Newsletter Articles for Prospective Students
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Writing the Personal StatementThe Curriculum Vita
Letters of Recommendation
Writing Samples
Writing the Personal Statement
The personal statement is your opportunity to introduce yourself to the admissions committee. Typically one to two pages in length, your personal statement needs to reflect you and your interest in your discipline. It is a difficult task to set yourself apart from other applicants, so you need to focus on what makes you unique. Most likely, your personal statement will take several weeks to write and edit; be sure to allow yourself enough time to seek input from others and to revise it.
Graduate programs will either request a general personal statement or ask that your statement respond to a particular question or issue. Regardless, tailor your statement to the specific program for maximum impact. Generic statements submitted to multiple programs often sound generic and won't serve you well in convincing an admissions committee that you are the best candidate and that you will fit in with their program.
To get started, gather any relevant materials, such as your transcripts, resume, work history, and graduate school applications, and reflect upon these questions before writing:
- What experiences have influenced your life?
- When did you become interested in your discipline?
- What have you learned about your discipline?
- How do you know you want to pursue graduate work in your discipline?
- What have you learned from other experiences (work, involvement, internships, etc.) that is related to pursuing a graduate degree in your discipline?
- What obstacles have you overcome that may demonstrate your ability to overcome obstacles in graduate school?
- What personal characteristics do you possess that would make you a successful professional in your discipline, and what are some examples of ways you have demonstrated those characteristics?
- What special skills do you have that may be relevant to your graduate work?
- What sets you apart from other applicants?
- Why should the admissions committee admit you to their program?
There are several approaches to writing a personal statement. You might tell a compelling and memorable story. If so, be sure to be specific and that the logical conclusion to your story is the pursuit of graduate study. Or you may want to find an angle or a "hook" that will draw readers into your opening paragraph and the rest of your statement. Overall, however, it is imperative to demonstrate your knowledge of the discipline. You can accomplish this by using language from your field when discussing course work, conferences, research projects or other related experiences.
Additionally, keep your statement relevant to the admissions process by focusing on your undergraduate (or graduate level) experiences and avoid disclosing personal information that is not relevant. Be aware that many programs are striving for diversity, so you should make a conscious choice about how you might reveal personal characteristics that would inform the admissions committee about how you might enhance their program's diversity.
Finally, have several people read your personal statement, both for content and polish. Your personal statement is your opportunity to demonstrate your writing skills; you want to be sure that you avoid clichés and any errors. While this is a personal statement and it is appropriate to use first person, be sure to vary your sentence structure so that not every sentence starts with the word I. Tightly focus each paragraph on a single idea and be sure to abide by any length restrictions.
Numerous internet resources are available to help you in preparing your personal statement. In addition, your library is likely to have a copy of Richard Stelzer's How to Write a Winning Personal Statement for Graduate and Professional School (Princeton, NJ: Peterson's Guides, 1989). The book has guidelines for writing, examples of successful statements and advice from admissions officers. However, your best resources are your advisors and mentors. They can assist you with any specific issues within your discipline and help you craft the strongest, most compelling statement.
The Curriculum Vitae
An important component for most graduate school applications is the Curriculum Vitae (translated literally from the Latin as course of life), or CV. A CV is similar to a resume in that it summarizes your qualifications, but it is different in that it is typically longer and includes a comprehensive listing of your professional history including information about employment, academic credentials, publications, contributions or other significant achievements.
A good place to get started is to make a list of all of your experiences under key categories and then to prioritize them within those based on their relevance to the graduate program to which you are applying. Because CVs can be longer than one page it is easy for important information to be missed, so highlighting important information is critical.
The first page of your CV should include your name, address, phone number and email address. Subsequent pages should list your name and page number in the header. You may also want to consider including an Objective and Summary of Qualifications sections on your first page as well.
Use action words to describe your experiences and be concise with your descriptions. Since people read from left to right and top to bottom, put your most important information toward the top or in the left hand column of each page. For example, emphasize the name of the position, award, or institution by placing those in the left hand column, not the dates of your experiences.
Experiment with different formats for your CV. Two to three pages is an appropriate length for most graduate school applicants, although length will vary depending on your experience.
Involve the people who will be providing references for you in developing your CV. It will allow them to become more familiar with your background and abilities, while providing you with invaluable advice on tailoring your CV for your particular discipline.
Be sure to proofread your vita several times for grammatical and typographical errors. It is always good practice to have other trusted colleagues or friends look at it.
- Professional, Vocational or Research Objective
- Summary of Qualifications
- Education including post-graduate, graduate and undergraduate degrees. Degree holders and candidates should list the title of their dissertation or thesis.
- Educational or Professional Honors, Awards and Grants, which may include fellowships, scholarships, and other awards. Be specific about your honors without being wordy.
- Scientific or Academic Research, Laboratory Experience and Related Skills
- Description of Thesis or Dissertation, Papers Written, Publications (include dates of publications or full citations and articles in review)
- Academic or Professional Presentations with title, name of conference, location, and date. Do not include minor presentations for which a full submission process has not been required.
