Motivational letter to employees example. How to write a motivational essay correctly? List of the most sought-after qualities

There are 2 reasons why a motivation letter needs to be prepared carefully.

The first reason is your chance to stand out among equal and even stronger competitors. The best students from all over the world enter foreign universities. The school scores and level of English of your competitors, if not higher than yours, are certainly not lower. You may not have time to retake English; your school grades will not change. A brilliant motivation letter will set you apart from others.

The second reason is that a motivation letter can smooth out the shortcomings of individual components of your application. Perhaps you chose a program that does not match your previous education, do not have relevant work experience, or simply missed a few points on the GMAT. A motivation letter will help you present this information correctly and shift the emphasis to your strengths.

In the video of our founder Yana Drapkina-Uehara: 6 steps in preparing a motivation letter, difficult cases, examples of successful applications from our practice.

I. Read the requirements for a motivation letter

If the requirements are not listed on the program website, register online in the university's application submission system and find a description of the requirements in that system. Pay attention to the required volume of words or printed characters and the issues that you must cover in your essay. Check how many motivational essays the university requires from you: most undergraduate and master's programs will only require one motivation letter from you, however there are exceptions, for example: the University of Edinburgh usually requires two essays for its master's programs.

Example of motivational essay questions for the MSc Management program at the University of East Anglia in 2016: “The volume of a motivational essay should be about 500 words. Describe the reason why you chose the program, how it relates to your future career plans, your work experience, internship, volunteer work, other experience related to the program, what you hope to gain from completing the program.”

II. Determine the structure of your motivation letter

What sections - paragraphs - will be included in your essay, how these sections will be related to each other; don't forget to include an introduction and conclusion. Think over and perhaps outline for yourself what you will write about in each section of your motivational essay.

Below we have listed the most simple structure motivational essay to the university, successfully tested on motivation letters from more than 100 Russian-speaking students who entered foreign universities:

1. Introduction.
2. Career goals for enrolling in the program.
3. Career plan: how the goals described above will be achieved.
4. Which of the qualities, skills and knowledge required for the described career plan do you have, and what do you need to develop?
5. How the program you are enrolling in will help you develop relevant qualities, skills and knowledge and achieve the career goals outlined above.
6. How can you be interesting/useful to the university and fellow students?
7. Conclusion.

If you are not confident enough, write to English You may find it more convenient to write your motivational essay in Russian and then translate it into English.

Watch the video of Yana Drapkina-Uehara: the letter plan with which Yana entered the MBA program in England and taught it to her clients, life hacks for successful writing and common mistakes.

III. Define your career goals and describe them

Most foreign universities include a question about the student's future career in the motivation letter. The older the student or the higher the level of his education, the more specific and thoughtful the description of his career plan should be. Which industry interests you most and why? Are there any companies you would like to work for and why? If you want to start your own business, describe why you are choosing the entrepreneurial path and what area you will work in.

Try to determine your career goals for the next 2-4 years for a bachelor's degree, 5-7 years for a master's degree and an MBA. The goals should be:
- Not simple, but realistic;
- Professional goals must be correlated with life goals;
- Specific, demonstrating your understanding of the industry, the area where you want to work;
- Aimed at improving not only your life and the contents of your bank account, but also the lives of people around you, your society, country and, possibly, the world as a whole.

Try to connect your career and life goals. In the example Below is a combination of career and life goals by a student from Moscow who enrolled in the BSc Biomedical Science program at UCL London: “I have always been interested in the nature of living things. Illnesses that befell my family members and some friends taught me that health is one of the most important things in life. Yet, most people get sick throughout their lives, and I have always seen being able to help find a cure for illnesses as a good purpose in life.”

IV. What to do if you don’t have a career plan yet?

For many students entering undergraduate studies, there is no clear understanding of what and where they will do after graduation. In this case, it is worth describing the field in which you see yourself and informing the admissions committee that by studying at their university, you hope to create a more detailed career plan.

Below is an example of a career path described by a student who had not chosen an exact profession and enrolled in the BA Film Studies program at the University of Reading: “I have not yet decided what type of career path in cinematography I should choose. I hope this course would help me gain a clearer understanding of the activities involved in the filmmaking process, so that I could make an informed decision regarding my career.”

