Around this time last year, I started preparing my graduate applications for universities in the US to pursue a Master’s program involving AI. Graduating from the first cohort of a brand new Bachelor’s program in France, having little research or industry experience, and no publications, I was more determined than ever to produce a statement of purpose (SoP) that will help me stand out from the pool of brilliant applicants.

去年大约这个时候，我开始为美国大学准备研究生申请，以攻读涉及AI的硕士学位。 从法国全新学士学位课程的第一批毕业生毕业，几乎没有研究或行业经验，也没有出版物，所以我比以往任何时候都更加坚定地提出目标声明(SoP)，这将有助于我从以下领域脱颖而出：优秀的申请人。

Few months later, I was delighted to receive admission from all my top choices! Though at first, I had no idea what an SoP was, I must have done something right to have convinced people from all these prestigious universities. To give back to the community, I thought I’d share a few tips I learned or found useful during my SoP writing :)

几个月后，我很高兴收到所有最佳选择的录取！ 尽管起初我不知道SoP是什么，但我必须做一些正确的事才能说服所有这些著名大学的人。 为了回馈社区，我想分享一些我在SoP写作中学到的或发现有用的技巧：)

For those interested, I’ll also include my stats during the time of application, my full essay, programs I was accepted to, programs I was rejected from, and which program I chose at the end of this post.

对于那些感兴趣的人，我还将在申请时提供我的统计信息，我的论文全文，被我接受的程序，被拒绝的程序以及在本文结尾处选择的程序。

Disclaimer: I am just a recent graduate who likes machine learning and blogging and blogging about machine learning, I am by no means qualified to teach how to write essays. The following tips merely reflect my personal experience applying to US Master’s degrees in CS and may not always be generalizable.

免责声明：我只是一个刚毕业的毕业生，喜欢机器学习和博客以及有关机器学习的博客，但我完全没有资格教授如何撰写论文。 以下提示仅反映了我申请CS硕士学位的个人经验，可能并不总是可以推广。

1.不要拖延这篇文章 (1. Don’t procrastinate this essay)

Yes, I am well aware of a student’s superhuman productivity in producing pages of an essay they left to do last-minute. But trust me, I strongly encourage you to start thinking about your SoP well before your application deadlines.

是的，我很清楚学生在制作最后一分钟要写的论文页面时的超人效率。 但是请相信我，我强烈建议您在申请截止日期之前就开始考虑SoP。

Here is what my timeline looked like:

这是我的时间表：

Start September — I googled “how to write statement of purpose” and created my SoP.docx file

9月开始 —我用Google搜索“如何编写目的声明”并创建了SoP.docx文件

Start October — I had my first draft ready to ask others to proofread

从10月开始 -我准备好初稿，要求其他人进行校对

Start November — I revised my first draft to ask others to proofread a second time

从11月开始 -我修改了初稿，要求其他人再次校对

End November — I had a “general” SoP ready, which I still had to “fine-tune” for each program I was considering

11月底-我已经准备好一个“通用” SoP，对于我正在考虑的每个程序，我仍然必须对其进行“微调”

December-January — For each program, I finalized each SoP before submitting my application

12月至1月 -对于每个程序，我都在提交申请之前完成了每个SoP的定稿

February 3 — I received my first response: accepted to my dream program!

2月3日 -我收到了我的第一React：接受了我的梦想计划！

For me, it took 3 months of planning and writing my SoP. Some might need more time or less. My point is, it’s not an essay that can or should be rushed, it’s good to give yourself time to think about what you want to say, get feedback from others, and re-write it several times.

对我来说，花了3个月的时间规划和编写我的SoP。 有些人可能需要更多或更少的时间。 我的意思是，这不是一篇可以或不应该匆忙发表的论文，最好让自己有时间思考您想说什么，从他人那里获得反馈 ，然后多次重写 。

If you feel lost on how to get started, my advice is to create that document anyways and jot down any ideas you have, even the silly ones. From there, you’ll be able to start stringing these ideas into a flow of text, or come up with new ideas when you didn’t expect it.

