting the pieces together, what if you are still not sure how to develop a unifying theme? Or perhaps you don't know which experiences to focus on, or simply lack confidence in your writing skills, or have suddenly developed an acute case of blank-screen-itis!?! Remember, you can have one-on-one, personalized assistance every step of the way. Accepted.com's complete package is designed to give you the guidance and direction necessary to draft a compelling story and the comprehensive editing needed to perfect it. WHAT DO COLLEGES LOOK FOR IN A STATEMENT OF PURPOSE? The primary question admissions committee members ask themselves when they read a Statement of Purpose is: What does this essay tell me about the person who wrote it? Put yourself in an admission officer's shoes. From among thousands of applications, you have to choose the fraction of students that will comprise next year's incoming class. A mix of interesting, confident and enthusiastic people who will make the class a stimulating place. Academic achievements and good test scores are important. But in an era where the majority of applicants have good academic records, it becomes increasingly difficult to distinguish between individuals and decide who gets the offer of admission. When you apply, each of the items in the application packet -recommendations, extra-curricular achievements, work samples - adds an extra dimension to your personality. But it is the SoP that brings you to life. Which is why each essay is read carefully by at least two and often four or five people before a decision is taken on the application. Does this mean that the SoP is the main deciding factor? No. Your academic record . grades and the courses you took- are the first section admission committee members turn to. Standardized test scores are useful to know where you stand in the applicant pool. For graduate schools, relevant work or academic experience is important. Being from a reputed school or college confers a distinct advantage. What your teachers or boss think of you goes a long way towards the school's opinion. A good work sample can show your creativity, skill and professionalism.

However, only the SoP or application essays can bring out your uniqueness. And therefore make or break your application. An applicant who does not take the essay seriously is throwing away the best opportunity available. So are the admission officers looking for specific personality sorts? Well, yes and no. Creativity, curiosity, pride in your work, an enthusiasm for learning, a capacity for teamwork, the ability to think independently and so on are all good attributes, and most of us share these in varying proportions. But what schools look for is a mix of individuals that together, form a well-balanced class. This would include several personality types. It is good to go through the school's brochure or web site, speak to people about it, visit if that is possible; get a feel of the student mix that they look for and decide if this is the school for you. However, trying to tailor your SoP to reflect what you think the school is looking for is dangerous business. The people who read your application have been doing so for years and are skilled at spotting fakes. They are likely to know soon if a particular author is saying something for effect or if an essay does not ring true. And that means almost certain rejection. What is this, you might ask. Of course we want to have an effect on the admissions officers. The important thing is to do so without appearing dishonest. If, for instance, you talk about your deep desire to make society a better place, your application should reflect it. Have you done anything about this desire? Can you talk about your actions and experiences? A small example of something you did, not necessarily spectacular, can do more towards boosting your chances than the noblest platitude can. Don. t try to be something you are not. Don. t try to tell the admissions committee what you think they want to hear. Be honest, look inside yourself and do your best. Which brings us to the next point - self-knowledge. The people who read your essay want to be convinced that you have thought long and hard about who you are, what are the things you appreciate, what inspires you. What you want out of life, and where you are going from here. It is not necessary to have all the answers . after all, several admirable people have no idea where they are going even at age 40 or 50. It is necessary to show that you have thought about this. And that these life experiences have taught you something. Finally, you have to show a desire to learn. From your books and teachers, from your classmates, from music or art, from life itself. Too vague for you? Turn to the section on starting your SoP and find out how these attributes translate into concrete steps.