V. Tell us about your qualities, knowledge and achievements

How and what to tell about yourself in a motivation letter confuses many applicants: we don’t often write our own biographies. However, this task can be greatly facilitated if you approach it using the following steps:

1. Determine what special qualities and knowledge are needed for success on the program you choose and in your future profession, and which of these qualities do you have? Describe these qualities, giving examples from school, work and life.

2. Determine what universal human virtues, available to you, will help you achieve success on your chosen path. Describe these strengths, giving examples from your academic, professional, social, athletic, etc. life.

3. If you have interesting hobbies or you participated in events that may be useful in your studies or will help you become an interesting participant in the life of the university, briefly describe them.

4. Communicate what qualities and knowledge are needed to successfully progress in your career. Would you like to develop while on the program; Often in questions of motivational essays, universities call these qualities “points of improvements.”

5. Don't praise or belittle yourself., but describe yourself as objectively as possible, citing facts, relying on the opinions of others and, if possible, quoting them.

Study the brochures and website of your chosen university. Most often, the university openly communicates what qualities students should have and what criteria they must meet.

Below is An example of a description of personal qualities by a student from Moscow admitted to the MBA program at Aston University Business School: “I enjoy the challenges and the learning experience I can gain from them. At university, I learned to value quality knowledge and efforts needed to acquire it. Throughout my career I learned how to be a results-oriented manager and motivate others. I believe, my most important quality in this respect is my ability to collaborate and communicate effectively. However, I believe that to implement my business ideas, I still need to learn more about organizations and entrepreneurship in global business.”

VI. Tell us why you are interested in this program and university

Remember that the person reviewing your application will likely be an expert in the relevant subject area and will want to see evidence of your genuine interest and understanding of the subject. A motivation letter for a master's degree must demonstrate a deeper understanding of the subject than an essay for admission to the first higher education. Samples of motivation letters in English and Russian.

VII. Put the resulting parts together

Following the essay structure, compose the first version of your essay and refine it, making sure that all parts of your work are logically connected to each other.

VIII. Check and edit your motivation letter

In a motivation letter, thoughts should be presented simply and clearly. This can be easily achieved by limiting the sentence length to 12-20 words. Avoid either an overly familiar or overly formal tone. Write in a way that is easy to understand. Make sure each sentence contains important information and is not a repetition of what has already been said or a waste of words.

Some essays begin with catchy quotes, others contain jokes or the essays have an unusual structure. Sometimes this works, but it can also have the opposite effect. Admissions officers may not share your sense of humor or views, so be careful about trying to make your essay too unusual.

Check your grammar, spelling and punctuation. An essay written with errors creates a negative impression of the skills and effort put into the application.

You can’t rely entirely on your computer’s “Spell Check” function. Print out the letter and read it carefully several times, trying to spot any errors or typos.

Let people whose opinions you trust read your letter. Make sure that the text of your letter is clear to readers.

In business correspondence, a motivation letter is a document addressed to a potential employer. Its name suggests that in his letter the potential employee sets out motives that prompted him to respond to the job advertisement. In addition, a well-written motivation letter will contain information about Why its compiler may be of interest to the employer. In this sense, a motivation letter and cover letter similar to each other. Attention: information on how to write a motivation letter for obtaining a visa should be found in other articles.

Steps

Part 1

Draft a motivation letter

Review your knowledge and experience and make a list. Before you start writing your letter, take a few minutes to describe your previous work experience relevant to the position you're interested in, as well as any skills that make you an attractive candidate. Don't waste time describing skills and experience that are not relevant to the position. You must show why you should be hired for this particular job and not for any job in general.

• For example, you are interested in the position of information technology specialist in government agency. If you have work experience related to computers and information technology, this should be included in the list. At the same time, you don’t need to indicate work in a completely different field - say, if you worked part-time on a fishing boat in the summer (even if this is valuable experience for you personally). In addition, you need to include here any skills that you have that may be useful in this job, for example, knowledge of basic programming languages.