如果您不知道如何入门，我的建议是无论如何都要创建该文档并记下您的任何想法，甚至是愚蠢的想法。 从那里，您将能够开始将这些想法整理成文本流，或者在您不期望的时候提出新的想法。

2.目的陈述≠个人陈述 (2. Statement of Purpose ≠ Personal Statement)

Unlike the personal statement for my undergraduate application, most graduate schools do not give clear prompts or questions you need to answer. A common mistake is thinking the graduate SoP is like a “personal statement with more experience”.

与我的本科申请个人陈述不同，大多数研究生院没有给出明确的提示或您需要回答的问题。 一个常见的错误是认为毕业生SoP就像是“具有更多经验的个人陈述”。

A Personal Statement is personal, you should write who you are.

个人陈述是个人的 ，您应该写下自己的名字 。

A Statement of Purpose, on the other hand, should center around what you plan to achieve.

目的的声明，在另一方面，应该围绕着你计划达到的目标 。

In general, the important questions you should answer in your SoP are:

通常，您应该在SoP中回答的重要问题是：

1. What are your interests, motivations, and goals? What sparked them?

   您的兴趣 ， 动机和目标是什么？ 是什么激发了他们？

2. What relevant experience do you have? What have you learned that makes you well-prepared for graduate studies?

   您有什么相关经验 ？ 您学到了什么，使您为研究生学习做好了充分的准备？

3. How does this graduate program help achieve your goals? What do you plan to do at this program?

   该研究生课程如何帮助您实现目标 ？ 您打算在该计划中做什么？

Keep in mind that the reviewer is essentially looking for potential as a successful graduate student in your essay, so your main goal is to convince you are skilled and motivated to undertake your graduate studies.

请记住，审稿人本质上是在寻找论文中成功的研究生的潜力 ，因此您的主要目标是说服您熟练且有动力进行研究生学习。

3.保持结构化 (3. Keep it structured)

You want your SoP to be pleasant for your reviewer to read. It’s important that your ideas are structured and flows nicely, so that the reviewer doesn’t need to guess what you’re trying to convey or jump between ideas.

您希望您的SoP能让审稿人阅读。 重要的是，您的想法要有条理 ， 流程顺畅 ，这样审阅者就不必猜测您要传达的想法或想法之间的过渡。

Here is how I structured my essay:

这是我的文章结构：

• Grab the reader’s attention before stating my general goal
  在陈述我的总体目标之前要吸引读者的注意力
• Describe my previous experiences towards this goal
  描述我以前针对该目标的经验
• State what I’ve learned and qualities that make me successful
  陈述我所学到的知识和使我成功的素质
• Re-state goal, but with more detail
  重新陈述目标，但有更多细节
• Explain what I still need to learn and how the program will help me grow
  说明我仍然需要学习什么，以及该计划如何帮助我成长
• End on an enthusiastic, positive tone :)
  以热情，积极的态度结束:)

Yours might not look like mine, but the general takeaway is to have a clear message/purpose for each paragraph/section.

您的看起来可能不像我的那样，但总的来说，就是对每个段落/节有清晰的 信息/目的 。

4.保持简洁，相关，专注 (4. Stay concise, relevant, focused)

A good rule of thumb is to keep your essay under 2 pages long. Though you might have lots to say, it’s important to be selective of details you want to include, since reviewers probably have hundreds of essays to get to.

一个好的经验法则是将您的论文长度控制在2页以内。 尽管您可能有很多话要说，但是一定要选择要包含的细节，这一点很重要，因为审阅者可能要撰写数百篇论文。

What worked for me was to write everything I wanted at first, and from there reformulate wordy phrases and omitting unnecessary detail. Make sure that everything you say is a crucial detail for why you are the ideal graduate candidate.

