Statement of Purpose怎么写

Personal Statement(个人陈述)和Statement of Purpose(目标陈述), 是申请美国硕博时绕不开的留学文书写作难题。大多数学校会PS和SOP二选其一，而且还往往会模糊二者的区别。但是，就有些学校特别不辞辛苦，认真严肃。就比如今天这篇的主角，加州大学伯克利分校 UC Berkeley。在研究生的申请页面上，伯克利明确要求，PS和SOP都得写，且内容不得重复。为区分二者的内容，官网上还给了一些有用的提示和建议。

The statement of purpose should convince readers–the faculty on the selection committee–that you have solid achievements behind you that show promise for your success in graduate study. Think of the statement of purpose as a composition with four different parts.
目标陈述应该让读者——录取委员会的全体成员——相信你有着扎实的成就，表明你有望在研究生学习中取得成功。把目标陈述理解成一个由四个不同部分组成的组合。

Part 1: Introduce yourself, your interests and motivations
第一部分: 介绍你自己，你的兴趣和动机

Tell them what you’re interested in, and perhaps, what sparked your desire for graduate study. This should be short and to the point; don’t spend a great deal of time on autobiography.
告诉他们你对什么感兴趣，也许是什么激发了你对研究生学习的渴望。这应该简短扼要；不要在自传上花太多时间。

Part 2: Summarize your undergraduate and previous graduate career
第二部分: 总结你的本科和以前的研究生生涯

a) Research you conducted. Indicate with whom, the title of the project, what your responsibilities were, and the outcome. Write technically, or in the style of your discipline. Professors are the people who read these statements.
你进行的研究。指出与谁合作，项目的标题，你的责任以及结果。写得技术些，或者按照你的学科风格写。教授是阅读这些陈述的人。

b) Important paper or thesis project you completed, as well as anything scholarly beyond your curricular requirements.
你完成的重要论文或论文项目，以及任何超出你课程要求的学术论文。

c) Work experience, especially if you had any kind of responsibility for testing, designing, researching or interning in an area similar to what you wish to study in graduate school.
工作经验，尤其是如果你在一个与你希望在研究生院学习的领域相似的领域里有任何测试、设计、研究或实习的职责。

Part 3: Discuss the relevance of your recent and current activities
第三部分:讨论你最近和当前活动的相关性

If you graduated and worked prior to returning to grad school, indicate what you’ve been doing: company or non-profit, your work/design team, responsibilities, what you learned. You can also indicate here how this helped you focus your graduate studies.
如果你在回到研究生学习之前已经毕业并工作了，说明你一直在做什么: 在公司还是在非营利组织，你的工作/设计团队，职责，你学到了什么。你也可以在这里指出这如何帮助你集中你的研究生学习。

Part 4: Elaborate on your academic interests
第四部分:阐述你的学术兴趣

Here you indicate what you would like to study in graduate school in enough detail to convince the faculty that you understand the scope of research in their discipline, and are engaged with current research themes.
在这里，你要足够详细地指出你想在研究生院学习什么，以使教授相信你了解他们学科的研究范围，并参与当前的研究主题。

a) Indicate the area of your interests. Ideally, pose a question, define a problem, or indicate a theme that you would like to address, and questions that arise from contemporary research. This should be an ample paragraph!
指出你感兴趣的领域。理想情况下，提出一个问题，定义一个问题，或者指出一个你想解决的主题，以及当代研究中出现的问题。这应该是一个充实的段落！

b) Look on the web for information about departments you’re interested in, including professors and their research. Are there professors whose research interests parallel yours? If so, indicate this. Check the specific program; many may require you to name a professor or professors with whom you might work.
在网上寻找你感兴趣的部门的信息，包括教授和他们的研究。有研究兴趣与你相似的教授吗？如果是，请指出这一点。检查具体的项目；许多人可能会要求你说出一个或多个你可能与之共事的教授的名字。

c) End your statement in a positive manner,indicating your excitement and readiness for the challenges ahead of you.
以积极的方式结束你的发言，表明你对未来挑战的兴奋和准备。

Essential Tips 基本提示

1. What the admissions committee will read between the lines: self-motivation, competence, potential as a graduate student.
   招生委员会会在字里行间读到什么: 自我激励、能力、作为研究生的潜力。
2. Emphasize everything from a positive perspective and write in an active, not a passive voice.
   从积极的角度强调一切，用积极而非消极的语气写作。
3. Demonstrate everything by example; don’t say directly that you’re a persistent person, show it.
   用例子证明一切；不要直接说你是一个坚持不懈的人，表现出来。
4. If there is something important that happened to you that affected your grades, such as poverty, illness, or excessive work, state it. Write it affirmatively, showing your perseverance despite obstacles. You can elaborate more in your personal statement.
   如果有什么重要的事情发生在你身上，影响了你的成绩，比如贫穷、疾病或过度工作，那就说出来。肯定地写下来，表现出你在克服障碍时的毅力。你可以在你的个人陈述中详细说明。
5. Make sure everything is linked with continuity and focus.
   确保一切都与连续性和焦点联系在一起。
6. Unless the specific program says otherwise, be concise; an ideal essay should say everything it needs to with brevity. Approximately 500 to 1000 well-selected words (1-2 single space pages in 12 point font) is better than more words with less clarity and poor organization.
   除非具体项目另有说明，否则一定要简明扼要；一篇理想的文章应该简洁地说出它需要的一切。大约500到1000个精选的文字(12号字体的1-2个单倍行距页面)比清晰度较低、组织性较差的文字要好。