1. Highlight the most important things. Most sources agree that a motivation letter should be as clear and concise as possible. To make it easier for you to keep your letter concise, try condensing its essence into one sentence (remember how you learned to highlight the main idea or write a thesis statement in school). Of course, directly writing “I want to be hired after this letter” is stupid and ugly, so focus on what What what the job means to you personally and professionally and how you can thrive in the position.

   • Let's say, in our example about the position of an IT specialist, the motivation letter can be boiled down to something like this: “The purpose of this letter is to show how I can apply my unique skills and experience in the role of an information technology specialist.” Surely you will not be so self-confident as to say: “The purpose of this letter is to show that I am better than everyone else and you should hire me for this job.”

2. Determine why you want to receive exactly this one work. In theory, a job applicant may have many options to choose from. Your cover letter should tell the employer not only why you are suitable for the job, but also why this job appeals to you more than others. How does it align with your personal and professional goals? If you explain why you prefer this job over all others, this is a big plus from the employer’s point of view, as it indicates your potential loyalty.

   • Don't be too frank, but don't deceive either. For example, if your main attraction to your job is money, don't say so directly, as most employers will hesitate to hire an employee whose loyalty is measured solely by salary. Instead, focus on other factors that make the position attractive to you, even if they are less significant: flexible schedule, gaining valuable experience, prospects career growth and so on.
   • For example, if we are talking about the above-mentioned position of an IT specialist in a government agency, we can say that working for the government gives you the opportunity to use your skills for the benefit of society. It is unlikely that you will say: “I want this job for the good salary and benefits package.”

3. Think about why the employer should choose you over other candidates. Ultimately, your motivation letter should convince the potential employer that, of all the people vying for the position, you are the one. best choice. Take your time to think about how you as an individual might be better than another hypothetical applicant with exactly the same experience. Think about the “intangibles” you can bring. Here are some points to consider:

   • Your personal qualities. Another suitably qualified candidate may simply not be suitable for the position. For example, in retail trade openness and communication skills are a mandatory requirement.
   • Your availability in terms of time. On different jobs There are different schedules. In some places this is a standard five eight-hour days, in others it may require working evenings or weekends.
   • Your career path. An employer is more likely to hire someone for whom this position represents a logical career extension. In other words, the candidate for whom this work is a significant "change of course", less preferable since it is unknown whether he will want to stay on it for a long time.

Part 2

Write a motivation letter

1. Start with a formal greeting. A motivation letter is a formal document, and its tone should be appropriate from the very beginning. In particular, even the greeting (the address at the beginning of the letter) deserves attention. First impressions are very important, so start off right. It is best to write a letter directly to the person who will consider the candidates - the manager this department or to the head of the HR department (HR manager): “Dear / respected (name and patronymic)!” If you don't know the name, call the company and ask, or use the general greeting "Hello!" or "Good afternoon!"

2. Briefly introduce yourself. After the greeting, don’t waste time and immediately start explaining who you are, what you can do and why you decided to write. The introduction usually consists of one paragraph, just a few sentences long. Remember that the recipient will have to read dozens of motivation letters. Therefore, the faster he understands who you are and why you are writing, the faster he will move on to essential information: your work experience, practical skills, personal qualities, etc.

   • Let's return to our example. An excellent introductory part, from which it is clear who you are and for what reason you are applying, consists of only three sentences: “My name is Tatyana Kuznetsova. I am writing to you in response to an advertisement for a vacancy for a specialist in the department information technology, posted on your website. With ten years of experience in information technology and a genuine passion for what I do, I would be a good fit for this position."

3. Tell us about your work experience and how it matches the proposed position. Then list your knowledge and skills. Start with your career, especially if it's quite impressive. You don't have to go into as much detail as you would on a resume; Usually it is enough to write something like: “For 5 years I worked in an administrative position in a company.” Leave a methodical listing of all jobs with start and end dates and a list of responsibilities for your resume. Try to keep your writing concise and, if possible, fit this information into one short paragraph.

   • If you don't have relevant work experience (for example, if you're applying for an entry-level position), don't worry. Instead, focus on your knowledge, skills, personality, work ethic, and any past activities that may benefit you. For example, if you are applying for a first-time job as a cook at a local restaurant, you can describe your culinary training (including culinary classes or school) as well as non-cooking restaurant work (such as waiting tables).

