Here is the prompt :
A clear and relevant essay in English (2,000 - 3,000 words) addressing the following:
* Your motivation for taking the MSc programme of your choice.
* Why you wish to pursue this programme abroad and/or in the Netherlands in particular.
This essay is giving me headaches. I don't know how to organize such a long piece. I mean, I know how to address each point, but how should I arrange them?
The first three points are pretty common SOP stuff, and if I include my research interests, the fourth one goes in too. The problem is the length. It seems like everything should be at least three times the normal length. Where do I find all those words?
The last two are pretty easy. Here the problem is the placement. Should I put them at the end, or do I need to include them somewhere in between?
I do have a structure in mind, but I want some different perspectives. Help anyone! :)
Hello,
Essay is my favorite subject and I am very much excited for getting the new website about the essay.
Hi Ershad,
Regarding the placement of your answers I believe a good strategy is to keep the order they gave you. The order itself has logic: it starts with general subjects and then it goes to your particular interests.
The questions they ask you to answer and the order they provide.. I would consider that a good thing and it's a good structure to start with. They could've had much less info about the essay.
About the length of it, 2000-3000 words, I'm right there with you. But you can brake it in pieces, and you would actually have 6 shorter essays of ~300 words, about 4 paragraphs, which is less then a page.
I hope this helps. Good luck!
Thanks brighita!
I can see what you are trying to say. But I forgot to ask something else. Do I need to include my background, like my internships, research experience...stuff like that, or should I stick to the prompt?
The last aspect of the prompt seems a bit weird. I mean, who asks for full workload? Can't they take a look at my transcript? Anyway, is it necessary to elaborate the courses I've taken, or should I just list them (In any case, there is hardly any room for elaboration.)?
Finally, if I follow the given order, won't the last part of the essay look a bit disjointed from the rest?
I believe it's good and even mandatory to integrate your past experiences, of course. You should use them as arguments in general (answering indirectly to why should they accept you, how your background shows your interests in whatever subject you choose).
I don't want to confuse you, but you should stick to the prompt and also include your history.
I come from a very different field (architecture) then you are and for me it would've been very easy to talk on that last aspect since I only had one final project. That;s why I didn't give it much attention.
Since you just took courses, try to make a story out of it and talk about courses you enjoyed, tha you found interesting and exemplify with grades. The list is already in the transcripts, so write it different, don't list in the essay. Maybe they find the transcripts too abstract and they want to read about your experience from your point of view.
Yes, you have a point with the last part; it may seem to be disjointed. I think the idea of it is to link your near past to the future considering that in the part before this you talked about 3 thesis topics. I think you can change the order of these too so that the brief summary of your last year will provide enough information of what lead you to the 3 thesis topics. In conclusion you can state your choice of these 3.