对我而言，最有效的方法是首先写出我想要的所有内容，然后重新编写冗长的短语，并省略不必要的细节。 确保您所说的一切都是您成为理想的研究生候选人的关键细节 。

Also, ask yourself “what message do I want to convey with this?” for each sentence. Don’t just describe what you did in your project, make sure to state what you learned, what this proves about you:

另外，问自己“我想传达什么信息？” 每个句子。 不要仅仅描述您在项目中所做的事情，请确保陈述您学到了什么，这证明了您的几点 ：

In my first programming project, I lead a team of 8 to build a LSTM neural network in C++ for music composition. I had no machine learning experience at the start of the project, and in 4 months, I assimilated the technical skills and machine learning notions needed to build and train the neural network. I also learned to design a machine learning project, from data retrieval and embedding to user interface for the model demo, and distribute these tasks within a team efficiently.

在我的第一个编程项目中，我带领一个由8人组成的小组用C ++构建用于音乐创作的LSTM神经网络。 在项目开始时我没有机器学习经验，并且在4个月内，我吸收了构建和训练神经网络所需的技术技能和机器学习概念。 我还学会了设计一个机器学习项目，从数据检索和嵌入到模型演示的用户界面，并有效地在团队中分配这些任务。

5.从一开始就脱颖而出 (5. Stand out from the start)

The ideal essay captures the reader’s attention right from the start and guides them through your ideas until the end. Don’t go for a generic introduction and be creative!

理想的文章从一开始就吸引了读者的注意力，并引导他们贯穿您的想法直到最后。 不要追求一般性的介绍，要有创造力 ！

Instead of starting your essay with “My goal is to study Artificial Intelligence and develop technologies that help people” — which really won’t make your intro memorable or captivating — think of an anecdote, a reference, or even a joke that helps you ease into your main message.

与其以“我的目标是学习人工智能并开发可帮助人们的技术”作为开始您的论文的手，这实际上不会使您的介绍令人难忘或着迷，而应考虑一个轶事，一个参考，甚至是一个可以使您轻松的笑话。进入您的主要信息。

Here’s how I started mine before moving on to explain my research goals:

在继续解释我的研究目标之前，这是我的工作方式：

When my mother first started using a smartphone, she only used it to call. She wouldn’t use other functionalities, such as looking up directions, until I taught her to orally ask the virtual assistant what she needs. This lead me to believe Natural Language Processing will bridge the gap between humans and modern technology.

当我的母亲第一次开始使用智能手机时，她仅使用智能手机打电话。 在我教她口头询问虚拟助手她需要什么之前，她不会使用其他功能(例如查找方向)。 这使我相信自然语言处理将弥合人类与现代技术之间的鸿沟。

6.显示，不告诉 (6. Show, don’t tell)

Admissions are looking for evidence you are the best fit for their program. Anyone can say “I am very determined, hardworking and also I’m a very quick learner” but it won’t make you stand out.

招生正在寻找您最适合其课程的证据 。 任何人都可以说“我非常有决心，努力工作，而且我是一个非常快速的学习者”，但这不会使您脱颖而出。

A stronger message is to cite an example, in work or class or outside, that illustrates the quality you claim to have. For example, here’s what I said instead of “I am very determined, hardworking”:

一个更强有力的信息是在工作，课堂或室外引用一个例子， 说明您声称拥有的素质。 例如，这是我所说的，而不是“我非常有决心，很努力”：

With minimal experience in AI, I secured my NLP internship after attending 4 networking events, distributing 50 resumes and having 10 interviews.

以最少的AI经验，我参加了4次社交活动，分发了50份简历并进行了10次面试，从而确保了我在NLP的实习机会。

7.具体说明您所在的地区和您的计划 (7. Be specific about your area and your program)

Unlike undergraduate studies, graduate admissions are looking for students who will work closely with them in the program’s study area. You are their potential research assistants, teaching assistants, PhD students…

与本科学习不同，研究生招生是在计划的学习领域内寻找与他们紧密合作的学生。 您是他们潜在的研究助手，教学助手，博士研究生...