4. List your skills relevant to the position. Your experience isn't everything; Sometimes certain valuable skills can make you a better candidate than your experience in similar positions. Be sure to mention any special knowledge that would make you more effective in this position. There are many points you can make here. Here are just a few of them:

   • Foreign languages. Do you speak any language at a fluent or conversational level? For international companies this is a big plus.
   • Technical skills. Do you have basic programming knowledge? Are you fluent in Excel? Are you good at web design? For companies or projects in the field of information technology, these skills are especially in demand.
   • Special certification. Do you have a forklift operator's license? Welder? Driver's license to drive a truck? For skilled workers such documents are required.

5. Explain why they should choose you. Towards the end of the cover letter, it is usually worth devoting a few lines to why you as a person are suitable for the job. Unless you are already familiar with the culture of the company you want to join, do not write that you will fit in perfectly corporate culture or instantly become friends with everyone. Instead, focus on the traits that make you a valuable employee. Below are the types of traits you might want to mention:

   • Personal qualities. Are you friendly and honest? Did you get along well with your colleagues in your previous position? Employers prefer employees who maintain a positive attitude and maintain team morale.
   • Communication preferences. Are you a talkative, outgoing extrovert? Or a quiet, focused introvert? Your communication habits can have a major impact on your performance. official duties. Some majors require excellent communication skills, others do not.
   • Goals and passion. Is this job related to what you love to do? Can she help you achieve what you dream of? Employers tend to hire those who have a strong personal motivation to work.

6. End your letter kindly but briefly. Once you've said everything that paints you as a highly qualified professional and the ideal candidate, your task is done, so finish the letter quickly while remaining polite. Don't waste time on long goodbyes. A potential employer will be unhappy that he has to read more than necessary, and he will certainly not be flattered by your flowery prose.

   • In our example, the conclusion could be: “You can contact me by phone (number) or by email(address). I'm waiting for your reply. Thank you for your attention. Sincerely (not written if the letter began with “dear”), Tatyana Kuznetsova"

A motivation letter, or motivational essay for a university, most often called a Motivation Letter or Personal Statement by foreign universities, is a student’s essay, usually ranging from 500 to 1500 words, designed to convince the admissions committee that the essay author is ready to study in the chosen program.

Typically, in a motivation letter, a student defines his career goals and talks about his strong qualities, and describes how the program he is enrolling in will help him achieve his career and life goals.

Samples of motivation letters to university

You can buy examples of motivation letters in English and Russian for students admitted to universities in the UK, USA and Holland here. More than 20 images of motivation letters on various subjects.

Samples of motivation letters in English and Russian from students admitted to universities in the UK, Canada and the USA in 2014-2015. Examples of motivation letters are presented in PDF format.

How to write a motivation letter for university?

___
Copying the text of a motivation letter written by another student may be detected by the university admissions committee, which will lead to a refusal to consider your application by the admissions committee.

To apply for admission to British universities, candidates are required to fill out the UCAS (University and Colleges Admissions Services) form. UCAS is the centralized online application system for all UK universities. This is a relatively simple step, but there is one point on this form that literally causes consternation in many students and that is writing a motivation letter. Applicants must explain in 4,000 characters (approximately 1,000 words) why they deserve a place in the chosen department of the desired university. It is important to convince the admissions committee that you are enthusiastic and eager to learn, that you are curious, disciplined, and have excellent time management and prioritization skills. A motivation letter is the most significant opportunity to tell about yourself in your own words, which causes additional difficulties for applicants, therefore, for fear of making mistakes, many find it difficult to write even one line, not to mention a 1000-word essay. Also, a motivation letter involves a description of the life and achievements of applicants, which, in turn, also causes certain difficulties for teenagers.

The truth, however, is that writing a motivation letter is not such a time-consuming process. By asking the right questions and following the right guidelines, any applicant can write a compelling, well-structured letter of motivation that can maximize the chances of securing a place at your first choice university.

In this practical guide/guide, we will share with you recommendations on how to structure a motivation letter, detailing all the important points that need to be included in the content (as well as what not to include). Finally, we'll share with you a number of tips and tricks to make writing preparation in general easier.

