How To Write a Winning Graduate School Essay
Many students apply to graduate schools to achieve their academic and career goals. These students have to submit graduate school essays with their applications. Writing a graduate school essay can be daunting if unfamiliar with the process. Here are some tips that can help write a winning graduate school essay.
What is a Graduate School Essay?
Approach graduate essay writing services to clearly understand for what purpose your graduate school has asked you to submit your graduate school essay. It is important because you will get a clear idea about the purpose of these essays. These services will write your graduate schools will take information from you and write the essay according to the standards set by graduate schools.
These essays, which are also known as grad school personal statements,include an introduction of the candidate and the personal reasons for applying to a particular program. Though it is a short essay, the personal statement has a lot of significance. The admission committees are particularly interested in knowing why you want to apply to a certain department.
Institutions encourage candidates applying for admissions to also mention writing research and career goals in this personal statement. The information related to career and research goals helps the admission committee decide whether the candidate is fit for a particular program. You should write them so that they are interlinked with your life experiences. The essay for graduate school allows you to point up some other factors that are not available in the application.
By understanding what a graduate essay is, you will identify the following points that you should mention in your graduate school essay.
- The key points you want to communicate about yourself;
- The personal characteristics that make you a strong candidate;
- The prior knowledge you have about the field;
- The cause of concerns in your application that you need to clarify;
- The skills that set you apart;
- The way you fought with difficulties of life;
- The lessons you have learned after facing those difficulties;
- A realization that sparked personal growth;
- An idea that you find engaging and would like to discuss;
- The tech knowledge you would like to share.
Read The Instructions
You must understand what the graduate school expects from your graduate school essay.You need to read the instructions provided by the graduate school, and it will give you a clear idea about the format and content of your statement. You need to determine whether your graduate school recommends a specific graduate school essay format.
In case there is a particular format, understand the requirements of that format and write your statement accordingly. Look particularly for the following points the format requires.
- How much Spacing is required in the personal statement? Is it standard cover letter spacing;
- Word count, usually, you are asked to write 700 to 1000 words;
- Usually, they ask for 5 to 8 paragraphs for the number of paragraphs;
- The starting and ending of the essay;
- How you will present the contact and personal info.
While you are reading the instructions, pay attention to the details. Some graduate schools ask you to address specific prompts, such as writing about a defining moment of your life. You should have a clear plan to address such a prompt. While writing your answer to such a prompt, you should consider these points.
- How that moment changed your life;
- What do you learn from it;
- How has it changed your life;
Brainstorming
The process of writing your graduate essay may take days as it is something that requires detailed planning. While you are brainstorming, you don’t have to write full sentences. You can jot down your ideas in phrases. You need to recall the necessary details and dates that you might need. You need to brainstorm about the following academic and professional experiences.
- How have your interests focused over time?
- What sparked your interest in the particular field?
- How have you distinguish yourself in your major?
- What research projects have you worked on?
You need to think about how you will show your scholarly temperament in your statement. You need to think about the traits that demonstrate your following capabilities.
- Academic ability;
- Intellectual curiosity;
- Intellectual flexibility;
- Critical thinking;
- Initiative and independence;
- Diligence and persistence;
- Resilience and creativity;
- Humility and generosity;
- Good humor.
Use a Professional Tone
You should make sure that the tone of your statement remains professional throughout the essay. You need to make a sincere effort to bring sobriety in your tone. Write with precision and avoid jargon. Your objective should be that your statement is concise, clear, and engaging.
Using a professional and respectful tone is important while portraying your personality in front of your readers. You need to respect the formality of the institution while you write about your life experiences. You should not overshare or add intimate details when reflecting upon a life experience. To maintain a professional tone, avoid these mistakes.
- Avoid using jokes and humorous clichés;
- Don’t criticize your current school;
- Don’t mention the experience that doesn’t show any particular trait or is not related to the courses you will take;
- Don’t give explanations about your medical and mental problems;
- Don’t put too many details.
Introductions and Conclusions
While writing your graduate school essay, make sure you have a strong start. In the beginning, you should grab the attention of your readers immediately. You need to make sure that your start is interesting and captivating. In the beginning, you should open your essay as you are announcing yourself. Ensure that the admission committee is impressed with the way you announce yourself.
Similarly, your conclusion should also be well written to leave a lasting impression on the readers. One of the best ways of writing a conclusion is to reflect on the hook. You should use the concluding paragraph to mention why the graduate school should give you admission. Make sure you convey your goals with humility.
Purposeful Paragraphs
Writing well-written purposeful paragraphs is key to writing winning graduate school essays. You need to ensure that each paragraph is used for a distinct purpose and focuses on specific quality. If you describe any life-changing event in a paragraph, make sure that you provide evidence and detail in a similar paragraph, and the same paragraph should also include the lesson you learned from that event.
After writing your statement, make sure that you proofread it for any mistakes. You need to make sure that you have not committed any grammatical or spelling mistakes because it will leave a good impression on the admission committee. You can ask multiple people to read your graduate essay before submitting it. By submitting a good graduate essay, you can increase your chances of admission to your dream graduate school.