10 Important Steps to Follow in Writing a Statement of Purpose for Graduate School Application

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.