Sam Sturdivant's picture
Sam Sturdivant from Hayward, Ca is reading Murphy January 18, 2013 - 11:46am

So I'm applying to my school's MA program for literature, and I've been tasked with writing a statement of purpose. I've looked at every example and webinar you can find when you google "statement of purpose", but all that seems to do is further complicate things. Every site tells you fifty different things you need to try and cram in to a two page paper. All the prompt says is to write a one to two page paper about why I'm interested in the study of literature, but I don't know where to start. I've never published anything and have very little field experience in anything having to do with literature. All that I really have is what I've learned while getting my undergrad degree in the discipline. Am I overcomplicating the issue? Should I just write and about what I've learned and why I like literature? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

wearecreative's picture
wearecreative from SE Pennsylvania is reading A Simple Act of Gratitude, When the Body Speaks, The Emotion Thesaurus, The Intercept January 18, 2013 - 1:36pm

I had done a "statement of purpose" for a non-profit that I've been working on trying to get a concept for starting.  It was just a sentence or two that stated what the non-profit was going to be, who it was going to serve and how.  I tried to find it but alas, it must have been lost when my hard drive crashed.

Kym

Bradley Sands's picture
Bradley Sands from Boston is reading Greil Marcus's The History of Rock 'N' Roll in Ten Songs January 18, 2013 - 3:42pm

Write why you want to study literature. What do you plan to use your degree for? What do you hope to get out of the program? Who are your favorite authors? Favorite books? Why? Write about your experience studying literature as an undergrad. Why do you want to be in this particular program rather than a lit program at a different college?

Jack Campbell Jr.'s picture
Jack Campbell Jr. from Lawrence, KS is reading American Rust by Phillipp Meyer January 18, 2013 - 4:02pm

You are mostly over-complicating it.

They just want to know why you think the study of literature is important, why you want to take part in it, and what your goals are within the field. It's a graduate program, so that means a research focus. Think of what society can learn from literature and from the way it is produced and base it off that. I like what Martha Nussbaum says about literature. Essentially, it develops the "narrative imaginaiton" which allows us to see things from the pespectives of others who don't share our background. You could also go with literature as a source of perspective for the society that created it.

You don't need to have published anything or have done any research in the past. What they want to know is that you have a desire to perform the research and contribute your criticism and findings to the academic study of literature. You can definitely mention writing and a love of books. Really, it can be about anything. Just think of what you would be doing as a grad student and argue why you are a good person to be doing it.

Sam Sturdivant's picture
Sam Sturdivant from Hayward, Ca is reading Murphy January 18, 2013 - 5:23pm

Excellent, thanks for the info! Everything you guys posted really helped me wrap my head around it.