Four golden rules

Before you begin preparing to properly write a motivation letter, it is important to remember these four golden rules:

• Keep it brief. Make sure what you write makes sense and is grammatically correct (extra points for great vocabulary and eloquence, you, alas, will not get) and you stick to the topic without deviating to the sides.
• Prove your desire. Instead of describing your preferences in detail, focus your attention on a list of your achievements and merits in order to prove your knowledge and interest in the chosen subject.
• Avoid abstractness and uncertainty. If you really want to study this subject at university, then you know it well. Share your knowledge, tell us about it in detail! The more interest and knowledge you have in the subject you are studying, the better, as this will show that you want to go to university to further study the subject, rather than just to enroll.
• The most important rule is to remember who your letter is addressed to. Your letter will be read by admissions officers and members of the faculty. It is important for them to see in you a bright personality, full of enthusiasm and hard work and ready to harmoniously integrate into the university environment. The committee will not choose a person with little interest in the subject, they want someone who can eventually build a career in the chosen environment or engage in research activities. Keep this in mind when you write your cover letter.

Part 1: Your attitude to the subject

The first part of your motivation letter should include information about your attitude to the subject. In other words, this part is a kind of introduction to your cover letter. It will be important to answer the following questions:

• How did you prove your desire to study this particular subject?

Let's look at each of these points in detail.

• Why do you want to study this subject?

At the very beginning of your motivation letter, it is important to very clearly state your reasons for choosing this particular direction. A good example This could be a memory of your very first experience of “getting to know” this subject, about when exactly you had the idea of ​​studying this subject at university. Was there an event, day, week, month or year when you suddenly realized that you were really passionate about this subject? When exactly did this happen?

Here is one of illustrative examples: “My love of English literature began with studying The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck as part of my GCSE preparation. I fell in love with Steinbeck's gritty, quasi-biblical style," or another example: "It was while at Greenwich Observatory that I felt the desire to become an astrophysicist."

Along with detailed description When you begin to develop an interest in the subject you are studying, you need to explain why it matters to you and to society as a whole. This is very important because by showing the relevance and relevance of your subject to the world around you, you are certainly demonstrating your potential to create new research opportunities, which is ultimately the goal of universities.

Some caveats:

• Try to avoid hyperbole. The desire to become an engineer does not appear at birth.
• Be honest. The best motivation letters usually reflect the enthusiasm of their applicant writers. Tell us about an experience that demonstrates your interest and thirst for knowledge
• What can prove your passion for this subject?

Now that you have written about your first experience with the subject you are studying and explained the reasons for its importance, you need to prove that you are truly interested in it. You can do this by saying the following:

• about the books you have read (remember that it is extremely important to go into detail here, this will be a plus)
• about lectures you attended
• about your work experience (related to your subject)
• any other extracurricular activity or interest that would demonstrate your knowledge of the subject
• about the courses you took
• about the places you've been

Details and explanations are very important here. For example, when discussing a book, just mentioning it will not be enough; it is important to describe its main details, and the more, the better.

• What other aspects of academic life do you find interesting (eg in other disciplines)?

So, you wrote about your interest in the subject, proving it in various ways expanding your knowledge in this area. All of these details can provide a very convincing accompaniment to your application. Now you can discuss A-Levels, Pre-Us, Advanced Highers, IB exams, etc. What draws you to your chosen subjects? Are there any other disciplines (besides the one you want to study) that seem interesting to you and that you would study? Is it related to the subject you are going to study?

Part 2: Argument/Situation

This is an important part of your motivation letter and can ultimately be the deciding factor in getting a place at your desired university. In this part, you need to discuss either the background or problem of a selected topic that interests you. The format should be as follows: the area of ​​knowledge that interests me is X, when I go to university, I would like to improve my knowledge in this subject and would also like to learn about U. In this section, you need to justify your decision and have a lot of discussions about it. You must show that the course teachers and heads of studies would want to teach exactly the kind of student you are. Lead the discussion on given topic, defend your point of view, but also take into account other ideas and options. This type of assignment allows you to write as if you were already at university.

