「motivation letter」 for a fully-funded scholarship
One of our clients, Eden, is currently studying in Germany with a fully-funded DAAD scholarship for his PhD in mathematics. Today we invite Cherry who crafted his motivation letter to explain what it takes to make a lasting impression on your reviewer through your letter writing.
First, let us introduce you to Cherry: ●Chinese Kiwi living in New Zealand since the age of seven ●Graduate of University of Auckland, with majors in Accounting, Marketing and Management ●Previously a Career Booth volunteer for University of Auckland Business School, providing CV check and cover letter reviews for students ●Excellent communicator in both English and Chinese, she has translated and interpreted on numerous occasions for schools, work and community events (eg. Hangzhou G20 Summit official promo video translation)
Hello! Hi everyone, welcome to PhD Planet, my name is Cherry. Today I’d like to share a few tips on writing a memorable motivation letter. When applying for universities we often come across application documents such as Personal Statements (PS), Statements of Purpose (SOP), Research Proposals (RP), Writing Samples and Essays. Some institutions require submitting a Motivation Letter (ML) and one of such cases has been helping Eden get his DAAD scholarship in financial mathematics. 1. State of Mind First and foremost, your state of mind is critically important when you begin writing your Motivation Letter. You should ask yourself: “why do I really want to apply for this university?” and be very clear on that. Readers will pick up on your sincerity. My recommendation is to do plenty of research and know exactly why you want to study in this particular country and university. Once you have these it will be much easier for you to express yourself. Another tip is to find a place where you can focus and enter a state of mind where you are able to let your writing flow without being disrupted. 2. Length of Writing Always keep your motivation letter to one page.
Why? Because reviewers simply do not have the time to read lengthy letters! More often than not when you have written two pages it is because 1) you have not been succinct enough and/or 2) you are trying to express too many ideas at once. Read over your writing and make sure every sentence and paragraph serves a clear purpose, so that the reviewer can finish reading your letter within a minute or two.
3. Content When writing motivation letters I do the following:
A) Discover your unique experiences and narrate it as a story. I carefully analyse the applicant’s material and identify your unique experiences and strengths. This is both in terms of your academic and personal background. In essence many people apply for similar reasons and many even share similar qualifications, but what has led everyone to their decision to apply is different. To create a lasting impression, you have to highlight these differences. Was there a particular person/event that helped you make the decision to apply or were you gradually exposed to your area of expertise? How did you get to where you are today? Flesh out your story by sharing the details: what was your “aha!” moment during that internship? What book changed your perspective on your subject and how? Share one or two of these with the reviewer and they can almost imagine you standing right in front of them, rather than just another email attachment with some words on it. B) Research the institution you are applying for. While writing for Eden, I spent a long time learning about the university that he applied for, including its key differences and what appealed most to Eden. Was it the professor, the culture or something else? It’s always a good idea to spend time getting to know the university you are applying for. The official website is always a good starting point, but there is more to this. For example, you could try their social media because quite often it is updated regularly and the content is more relevant to everyday life on campus. You may even find some Facebook groups related to your particular course. C) Research the place you will be visiting and explain why you would choose to study there. This is particularly important for applicants who are applying for a less ‘popular’ country, because reviewers would often wonder why you would forego hot spots such as the US and the UK, to choose to a less well-known country/city. If you can relate the location to what you study that would be the best. For example, Eden studies mathematics and Germany has raised many outstanding mathematicians over the centuries. In the letter I suggested certain qualities in the culture and educational system has fostered growth in bringing up excellent scholars in mathematics. I discovered these after doing my research, so it is clear to say that sufficient research is fundamental.
4. Summary As a summary, I notice from past experience the following being the most difficult for Chinese applicants when writing motivation letters. ▼ Length of writing – it can be difficult to fit all the content perfectly onto one page. To resolve this issue I usually do the following: Step 1: put all your ideas down on paper first, regardless of length; Step 2: carefully review the meaning of each sentence. If some information is repetitive or can be integrated with others, then combine two sentences into one. Delete every sentence/phrase that does not add much value to your application. This can be a time-consuming process; Step 3: check your choice of words, sentence/paragraph structure, logic, grammar, spelling and formatting. * The challenge here is to fully express yourself in limited space, which can be much more difficult than writing long sentences. My rule of thumb is to express one idea in one sentence. If you have many ideas within one sentence, then keep the sentence no longer than three lines. Alternate between longer and shorter sentences to retain the reviewer’s engagement. ▼ Wording and phrasing- with English being a second language, finding the right words to express yourself can be challenging. We all know examples where the dictionary meaning is quite different to how we use it in everyday life. This is an issue which many Chinese applicants often encounter. A good motivation letter doesn’t necessarily involve complex vocabulary or sentence structures. The key is to be clear. Bear in mind this is formal/academic writing, so the end goal is for readers to understand you. Having said that, pay attention to the rhythm of your writing. For example if you have three shorter sentences consecutively it can get pretty boring for the reader but if you have three particularly long sentences one after another, it becomes difficult to comprehend. While content is the most important, your ability to communicate clearly in a pleasant manner will make your ideas standout from the rest.
Now you have two options ahead of you: 1) Write your own motivation letter – I hope these tips will come in handy to you! 2) Seek help from PhD Planet, it has a team of experts who will create/edit a fully tailored motivation letter to put your best foot forward in getting that sought-after offer. PhD Planet is your one-stop shop for applying for overseas institutions. 订阅号原文链接： https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/uzUsPZkJpJr8lSMr1Xpktw