You need to show you know what kind of work they’re doing and you have the specific skills that fit into their area of expertise. Don’t hesitate to use technical terms when describing your experience!

你需要证明你知道他们在做什么样的工作，你有适合他们的专业领域的特殊技能 。 在描述您的经历时，请不要犹豫使用技术术语！

After becoming familiar with language modeling and self-attention, I built on recent research where I used cloze translation to synthesize question answering data. I also learned to code BiDAF and BERT models in PyTorch and perform cloud computing.

在熟悉语言建模和自我关注之后，我以最近的研究为基础，在其中我使用了完形填空翻译来合成问答数据。 我还学会了在PyTorch中编码BiDAF和BERT模型并执行云计算。

Also, it’s good to stalk some faculty and activities of your program, and show it’s not just any program, but this specific program you desire. You can cite papers you found interesting or courses you’d like to take:

另外，最好跟踪程序的某些教职员工和活动，并表明它不仅是任何程序，而且是您想要的特定程序。 您可以引用您发现有趣的论文或想要参加的课程：

I am particularly determined to join the [university NLP lab] and research NLP for social good under the guidance of [really cool Prof #1], multilingual language analysis tools and reading comprehension with [really cool Prof #2]. I also want to incorporate [really cool Prof #3]’s work in [really cool paper] to my research on unsupervised question answering for adversarial training of robust unsupervised QA systems.

我特别下决心加入[大学NLP实验室]，并在[真的很酷的教授＃1]，多语种语言分析工具以及与[真的很酷的教授＃2]的阅读指导下研究NLP的社会福利。 我也想将[非常酷的教授＃3]的工作纳入[非常酷的论文]中，以研究针对鲁棒无监督QA系统的对抗训练的无监督问题回答。

I usually kept the same first 1.5 pages for all my applications and catered the last 0.5 page to each specific program.

我通常为所有应用程序保留相同的前1.5页，并为每个特定程序提供后0.5页。

8.写，校对，再写 (8. Write, proofread, write again)

An important step of SoP writing for me was getting feedback from different people, and reworking my essay over and over again.

SoP写作对我而言的重要一步是获得不同人的反馈，并一遍又一遍地重新整理我的论文。

Examples of people you can ask to read over your essay are:

您可以要求阅读文章的人员包括：

• Your academic advisors/counseling team: they are usually the most experienced in proofreading SoPs and giving writing tips

  您的学术顾问/咨询团队 ：他们通常是在SoP校对和写作技巧方面经验最丰富的

• Your letter of recommendation writers: they probably have the expertise in the relevant area of study to fully understand your essay, and they might have experience reviewing SoPs for admissions too. My CS prof even corrected me on a technical detail I included!

  您的推荐信作者 ：他们可能具有相关研究领域的专业知识，可以完全理解您的论文，并且他们也可能具有审查SoP录取的经验。 我的CS教授甚至根据我提供的技术细节对我进行了纠正！

• Your friends: either they’ve written SoPs before, or they’re in the same boat as you and can share personal tips

  您的朋友 ：他们曾经写过SoP，或者与您同在一条船上，并且可以分享个人提示

• Your family: my dad was probably the least helpful proofreader, he literally sent me back “I am convinced with no further comment.” on my first draft that has almost nothing in common with my final draft. They’ll still be happy to read your essay and give you encouragement!

