Friday, September 12, 2008

Statement of Purpose Ending

I completed my first, second, and third drafts of my SOP today, with Robert's editing input. One goal of my essay is to simultaneously demonstrate that I am a mature, skilled, knowledgeable individual with a successful professional career who is yet aware that going into academic psychology, I am starting over as a student with much to learn. Making the last round of changes this evening, I decided that I didn't quite like the way the essay ended. I had referenced something about "contributing to the research" being done in the department, by which I meant being a valuable assistant but which sounded a bit too much like the language I used earlier to imply my interest in eventually contributing to psychological research as my career goal.

Sally: "I guess I can't rewrite this to say that I am eager to be their helpful minion."

Robert: "No, I think you would be better off leaving it out entirely. You want to come across as eager but not Igor."

Sally: "But I make a really good minion. My Igor impersonation scared my co-workers [at my summer job] with its power. Well, something they will have to wait to discover after they accept me into the program."

Robert: "Deputy henchman."

Sally: "Chief flunky."

Robert: "Assistant lackey."

Sally: "I want to be senior minion and have assistant lackeys of my own."

2 comments:

rvman said...

Keeping the word "flunky" as far away from academics as possible is good procedure. Sounds too much like "Flunkee".

Sally said...

Better flunker than flunkee in this context, definitely.