一位副教授对PS写作的建议.doc

1、一位副教授对 PS 写作的建议 作者：Teamtalent 搜集整理Ive read many applications to our graduate program, and Ive seen a lot of statements of purpose that, frankly, arent very good. Here are some thoughts and comments that will hopefully help you write a better statement of purpose. These are merely my own thoughts and

2、 should not be construed as official guidelines of any sort. What the statement of purpose is not Many students (particularly foreign students) think that the statement of purpose is about character. While honesty, sincerety, conscientiousness, etc. are important attributes, I assume students with g

3、ood academic records applying to graduate school have these traits. Many students think that the statement of purpose should be an autobiographical sketch. Believe me, the story of your first computer when you were 10 years old and how it inspired you to devote your life to Computer Science does not

4、 make particularly interesting reading, nor does it tell me the things I want to know. Questions that your statement of purpose should answerWhen I read a statement of purpose (which I think is one of the most important parts of a graduate application), I have the following questions in mind. Dont s

5、tructure your statement with these questions! (I can just see the applications pouring in now with my questions used as section headings.) Your statement of purpose should be a cohesive piece of prose. (Some use of section headings is OK, but not with my questions.) It should present yourself to the

6、 reader. One way you can think of your statement is as an extended (and somewhat more formal) answer to the interview question, “Tell me about yourself.” While some of my questions below can (and should) be answered directly, the rest should be addressed by relating relevant experiences and accompli

7、shments. Why do you want to get a PhD (or MS)? What are your research interests? Be as specific as possible, but keep in mind who will be reading your application. In the Rensselaer CS department, research groups read applications the one(s) you specify on your application. At other schools, a depar

8、tment committee may read all applications and decide upon admissions on behalf of the whole department. For the Rensselaer CS department, unless you are an exceptional student with a broad range of experience/accomplishments, you should target your application to just one research group a student wh

9、o specifies interest in robotics and networking, for example, may not be taken seriously by either group. Multiple faculty within a research group will read your application. Why are you interested in these research topics? Dont write an autobiography! Do you have the motivation/perseverence to comp

10、lete a PhD? If you have an undergraduate degree in something other than Computer Science or Computer Engineering, then another question is: do you have the background to pass the PhD qualifiers? The statement of purpose is also an opportunity to describe some of your accomplishments and their signif

11、icance. The reader will not be familiar with the programs, competitions, examinations, etc. for all parts of the United States, not to mention other countries. Other things to keep in mind Format: Single spaced (or maybe even “one and a half“ spacing, but definitely not double spaced) with at least

12、a 10 point font and reasonable margins (at least 1 inch on all sides, preferrably more on the left and right with a 10 point font). Length: Definitely not more than 2 pages! (Who has time to read more than that?) When I was applying to graduate schools, I was advised to keep my statement of purpose

13、to a single page. I now think that this was not good advice one page tends to be too short if youre covering everything you should. Dont try to “cram“ more into your two pages using typographical tricks (line spacing, font size, margins, etc.) Youre not fooling anyone. Inability to write a concise s

14、tatement of purpose indicates a lack of critical thinking skills. I should duly note that most undergraduate Computer Science students confuse “concise“ with “short“. “Concise“ means that you have given thought to the composition of your statement to make it a clear and cohesive piece of prose (with

15、 a natural/logical flow) that covers all the necessary points and doesnt cover unnecessary points. “Short“ pieces of writing are usually too short because they omit important points, arent cohesive, etc. Spell check it! Get someone else to proofread it! Special note to Chinese (and some Indian) faculty.Fer cryin out loud, stop saying that every student is your favorite student! I never really believe it anyway.