Welcome fellow GC-ers to issue No. 2 of Revise and Resubmit, the Writing Center’s newsletter! This May, we’ve got some tips and tricks for writing your Statement of Purpose, a fun game to get you outside, and an exciting highlight from one of our regulars!
Featured Resource: The Ph.D. Application Statement of Purpose
The Statement of Purpose (SOP) is the single most important part of your Ph.D. application. In fact, it is often the first document an Admission’s Committee member will read. The SOP is a document that you will have to revise many times before it’s finished. Try to schedule a ten-draft process. Often, the SOP is the single most frustrating part of your Ph.D. application. On the one hand, you have to sum up your academic identity in just two pages. On the other hand, you have to do this in a way that reads as clear rather than crowded and dense, because you have to assume that the committee may only give your statement a very quick read-through. The SOP’s only purpose is to get you into a Ph.D. program. It’s essentially a marketing document, and you are the product. Here, the person you promote is you as a researcher, potential colleague, and cohort member, which is slightly different from who you are as “a person” outside of the academy. Don’t worry, you will not be held to the research project you detail in your SOP. Happily, once you’re accepted to a program, you never have to look at your SOP again—we promise. Oh, and the SOP happens to be a document that we at the WC specialize in. Our consultants have considerable experience in advising students across the disciplines; so make an appointment and check out our handy guide!
Student Spotlight: Miryam Nacimento
Recently, Miryam Nacimento Beltrán defended her dissertation, which explores the formation of cultural identities among mestizo farmers who produce illicit coca in Colombia, analyzing how they participate in a national campaign for recognition as subjects with political and cultural rights. In fall 2024, Miryam will join Syracuse University as a Post-doc in the Center for the Humanities. In Miryam’s words, “Throughout my years working toward my Ph.D., the feedback I received from regular appointments at the WC provided a space for me to improve my writing, engage in important moments of theorization, develop a writing routine, and realize that good writing is a social activity. In particular, as a multilingual speaker, the constant feedback helped me become more confident.” We wish you all the best Miryam!!!Upcoming Events
- Essay to Article: The Revision and Publication Process — Friday, May 10, at 10AM
- We’re having an end-of-year party, and we want you to join us! Details below:
And Now, Your Writing Break
The end of the semester is nigh and between the stress of finishing up and everything that is going on in the world, we are finding it hard to take a break and enjoy the spring weather, which is finally here. (FINALLY!) That’s why we created this fun NYC bingo game. It got us outside and laughing, and we hope it does the same for you! (P.S. Let us know how you did?)
https://bingobaker.com#6633e67d7579b935