Essentially, you will need to write this part of the motivation letter with a future perspective. You start your educational journey with a bachelor's degree, but chances are that you can continue your studies at a master's or graduate school. If you continue your education by going to graduate school, what direction will you choose? That's what we need to talk about here. The important thing here is to be specific and talk about your area of ​​study, even if it is a highly specialized area, you need to demonstrate your maximum knowledge. The more original you are, the better.

The part of your motivation letter dedicated to the argument/argument/problem does not have to be huge, but it should certainly be there.

Part 3: Achievements and plans

Having completed the argument/problem/situation portion of the writing, you will need to demonstrate your potential in other aspects unrelated to your chosen subject, both academically and generally.

(It’s worth noting that here we see an overarching structure that consists of two parts: the first part, which includes an analysis of the situation, is primarily about the subject of your choice, and the second part will be entirely devoted to you).

In this part, you need to talk about your school achievements, for example, certificates and awards. Tell us in detail about your extracurricular activities. Have you represented your school at competitions or olympiads? Did you study music, did you attend a drama club? There is no need to draw parallels with your subject - here we are talking about you, about your individuality. However, here you need to talk about what exactly this experience gave you and how useful it was to you. What have you learned? Have you learned communication skills (through travel) or, on the contrary, have you learned to manage yourself and your time (the most important skill for a university student)? Here you can also talk about your work experience that is not related to your chosen subject. And it doesn’t matter if this experience was short-term, in any case, you gained some work experience and learned something.

After describing your achievements and talents, you will need to talk about your plans for the future. How do you see your career? Are you going to take a sabbatical leave (for deferred entry candidates). How do your plans fit into your chosen university course?

Part 4: Conclusion

In the final part of your motivation letter, you need to summarize everything you have written. Once again, emphasize your interest in the subject and again remind about your work experience and achievements in order to once again emphasize that you are the most suitable candidate to study at the chosen university. Write again about the situation you described and show your concern and interest in solving the problem. And finally, end this part with a final phrase listing your qualities and merits, convincing the admissions committee to give a place to you.

Key points:

• It goes without saying that the motivation letter must be impeccable in grammar, punctuation and spelling. Have several people review your email before sending it.
• Create Word document- you shouldn’t write it on the UCAS website right away, in case something goes wrong and you lose the work you’ve done due to a technical problem.
• When you upload your cover letter, pay close attention to the formatting. Sometimes strange things happen when you copy a document onto a website, so be careful and double-check!

So, that’s all our guide – we have described all the key points of writing a motivation letter. Show your enthusiasm, support all statements with examples and remember that brevity is the sister of talent, and your university will be impressed! Good luck!

A well-written motivation letter foreign university- this is a 50% chance of admission. It is important to stand out, show your uniqueness and suitability for the chosen academic program.

What is a motivation letter?

A letter of motivation (Statement of Purpose, Personal Statement) is a 1-2 page essay in which the candidate talks about his academic interests, experience and achievements, life position and goals.

It is believed that it allows one to fairly objectively judge the candidate’s personality, his ability to think critically and analyze. That is why its writing should be taken extremely seriously.

There are two formats for a motivation letter:

• unstructured essay. The candidate is given the opportunity to present himself in the most free form;
• essay in the form of an answer to a question. The candidate is required to write several short essays, each of which is an answer to a question. Basically, this type of essay is required for admission to MBA or undergraduate programs.

Let's consider the stages of preparing a motivation letter for a university.

The main purpose of a motivation letter is to convince members of the selection committee that you are the candidate who should be given preference. This is your communication tool with members of the admissions committee. For effective communication, you need to understand expectations target audience. It is awareness and understanding of these expectations that should underlie the entire process of preparing a motivation letter.
It is important to consider that admissions committees of different faculties evaluate motivation letters according to different criteria.

Important: the motivation letter of a candidate entering the Faculty of Literature or Philosophy will be assessed according to different criteria than a candidate entering the Faculty of Applied Mathematics.

What do admissions committee members like?

