Statements of Purpose

Copyright © 2018 Central European University. All rights reserved.

Of all the different types of text you will have to write in the academic world, the statement of purpose is one of the most difficult, not least because it is about you. We spend our time trying to eliminate ourselves from other academic writing, from research proposals or from term papers. Now you have to write a paper about yourself. Like any other academic genre, a statement of purpose has a logical structure and development, and its purpose is to simultaneously show why you are the best candidate for a given course or grant, and why this course or grant is the most suitable one for you. This page will tell you how to do this. But don't leave it at that: when you have finished, come to the Writing Center and discuss your statement of purpose with us. The resulting revised draft will be even more effective.

Do Answer the Question!

Attract the Reader's Attention

Capture the reader's attention - examples

How to start off

The Structure of a Statement of Purpose 

How much detail to provide

Some sample statements of purpose

Some further sources to help you