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The grad school application essay is crucial in the graduate admissions process. It is a powerful tool to present an applicant’s academic ambitions and personal background. As a core of the application, the essay provides insight into a candidate’s motivation and intellectual curiosity. Besides, the admission committee checks if the applicant shares the same values.
A compelling statement of purpose helps applicants stand out by showcasing their unique experiences. It enables them to convey the nuances of their achievements and challenges. This approach provides a deeper understanding beyond just standardized test scores and transcripts. Each graduate essay example underscores the importance of clarity, coherence, and purpose. A great essay transforms experiences into a cohesive narrative that highlights the candidate’s potential.
The grad school application essay is a chance for applicants to stand out. It allows them to outline their academic goals and showcase their relevant experiences. For those seeking guidance on how to write a personal statement for grad school, key essay writing elements include a clear structure, introspective analysis, and purposeful alignment with the prospective program.
Graduate Essay Example
Ever since my first psychology lecture, I have been fascinated by the nature of human memory. Indeed, human memory is one of the most tenacious and enigmatic problems ever faced by philosophers and psychologists. The discussion of memory dates back to the early Greeks when Plato and Aristotle originally likened it to a “wax tablet.” In 1890, pioneer William James adopted the metaphorical framework and equated memory to a “house” to which thirty years later Sigmund Freud chimed that memory was closer to “rooms in a house.” In 1968, Atkinson and Shrifren retained the metaphorical framework but referred to memory as “stores”. The fact that the controversy surrounding human memory has been marked more by analogy than definition suggests, however, that memory is a far more complex phenomenon than has been uncovered thus far. I intend to spend the rest of my professional life researching the nature of human memory and solving the riddle posed yet cunningly dodged by generations of philosophers and psychologists.
When I first came to psychology, however, I wanted to be a clinical psychologist. Only upon enrolling in Dr. Helga Noice’s Cognitive Psychology course, did I discover the excitement of doing research. The course required us to test our own autobiographical memory by conducting an experiment similar to the one run in 1986 by W. Wagenaar. Over the course of the term, I recorded events from my personal life on event cards and set them aside without reviewing them. After studying the effect serial position on the recollection of autobiographical memories, I hypothesized that events that, when I sat down at the end of therm to recall those same events I had described on the event cards, that events that had occurred later in the term would be recalled with greater frequency than events that had occurred earlier. Although the experiment was of simple design and predictable results, I found the processes incredibly exciting. Academic essay writing tips suggest focusing on moments like these that shape one’s career and motivations, which is why sharing this experience felt so vital here. Why was my memory of even ten weeks so imperfect? What factors contributed to that imperfection? Could such factors be controlled?
I had ignited my passion for experimental psychology. Suddenly, I had many pressing questions about memory that I wanted to research. Under the guidance of Dr. Noice, I continued to study human memory. I worked closely with Dr. Noice on several research experiments involving expert memory, specifically the memory of professional actors. Dr. Noice would select a scene from a play and then a professional actor would score it for beats, that is, go through the scene grouping sections of dialogue together according to the intent of the character. Some actors use this method to learn dialogue rather than rote memorization. After they were finished, I would type up the scene and the cued recall test. Next, I would moderate the experimental sessions by scoring the actor’s cued recall for accuracy and then helping with the statistical analysis. This experience helped me learn how to write a graduate school essay focused on specific achievements and lessons, shaping my understanding of memory and attention to detail. My work culminated with my paper, “Teaching Students to Remember Complex Material Through the Use of Professional Actors’ Learning Strategies.” My paper accompanied a poster presentation at the Third Annual Tri-State Undergraduate Psychology Conference. In addition, I presented a related paper entitled “Type of Learning Strategy and Verbatim Retention of Complex Material” at the ILLOWA (Illinois-Iowa) Conference the following year. Again, I was involved in all aspects of the experiment, from typing the protocol and administering it to the subjects, to analyzing the data and finally presenting my results.
The opportunity to perform this research was invaluable, particularly as I began taking independent research seminars in my senior year. For the seminars, I was required to write an extensive review of the literature and then design a research proposal on any topic of my choice. Although I had participated in all aspects of research previously, this was my first opportunity to select my own topic. I was immediately certain that I wanted to explore at human memory. But I spent a long time considering what aspect of memory I found most intriguing and possible to tackle within the confines of the research seminar. I have often referenced grad school writing guide resources in helping me formulate a clear and focused research question. I had always been interested in the legal implications of memory, so I to investigate eyewitness memory.
In retrospect, my choice was also informed by my recollection about an experiment I had read about several years earlier. In the experiment, subjects read about Helen Keller. Later they were given a recall test. Still later they were given an additional test to determine the source of their knowledge about Helen Keller. The authors discovered that subjects could not determine the source of their knowledge, that is, they could not distinguish whether specific details of their knowledge about Helen Keller came from the information provided by the experimenters or if the details came from another source at an earlier time. Once their new knowledge about Helen Keller had been assimilated into their previous knowledge about Helen Keller, there was no way to separate the information according to the source it came from.
I wondered what the implications of that conclusion would be for eyewitnesses. I wondered if an eyewitness account could be corrupted by misleading post-event information. My research proposal was entitled “The Rate of Memory Trace Decay and its Effect on Eyewitness Accuracy.” While I was not able to complete the experiment in its entirety, I was excited by the fact that I created a possible research protocol. Immediately, I knew I wanted to pursue the field of experimental psychology. Developing this grad school statement of purpose was a deeply motivating process that confirmed my readiness for this challenging and rewarding field.
I have dedicated my undergraduate years to preparing myself for graduate work in experimental psychology. Once receive my doctorate, I intend to pursue research on human memory while teaching psychology to undergraduates at a small, liberal arts college, similar to the one I attended. It was, after all, my undergraduate research experience that gave me the opportunity to come to psychology with an interest in counseling people, but to leave with a passion for investigating the nature of human thinking. Undergraduates at smaller liberal arts colleges are often left out of research, which makes my desire to provide such experiences that much stronger. In the years ahead, I look forward to teaching as well as continuing my research. In the company of such greats as Aristotle, James, and Freud, I endeavor to leave behind my own contribution on the nature of human memory.
Well, you can read another graduate school essay sample on our blog. Do you still think there are disciplines and topics our experts can’t tackle? We post these papers not without reason: many of them are samples of our work. If you need a grad school essay edit, EssayEdge is the perfect writing service company to order it.
The Role of the Grad School Personal Statement
A grad school personal statement is a rare opportunity to let your personality shine through in an otherwise formal application process. It’s more than a graduate essay example! It’s a chance to show the admissions committee why your story matters. This part of the application lets you explain what motivates you academically and personally. It turns your grades and test scores into a real story about who you are.
An effective statement of purpose mixes past experiences with future goals. It paints a picture of who you are and how you envision your impact in your field. The personal statement makes you memorable. It expresses your unique perspective in the essay, establishing a connection that statistics alone cannot provide.
