To a large degree, the particular graduate program you are applying to will dictate the content of a successful application essay. However, certain qualities of these essays apply equally to all fields. Admissions committee members are looking for interesting, insightful, revealing, and non-generic essays that suggest you have successfully gone through a process of careful reflection and self-examination. Your essay should offer a very thorough, probing, and analytical look at yourself and your objectives.

A. Insight Into Your Character（注意你的个性）

When we say "non-generic" above, we mean a personal statement that only you could have written, one that does not closely resemble what other applicants are likely writing. You achieve this type of statement by being personal and analytical. Don't waste space on superficial generalizations about your life. Instead, give the reader specific, personal details so that he or she will be able to understand your character and motivation.

Then analyze those details in a way that drives home clear, illuminating points.

B. Sincerity（材料的真实性）

Don't focus too heavily on what you think admissions officers want to see, at the expense of conveying your own message in your unique way. Be yourself rather than pretending to be the "ideal" applicant. Inundated with countless cliché-ridden essays, admissions committees respond very favorably to honesty. Don't be afraid to reveal yourself. Admissions officers are interested in finding out about who you are, and they appreciate candor.

Sincerity is important to stress because it's hard for most of us to achieve, despite the fact that it seems so simple. The pressures and anxieties of the situation have locked us into a mindset that prevents us from writing honestly.

Further, because we are not used to writing about ourselves and being so close to the subject, we cannot assess the sincerity of our own writing.

Thousands of students every year will read this same advice, whether in a guidebook or even in the application instructions themselves, but they simply will not be able to put it into practice. If you can be one of the few who truly understand what it means to be sincere, then you will already have separated yourself from the pack in a crucial way.

You might question how a reader who doesn't know you can judge your statement's sincerity. The basis for judgment usually lies in the context your reader has developed from reading hundreds or thousands of other essays. Assessing your essay against others is one essential area in which we can offer a more critical eye than your friends, relatives, or teachers who have not accumulated the expertise specific to the personal statement.

Moreover, our perspective in reading your essay is just as objective as your admissions reader's perspective will be.

C. Background and Motivation（综合背景和学习动机）

Detail your interest in and exposure to your particular discipline in a thoughtful way. You are aspiring to become a professional in your field; therefore, you should express an interest in contributing something novel to it. Make clear that you have a realistic perception of what this field entails. Refer to experiences (work, research, etc.), classes, conversations with people in the field, books you've read, seminars you've attended, or any other sources of specific information about the career you want and why you're suited for it. Remember not to make this a laundry list in which you rattle off impressive names or theories. Any specific people or ideas you mention should be thoughtfully addressed and seamlessly interwoven into the essay as a whole.