I am working on my application now, and am a little fuzzy on what makes a great SOP. can anyone point me towards some, maybe even your own, which are good? any help or advice would be greatly appreciated.
as you might imagine: Japanese. of course, i can't decide if i want to do linguistics of literature. i took the GRE, and now the SOP is the main thing i gots to work on. Joe, Dr. Wehmeyer and Matsuzaki-sensei are gonna be my 3 recs.
did you ever get around to reading some Murakami? cause you really need to. i'm on my 7th or so of his, and each time i read him, i kind of imagine the narrator is the bizarro-japan version of you. because his sensibilities seem like yours. it's odd. this indicates to me that you'd appreciate him though.
One of the people I work with lived in Japan for several years and is going to let me borrow most of Murakami's stuff. Right now I'm reading a copy of Gibson's latest that she is kindly lending me. Once that's done, I have to catch up on Harper's and read Villa Incognito (the main character is a tanuki, of all things). Then it's on to Murakami.
Wind-Up Bird Chronicles is his best; consequently, you might want to not read that one first. I read Dance, Dance, Dance first myself. right now i'm on Wild Sheep Chase, and ol' Haruki is keeping true to form.
i have to renew my New Yorker subscription. man i love that magazine.
your statement should be something like: "i wanna rock and roll all night, and party every day," or maybe, "i'll get this party krunked up."
or maybe you should just discuss what your primary field of interest and intended specialty in japanese will be. grad schools really like you to have an emphasis, so don't just be all like, dude, i wanna study japanese, 'cause i already speak it, and it just sorta seems like thats what i should do.
i cannot believe i actually wrote most of the stuff in this post.
"While there are many who want to 'get this party started.' I believe it is critical to 'get this party started right.' Now, if you will join me in throwing your hands in the air, and waving them about in a fashion which indicates that you just don't care..."
certainly though, the professors will understand the drive to get krunk.
"say hoOoo"whatuphomieSeptember 3 2004, 00:51:14 UTC
yeah, that sounds about right.
lo and behold you love language studies! me too. i speak spanish and hungarian quite well, and i've almost got english down. (also,i have been practicing writing the katakana off and on for the past few years)
anywho...we chose the same top five bookclub books. this sorta made me curious and want to be your friend. so i added you to my friends list. cheers~amy
Things that are good to include in a statement of purpose:
1. what you ultimately would like to do. 2. how this program, in particular, would be good for you considering these goals. 3. past experiences that demonstrate the appropriateness of this program for you and vice versa.
These are the general things any statement of purpose should have.
Things that should not be included in a statement of purpose:
1. I want to go to grad school because the economy is bad and this is an alternative to trying to start a career. 2. "I like Japanese. It's just so cool." 3. Two more years of keg parties and drunk freshman girls wearing short skirts.
These things will surely result in a rejection from any reputable program.
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did you ever get around to reading some Murakami? cause you really need to. i'm on my 7th or so of his, and each time i read him, i kind of imagine the narrator is the bizarro-japan version of you. because his sensibilities seem like yours. it's odd. this indicates to me that you'd appreciate him though.
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One of the people I work with lived in Japan for several years and is going to let me borrow most of Murakami's stuff. Right now I'm reading a copy of Gibson's latest that she is kindly lending me. Once that's done, I have to catch up on Harper's and read Villa Incognito (the main character is a tanuki, of all things). Then it's on to Murakami.
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i have to renew my New Yorker subscription. man i love that magazine.
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Can I get it to you at dinner tonight or do you need it sooner than that?
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or maybe you should just discuss what your primary field of interest and intended specialty in japanese will be. grad schools really like you to have an emphasis, so don't just be all like, dude, i wanna study japanese, 'cause i already speak it, and it just sorta seems like thats what i should do.
i cannot believe i actually wrote most of the stuff in this post.
Reply
"While there are many who want to 'get this party started.' I believe it is critical to 'get this party started right.' Now, if you will join me in throwing your hands in the air, and waving them about in a fashion which indicates that you just don't care..."
certainly though, the professors will understand the drive to get krunk.
Reply
lo and behold you love language studies! me too. i speak spanish and hungarian quite well, and i've almost got english down.
(also,i have been practicing writing the katakana off and on for the past few years)
anywho...we chose the same top five bookclub books. this sorta made me curious and want to be your friend. so i added you to my friends list.
cheers~amy
Reply
1. what you ultimately would like to do.
2. how this program, in particular, would be good for you considering these goals.
3. past experiences that demonstrate the appropriateness of this program for you and vice versa.
These are the general things any statement of purpose should have.
Things that should not be included in a statement of purpose:
1. I want to go to grad school because the economy is bad and this is an alternative to trying to start a career.
2. "I like Japanese. It's just so cool."
3. Two more years of keg parties and drunk freshman girls wearing short skirts.
These things will surely result in a rejection from any reputable program.
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