Lesson 5: Brainstorming
Before thinking in any more detail about the particular interests, specific experiences, or relevant accomplishments that have motivated and prepared you to apply for an advanced degree, step back to consider the skills that you’ve honed thus far. Graduate programs seek students who can demonstrate certain key traits. You won’t necessarily possess all of these, and certainly not in equal measure, but think about which resonate with you. Which ones do you feel like you can claim for yourself? And what evidence can you offer to support that claim?
seriousness of purpose
academic ability
intellectual curiosity
intellectual flexibility
critical thinking
ability to take feedback
maturity
collegiality
initiative and independence
diligence and persistence
resilience and creativity
enthusiasm
humility and generosity
cheerfulness
good humor
To begin generating ideas for your statement, reflect on the qualities you’ve chosen. How can you demonstrate those qualities to readers? What specific examples can you describe from the recent past that might demonstrate each? Begin to connect your academic and professional experiences to three or four of these qualities. Now you have a general sense of what your statement of purpose should be about.
These characteristics or qualities compose your scholarly temperament, which is not the same as your personality. Professors will read your statement less to gauge whether you’re smart enough or experienced enough to succeed in graduate school (your transcripts and resume or CV tell them that) but if you have the right temperament.
Professor Alan Jacobs:
“The more pressing and germane questions [than intelligence or experience] involve a student’s temperament. I think many more people have the smarts to succeed in grad school, and in academia as a profession, than have the temperament to do so. What is that temperament? Well, I tend to know it when I see it, but it’s hard to describe. Some of the necessary traits are stubbornness in certain matters combined with extreme flexibility in others; self-knowledge; and a highly developed sense of irony. If those are lacking even the sharpest mind might not be sufficient compensation, because academia is a whole culture, not just an intellectual environment.”
Next, consider the possible academic and professional experiences that you might detail in your statement. What sparked your initial interest in the field? How did you then pursue that interest beyond just taking more classes? How have your interests focused over time? How have you learned even more about this field in conversations with others--including classes, readings, and seminars as well as direct contact with professors--and through work or other experiences? How have you distinguished yourself in your major, beyond your GPA? Most important, what research projects have you pursued?
(Also, are there any gaps or weaknesses in your academic record that you will need to explain? Here’s more about how to handle tricky topics, but for now be sure to take note of what happened, why, and what you learned.)
You might ask faculty members (or supervisors, if you are applying to professional programs after years out of school) who have agreed to write letters of recommendation on your behalf what they will highlight or what they think makes you a strong applicant. You can use their insights to help generate more ideas.
Note that faculty members will generally write their letters independently; if you have chosen to include a letter from a non-academic professional in your field, that person might ask for you to provide some bullet points. Either way, having a conversation with your recommenders about how you see yourself and how they see you can be very useful. Watch and listen to how faculty members react when you talk about your skills and experience. What interests them most will also appeal to an admissions committee! You should also go back to your recommenders with a very nearly final draft of your statement before they write your letters. It will help them to focus their attention on the qualities and experiences you have highlighted. Be sure to welcome and incorporate any feedback they might offer.
Do not depend on your faculty members to read multiple drafts of your statement: A key point in the care and feeding of faculty members is not to show them work until you have exhausted every possibility of making it the best it can be. Show faculty members only your most polished draft, then accept their feedback graciously.
While brainstorming, try to avoid crafting full sentences. Jot down ideas, take quick notes, recall details and dates and specifics from your past, but don’t yet try to shape them into complete thoughts. If you start writing full sentences while brainstorming, you risk beginning to solidify your ideas before they have even emerged. Some people like to sketch-note as a brainstorming process; others sometimes record themselves speaking aloud or talking with a friend (ask permission first!) about their grad school plans.
Finally, step back and reflect on your answer to the question “why graduate school?” Do your ideas (the qualities you claim and the evidence that illustrates them) match up with your initial answer? If so, then you are ready to start drafting.