Members of the selection committee like what best allows them to evaluate a potential candidate, namely:

• analysis of personal qualities. Instead of general phrases, you should analyze your personal qualities and give specific examples from your life;
• sincerity. Don't become overly focused on what you think the admissions committee wants to hear. Instead, try to open up and tell your own story;
• preparation and motivation. It should be clear from the narrative that you have a realistic view of your area of ​​interest. Tell us about your experiences (work, research, etc.), courses, seminars, people, books, and other sources of information that influenced your choice of major, and why you are suitable for it. Focus on experiences that are considered desirable in your chosen program of study. For example, if you are applying for a doctorate, then the experience research activities will be a big plus. If we are talking about a master's degree in any applied field, then you should pay attention to the presence of practical experience;
• presence of goals. It is important for candidates for master's or doctoral studies to skillfully justify their choice, namely: how studying in the chosen program can help in achieving professional and personal goals;
• validity of program choice. You should explain why you are interested in the chosen training program. For example, you can point out specific aspects curriculum, scientific interests of faculty teachers that particularly attract you;
• the ability to write well. The importance of this skill depends on the specialty. For example, if you are applying for a PhD in biochemistry, even if you write like Oscar Wilde, this fact alone is unlikely to help you. However, for admission to any program it is important to show competent knowledge in writing. This concerns not only the ability to compose sentences grammatically correctly, but also to logically structure the text.

What don't the admissions committee members like?

They don't like what makes their job boring, namely:

• negligence. Typos, grammatical errors, frequent repetitions, etc. give reason to think that the candidate is not organized or is not serious about applying. Check the text repeatedly before sending;
• cliches and common phrases. You should avoid using clichés and general phrases that do not add anything interesting or deep to your portrait. This makes your cover letter predictable and therefore boring;
• summary summary. There is no need to retell what can already be learned from your resume. It is better to concentrate on one or two topics, events or arguments;
• controversial topics. It's okay to express your point of view and values ​​in a motivation letter. However, it is best to avoid touching on issues on which there are conflicting opinions in society, such as politics and religion;
• excessive volume. Typically, the text of a motivation letter should be no more than 1-2 pages, taking into account single spacing. Typically, excess volume occurs due to excessive detail or repetition. Repeated editing of the text will help trim off excess fat;
• book style. One should strive to use simple words and expressions. This will only indicate your ability to think and express yourself clearly.

It is always difficult to write about yourself, especially about your personal qualities and your past. The following groups of questions should help generate enough material to start writing a letter of motivation:

Short and long term goals

• What attracts you to your chosen study program?
• Are there teachers in your chosen department whose interests interest you? Which one would you prefer to study with?
• What exactly do you expect to get from your chosen program of study?
• What are your career plans and how will your chosen program of study enable you to achieve them?
• What do you imagine your dream job to be? What would you ideally like to be doing in 5, 10, 20 years?

Skills and personal qualities

• What personal qualities of yours, such as honesty, perseverance, punctuality, can help you succeed in your field of interest?
• Can you give examples from your life that demonstrate that you possess these qualities? Here you should “link” your experience and your personal qualities. Ideally, you should strive to retell your personal experience in a way that makes your personal qualities obvious without directly mentioning them.
• What skills do you have (e.g. analytical, management, communication)? In this case, it is also better to “show” than to “name”.
• Why are you a better candidate for your chosen program and why are you more likely to succeed in your field or profession than others?
• How can you be of interest to the faculty: to teachers and other students?
• Why do you think you will be one of the top students in your chosen program?
• What are the main reasons why the admissions committee should be interested in your candidacy?
• Why do you think you will do successful career in the selected area?

Personal achievements and experience

• What is special, distinctive or impressive about your life? Here you can talk about events, impressions from own life or members of your family, victories that are valuable to you, individuals who contributed to the development of your goals.
• Have you ever had to overcome unusual everyday obstacles and difficulties (economic, political, family, physical) and how did you overcome them? Try not to make it seem like you are trying to justify your failures with difficulties.
• Have you had to bear the burden of caring for family members and how has this affected your studies, professional experiences, goals and values? It is important here not to give the impression that you are pushing for pity.
• If you had to work while receiving higher education what you learned (for example, leadership or managerial qualities) and how did your work experience as a student influence your development?

Study and academic achievements

• When did you first become interested in your chosen field of study? What have you learned since then about this field and about yourself that sparked your interest in it?
• How did you become interested in your chosen field of knowledge - classes at school or university, reading books, conferences, communication with people working in this field?
• Are there any gaps or inconsistencies in your studies that need clarification?
• Can you remember an event that reinforced your confidence in the right career path?