- Related Extracurricular Activities, Professional and Association Memberships
- Related Work Experience, paid or volunteer
- Professional Licenses, Certifications or Memberships
- Community Involvement
- Technical and Specialized Skills such as Computer Programming or Laboratory Instrumentation
- Interests - Future Academic or Professional Goals
- Travel / Exposure to Cultural Experiences
- Foreign Language Skills
- Additional Information that May Support Objective or Qualifications
- Anything exaggerated or untruthful
- Personal information
- Photos
- Grammar school or high school information
- Grade point averages. You may, however, say that you graduated with distinction or cum laude, etc.
- A list of all your courses. These will be listed on your transcript. It is not necessary to list qualifying, comprehensive or preliminary examinations passed.
- Summer or short-term jobs unless professionally relevant.
- Emphasis on routine tasks such as grading papers or constructing tests.
- Rebecca Anthony and Gerald Roe. Curriculum Vitae Handbook: How to Present and Promote Your Academic Career. San Francisco: Rudi Publishing, 1998.
- Mary Morris Heiberger and Julia Miller Vick. The Academic Job Search Handbook. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1996.
- UNL Career Services: Writing a Curriculum Vita
Letters of Recommendation
Letters of recommendation are a standard part of the application packet for graduate programs. Typically admissions committees ask for three or four letters. Be sure to verify the specific number required by your department and do not send extra letters. It's quite likely that they will not read more than the requested number.
Letters of recommendation allow established scholars to substantiate your potential as a graduate student and your ability to make significant contributions to your field. Keep this in mind when determining whom to ask for letters. Recommenders should be familiar with your work in the classroom -- research, writing, critical thinking, group participation, etc. At least one recommender should have worked closely with you on a research project. If you are applying to a Ph.D. program and have already completed a master's degree, your thesis advisor should be included as a recommender.
Remember that the purpose of graduate school is to become an expert in a selected field, and letters of recommendation should reflect your ability and desire to do that. Evidence of campus leadership or volunteer activity, while important, should be contained in the academic resume and should not be the focus of a recommendation letter, unless such activity is intimately tied to your academic program (i.e., service-learning programs). In addition to faculty members, other appropriate recommenders might be administrators, research supervisors, or perhaps an employer if the work is directly related to your goals for graduate education.
Be sure to spend time and discuss your qualifications and intentions with your proposed recommender. Be clear that you would like a positive letter from him or her and ask if he or she would be willing to provide you with one. After you have selected your recommenders, give them plenty of time to complete the task. Recommenders should have at minimum 3 to 6 weeks to complete letters; remember that it is likely they will also be writing letters for other students as well.
The logistics of submitting letters of recommendation vary by program. Some may ask that letters be sent directly from the recommender to the department; others will ask that you submit the letters in sealed envelopes (with a signature across the flap) along with the other application materials. Be sure to follow the requirements for each department.
Provide them with copies of your CV, personal statement, and your academic transcript, even if they are still in the draft stage. Volunteer to meet with them and answer any questions about your research interests. Create a checklist of the schools to which you are applying, the number of copies necessary for each school, and the dates by which you need their letters.
Create a packet of materials for them. This packet should include the materials above, as well as any forms required by the programs to which you are applying. You should also provide addressed, stamped envelopes for mailing if they will be sending letters directly to your programs. If you will be including the letters with your other application materials, set up a time to collect the letter from each recommender, or provide a large envelope for mailing the letter to you.
Remember to follow up with your recommenders. A simple phone call or email a week before your deadline will provide a kind reminder that they are sure to appreciate.
Writing Samples
Some departments require applicants to submit a writing sample as part of the application packet. Be sure to contact your department directly to verify the need for a writing sample and any specific requirements about submissions. Many departments request that applicants to the doctoral program submit all or parts of the master's thesis. For applicants to a master's program, a senior thesis, or the product of a capstone course in your discipline is a good choice.
Remember that committees will be reading large quantities of paperwork from a number of applicants and will appreciate your ability to follow directions and adhere to the requested number of pages. Use standard formatting for fonts and margins. Typically this is 12-point Times New Roman and 1-inch margins. Avoid fonts that are small or hard to read.
The key to success in selecting a good writing sample is to understand that the purpose of the writing sample is to provide evidence of your writing skills, your familiarity with the discipline, and the ability to complete a sustained research project (even if it's only a 10-15 page paper).
Admissions committees learn two key things about an applicant from the writing sample:
Your ability as a writer.
Edit, revise, and ask for input from others. Good writing samples are free of spelling and grammatical errors, and demonstrate the ability to write complex sentences, coherent paragraphs, and succinct arguments. Select a piece on which you've already received feedback (i.e., a grade from a professor or the approval of a thesis committee) rather than writing something new.
Your ability as a scholar -- namely research and analysis.
Generally, your sample should have a clear thesis and substantive data and resources to support your argument. English departments value a wider range of genres (fiction, poetry, creative non-fiction, literary criticism). Your selection should be a piece in which you put forth a unique argument (not one that is self-evident or repetitive) and should utilize the types of resources common to your field. For historians, this would mean the use of primary sources as the foundation of your argument. Sociologists might rely on a data set, whereas scientists would provide evidence of an experiment and its outcomes. Be sure to make proper use of the preferred citation style for your discipline (i.e., APA, MLA, Chicago, ASM, AMA).
One final consideration in the selection of your writing sample is your comfort with the material. You should be familiar with the subject and be able to talk easily about your research. Remember that this reflects your interest, and should not be written merely to further the research agenda(s) of a potential advisor or department in which you are interested.
