10 Tips on How to Write a Statement of Purpose for Graduate School

It requires a fair amount of direction to successfully complete the application process, and most grad school applicants don’t enter into the process half-heartedly. However, when it comes time to express that sense of direction verbally, the pressure can be intense, even stifling. These 10 tips on how to write a statement of purpose for grad school will help you translate your sense of purpose into an acceptance letter.

1. Follow Directions

It should go without saying that you should demonstrate to the admissions committee the same ability to follow directions that you would expect of your students. Demonstrate flair and originality, but do it while coloring inside the lines. Anything else is a high-risk strategy.

2. Consider Your Audience

Admissions officers will read dozens, if not hundreds of statements of purpose during each application season. They can smell formulaic writing and insincerity from miles away, but they will also get genuinely excited when they read something truly unique.

3. Demonstrate Interest in the School

If you’re applying to multiple schools, odds are that you’ll draft a general statement of purpose and then modify it for each individual application. The key word in that sentence is modify. Do your homework on every institution you apply to. Make the admissions officers think fate has brought you to their doorstep, even if you’re applying to ten other schools.

4. Write a Draft

The best writing almost always comes from a lengthy process, rather than a moment of inspiration. Begin brainstorming ideas for your statement of purpose weeks before the application deadline (if possible), and write at least one rough draft. Don’t worry if the writing feels raw while you’re working out what you want to say. Let the first draft be exploratory. The second or third draft is the time to polish, perfect, and proofread.

5. Choose Your Angle Carefully

Your goal in writing a statement of purpose is to present your path through life as a story, one that the admissions committee hasn’t heard before. If you find yourself writing “As long as I can remember, I’ve always wanted to be a teacher,” it’s time to revisit the drawing board. What will you bring to the classroom that no one else does?

6. Peel Back the Layers (find deeper meaning as you write)

Maybe you don’t know what your angle is. Maybe you’ve been staring at a blank page for a while now, trying to figure out how to write a statement of purpose. Many people need to start writing (and keep writing) before knowing exactly what they want to write. Start putting your thoughts down on paper, and you may see patterns and deeper meaning begin to emerge.

7. Be Clear and Concise

A statement of purpose is not the place to show off your academic writing chops. You’re not writing long-winded literary fiction or a new philosophy of being. You’re writing a letter to a stranger. You’re trying to communicate a message, efficiently and effectively.

8. Revise

The next step after drafting is revising. And revision means more than running spell check. Etymologically, the word revision means “to see again,” and ideally it is a process of more deeply understanding your own writing—maybe even more deeply understanding your past, or your goals for the future. It helps to allow a week or two between drafts, so that you really have time to get some distance from your statement.

9. Proofread

Once you’ve written an exploratory draft and made the changes that meaningful revision calls for, it’s time to turn your attention to the details. Admissions officers are unlikely to throw out your statement of purpose if you misspell a word or misplace a comma, but they certainly won’t be impressed.

10. Have Someone Review It

Once you feel like you’ve written the best statement of purpose you can, it’s time to get a second opinion. It’s best to ask someone who has been through grad school or worked in the education field, as they’ll have a sense of what you’re going through, as well as what you’re aiming for. An objective set of eyes can often alert you to details you might miss on your own. Even if your reviewer doesn’t recommend any changes, his or her vote of confidence will help you feel better about the application process while you wait to hear back from schools.

Interested in an online graduate program in the field of education?

The USC Rossier School of Education strives to prepare educators who achieve positive learning outcomes across a range of settings. To better serve our students, we offer a number of our graduate programs in an online format. These innovative programs are designed and taught by the same renowned USC faculty members who teach on campus, and take advantage of a state-of-the-art online learning platform to blend live, face-to-face online classes with dynamic self-paced coursework and field-based experiences.

Learn more about our online degree programs by selecting a program below:

• Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT)
• Master of Arts in Teaching — Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL)
• Doctor of Education (EdD) in Organizational Change and Leadership