  您的家人 ：我的父亲可能是最没有帮助的校对者，他从字面上将我送回给我，“我坚信没有进一步评论。” 在我的初稿上，与我的最终稿几乎没有共同之处。 他们仍然很高兴阅读您的文章并给予您鼓励！

I spent most of my time editing every detail of my essay until I had nothing else to change. Also, my first draft looks nothing like my final draft. This is why I highly encourage to start working on your SoP soon, to leave time for others to read it and give you multiple feedback :)

我花了大部分时间来编辑论文的每个细节，直到没有其他更改为止。 另外，我的初稿看起来与最终稿完全不同。 这就是为什么我强烈鼓励您尽快开始研究您的SoP，以便让其他人有时间阅读它并为您提供多个反馈的原因:)

尾注 (Ending note)

The SoP may seem daunting at first, and it did take lots of work, but I still had lots of fun writing mine! It was a great exercise to formulate my specific interests, structure my experiences, and extract lessons I learned from them.

SoP乍一看似乎让人望而生畏，并且确实做了很多工作，但我的写作仍然很有趣！ 制定自己的兴趣爱好，整理经验并从中吸取教训，这是一次很棒的练习。

It also forced me to reflect precisely on my motivations and even helped me understand what I was really looking for in my graduate studies. There were even programs I was preparing to apply, where I even obtained recommendation letters for, but while writing my SoP I realized it wasn’t what I wanted, and I ended up discarding my application.

这也迫使我准确地反思自己的动机，甚至帮助我理解了我在研究生学习中真正寻找的东西。 甚至有一些我正在准备申请的程序，甚至获得了推荐信，但是在编写SoP时，我意识到这不是我想要的，最终我放弃了我的申请。

Stats (while applying):

统计资料(申请时)：

• School: École Polytechnique

  学校：巴黎高等理工学院

• Degree: Bachelor of Science, Mathematics-Computer Science double major

  学位：理学学士，数学-计算机科学双专业

• GPA: 4.09/4.0+

  GPA： 4.09 / 4.0 +

• GRE: Quant 170/170, Verbal 169/170, Analytical Writing 5.5/6

  GRE：定量170/170，口语169/170，分析写作5.5 / 6

• Work experience: 1 summer internship in a start-up

  工作经验：在初创公司进行过1次夏季实习

• Research experience: 0 papers written or published

  研究经验：发表或发表论文0篇

• Extra-curriculars: many

  课外活动：很多

Accepted:

公认：

• Carnegie Mellon University (Master of Science in Machine Learning, Master in Language Technologies)
  卡内基梅隆大学(机器学习理学硕士，语言技术硕士)
• Stanford University (Master of Science in Computer Science)
  斯坦福大学(计算机科学理学硕士)
• University of California, Berkeley (Master of Engineering EECS)
  加州大学伯克利分校(EECS工程硕士)
• Columbia University (Master of Science in Computer Science)
  哥伦比亚大学(计算机科学理学硕士)
• University of Massachusetts Amherst (Master of Science in Computer Science)
  麻省大学阿默斯特分校(计算机科学理学硕士)

Rejected:

拒绝：

• University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (Master of Science in Computer Science)
  伊利诺伊大学香槟分校(计算机科学理学硕士)
• University of Southern California (Master of Science in Computer Science) (Waitlisted then rejected)
  南加州大学(计算机科学理学硕士)(等待名单被拒绝)

I had good academic records, but I was mostly intimidated by my lack of work/research experience. I think my SoP and my recommendation letters helped overcome this by showing I have the potential and passion for graduate studies!

我有良好的学术记录，但主要是由于缺乏工作/研究经验而感到害怕。 我认为我的SoP和推荐信通过显示我对研究生学习的潜力和热情帮助克服了这一问题！

Here’s the full version of my SoP. Please let me know if I missed any tips, and you’re welcome to reach out on Twitter or LinkedIn if you have any questions :)

这是我的SoP的完整版本。 如果我错过了任何提示，请告诉我，如果您有任何疑问，欢迎您通过Twitter或LinkedIn进行联系 ：)

P.S. I committed to Carnegie Mellon University’s Master in Language Technologies where I will be working on multilingual NLP research!

PS我致力于卡内基梅隆大学的语言技术硕士学位，在那里我将从事多语言NLP研究！