After this brainstorming Several main topics should be formed that can be used in the motivation letter. It is recommended to choose from 2 to 4 main topics. If you select more, it will be difficult to open them.
You can also take one as a basis important event from your life that covers the full range of topics you want to use in your motivation letter.

You should choose topics that:

• directly integrate with the area of ​​knowledge you are interested in;
• best characterize your personality;
• help create the most complete picture of you;
• original or related to your experience, conclusions;
• able to hold the reader's interest;
• contain facts.

As a result, your motivation letter should contain a reasonable answer to three main questions:

• Why did I decide to enroll in a training program in my chosen specialty?
• Why am I eligible to study in the chosen program?
• What is special, unique or impressive about my experience?

Approaches to organizing text in general

There are two general approach to writing a motivation letter: chronological and thematic.
Chronological approach. This implies a sequential presentation of events from past to present. Of course, this approach is convenient for both the one who writes and the one who reads. Perhaps it is the one that is most suitable for presenting the topics you have chosen. At the same time, there is a possibility that the motivation letter will turn into a monotonous autobiography “I was born, I studied, I got married.”

Thematic approach. It involves focusing on 2-4 key topics, which can be presented either sequentially or not sequentially. The advantage of the thematic approach is that it allows you to combine two events separated in time and related in meaning.

• since the motivation letter will be read quickly in search of the main ideas, the most interesting facts and experience should be stated at the beginning or, if appropriate, in the introduction;
• Arrange facts in the text in such a way that your development becomes clear to the reader: how your initial curiosity turned into a passion for a subject, or how abilities discovered in early childhood in some area were brought to the level of mastery;
• If you use a thematic approach, you can combine two topics that are interrelated in meaning, but separated by time. In this case, you won’t have to “dilute” the time gap with unnecessary details;
• if you have some kind of dramatic experience in your life, for example, overcoming some difficult situation, you should reflect this in the text. To do this, a problem or question is identified in the introduction, then each paragraph is used to gradually involve the reader, and only at the end is a resolution given - a solution to the problem.

Organizing text at paragraph level
Paragraphs are the building blocks of a motivation letter. Their organization is subject to the following rules:

• use transition phrases from one paragraph to another. Firstly, their use allows you to inform the reader about the information that will be presented below. Secondly, transition phrases provide a semantic relationship with the previous paragraph;
• although transitional phrases are general character, the sentence that follows must be specific and contain facts. General direction the narrative within each paragraph should be from the particular to the general;
• Each paragraph of the motivation letter is a mini story, so at the end of each paragraph a semantic outcome is necessary. Try to formulate it in such a way that it logically follows from the content of the paragraph. Avoid common phrases.

Introduction and Conclusion
The introduction is the most important part of the motivation letter. Its goal is to attract attention and interest the reader. The introduction can also indicate the direction of the rest of the story, but this is not its main purpose.

There are several ways to start a motivation letter:

• interesting quote. At the same time, many candidates resort to this technique, so you run the risk of not being original;
• description of an interesting experience from your life. The context of this impression becomes clear to the reader from the following paragraphs;
• an unusual fact from your biography. It is important that this fact fits organically into the overall context of the story;
• statement of the problem. The problem may be personal or social. In the further narration, it is necessary to show the process of internal or external overcoming this problem, or how you came to its deeper awareness and understanding.

The conclusion is the second most important part of the motivation letter. Its goal is to leave a lasting impression on what you read.

• topics should be synthesized rather than facts and experiences summarized. This means there is no need to summarize paragraph by paragraph or remind the reader again of what was previously discussed. Instead, you should revisit key themes, not just restate them in different words, but present them from a different angle;
• you can “snap” your ideas into a broader context about yourself or your area of ​​interest. Just don't make it sound like you're going to change the world or derive a deep philosophical truth from your personal experience;
• Talking about your long-term goals is another way to effectively end your cover letter. Your goals should flow logically from the experience and skills outlined in the previous paragraphs. Then describing your goals will naturally connect themes about your past, present, and future.