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  The first paragraph of your personal statement, one or two sentences,
should make clear the purpose of your writing: to
present an interpretive summary of your background, academic interests,
and future goals as justification for your admission to
a program of graduate study.

  The second paragraph interprets your background for the graduate
admissions committee. This paragraph should establish
your academic preparation for the program to which you have applied. If
you have been a strong student throughout your
undergraduate years, you may call attention to what you believe have been
strong combinations of courses which seem to fit
your prospective graduate program well. If you have had ups and downs as
your prospective graduate program well. If you have had ups and downs as
an undergraduate, you may call attention to
progressive improvement in your studies: i.e., the difference between your
junior/senior GPA and your freshman/sophomore
GPA or your record in selected course work that is directly related to the
kinds of course work that you will undertake as a
graduate student. If you scored well on whatever graduate examination that
you took, you may want to cite that fact as well.
Keep in mind that graduate admissions committees want assurance that you
will be a successful student. If you have had
relevant experiences, you may mention them here, too. Some graduate
programs such as applied sociology or social work or
resource development, etc. look for evidence that you have already sought
out ways to translate your academic background
into practical, professionally oriented applications. In short, this
paragraph should assure the graduate admissions committee
that you have matured during your undergraduate years, that your
intellectual and professional interests have taken shape, and
that you have begun a conscientious progress toward professional
development.

  In this example format, the third paragraph will be a description of
your professional goals. (This paragraph and the next,
however, could be reversed.) Though your letter takes the general shape of
a summary of your interests and background, it
also builds an argument for your admission to a particular graduate
program. The logic of this argument runs this way: I know
what interests me; I know that I would like to engage in this work as my
profession; and I believe that the necessary, most
logical way to assure me of success in this profession is to earn this
graduate degree. This paragraph describes what you know
about the professional careers to which this course of graduate study may
lead. Generally, people who pursue graduate
degrees tend toward any of four professional occupations: academic, public
service, private industry, or self-employment (i.e.,
writers, lawyers, physicians, etc.). Though you do not have to commit
yourself to one career only, you are best served by
presenting to the admissions committee as specific as ideas as possible
about what you intend to do with their degree. If you
know that you would eventually like to be a business consultant
specializing in labor market analysis, say so. Such a statement
indicates to the committee that you are goal oriented, that you are
capable of identifying what you want and of developing a
systematic means to attain it. This paragraph, in conjunction with the
previous one, assures the admissions committee that you
are an applicant with a purpose.

  The fourth paragraph, which describes what you intend to study in
graduate school, should tighten your argument. Now that
you have made clear your interests, background, and professional goals,
you must make the case that the best way for you to
bridge your undergraduate years and your successful performance as a
professional is to study what this particular graduate
program offers. Be as specific as you can. Learn what courses this
graduate program offers. Identify its faculty members and
what research they are conducting. Know the program's reputation, its
strengths and its weaknesses. Your undergraduate
professors can be of very great assistance in this regard. If, say, you
are interested in pursuing advanced work in cognitive
psychology, your application will not be most appropriately sent to a
department that is trying to make its name in
industrial/organizational behavior. As you describe your reasons for
applying to this particular program try to link your interest
with what you know is available through that program and its parent
college or university. If you know that it encourages
practicum experience, something you want, say so. If some of your
undergraduate texts or assignments have utilized materials
produced by that program, say so. Offer suggestions about combinations of
courses or faculty advisors that you think might be
especially imaginative or productive. This paragraph, thus, accomplishes
two ends: you place this graduate program in the
continuum of your own professional development and you demonstrate that
you have applied to it as the result of an informed,
reflective selection process of your own.

Your personal statement should close with a brief summary of your
background and goals, again just a sentence or two. This
last statement reaffirms both your preparation and your confidence that
your choice of this graduate program is right.