Think of Your University Application Statement in a "Two-Step" Structure! [Strategies for Statement of Purpose]

Last updated: 2025/04/02

This series, [Practical Writing], provides lectures on practical techniques for creating essays, short papers, and statements of purpose, which I, Shimeno, an instructor of essay and composition writing, teach in my regular correction and grading guidance.

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(You can see Shimeno's self-introduction here.)

Before the "reason for choosing that specific university," the "necessity of going to university" should be addressed.

Every year, around this time (as of February 2025), my work on "correcting essays and statements of purpose" gradually goes into full swing, but despite it being an annual occurrence, there is one thing I never get used to. That is that "my hands get tired." I keep holding a red pen, "marking up" the answer sheets where the statements of purpose are written and adding "comments." When that continues for a long time, my hands gradually start to hurt. Then, even though my brain is working, I can't keep writing. I'm a little worried that I might eventually get tendonitis.

Sometimes I correct them on a computer, but there are still more paper manuscripts. So, I sit at my desk thinking, "Oh, the time of year when my hands start to hurt has come again." Since I do this every year, the "NG patterns in students' statements of purpose" are mostly in my head, so that's not a problem, but it's quite troublesome that my hands get tired and hurt... I wonder if there is any good solution...

Well, regardless of that, there is one thing that can be said to be the most common among those"NG patterns in statements of purpose". That is the"NG pattern of starting right from the beginning with 'the reason for choosing that university as the destination'"which relates to this theme.A statement of purpose that starts abruptly with, "The reason I chose the XX Department of YY Faculty at your university is..."is one. This is the most common NG pattern. Many of you might think, "Huh? What's wrong with that? After all, it's a 'statement of purpose,' right? What's strange about writing the reason you chose that university?" This time, while explaining what is wrong with this, I will talk about"Let's think about the statement of purpose in a 'two-step' structure!"as astrategy for the statement of purpose.

First, clearly answer the question, "Why are you going to university?"!

"What's wrong with writing 'the reason for choosing that university' since it's a statement of purpose?" Most people would think that. Of course, there is nothing wrong with that in itself. Rather,the 'university application reason,' which corresponds to 'why you chose that university and that faculty/department,' can be said to be the main content of the statement of purpose. So, it's not that writing it is bad in itself."Starting with that content" and "writing only that content" are what's wrong.

That is becauseyou are starting to write without a sufficient answer to the premise of 'why is it necessary to go to university' in the first place. Not stating the "reason why you must go to university" before the "reason for choosing that university" is strange in terms of the "order of the story" and can be said to be insufficient content as a statement of purpose. It is true that"going to university after graduating from high school" may be the most common path, but it is by no means a "predetermined route." There should be many "routes" for future paths, such as "going to vocational school or other schools," "studying abroad (going to school) at overseas universities or schools," or "getting a job at a company or government office."Therefore,not answering 'why you chose the path of going to university' among those routes is strange in terms of the order of the storycan be said. The"original flow of a statement of purpose" should be to have a story about "why you decided to go to university," and then proceed to the story of "then, why did you choose your university among the many universities?"

For example, suppose you thought, "I want to be a doctor," triggered by something while thinking about what to do in the future. In Japan, you have to go to university to become a doctor. There is no other route in Japan. Here,the "necessity of going to university," that is, the "motivation for going to university," arises.Then, the story should proceed to which university's medical school you should actually go to, and so on.

Nevertheless, starting abruptly from "the reason for choosing that university as your destination" is a bit of a leap. As mentioned above,"going to university" is not a "natural, predetermined matter that applies to everyone."Therefore,starting the story with "The reason I applied to your university is..." without clearly showing the "necessity of going to university" must be said to be content that ignores the premise of the story and lacks persuasiveness.

State the "reason for choosing that specific university" after showing that there is a "necessity of going to university."

The"necessity of going to university," specifically, means that "you cannot fulfill your 'future dream' unless you go to university". In order for you to fulfill your dream of becoming a doctor, you have no choice but to go to a university medical school. After this prerequisite exists, you state theindividual and specific "reason for choosing that specific university" by saying, "Then, the reason I decided to go to your university's medical school is..." This is the most standard and foolproof "way to write a statement of purpose."

In other words,you should think about the reason for your application in two steps, such as answering the question "Why are you going to university?" and then, based on that, answering the question "Why did you choose that specific university as your destination?"

And, of course, at this time,the answer to "Why are you going to university?" is your "future dream."Because you have a "future dream" of "wanting to be a doctor,""you must go to university for that purpose"becomes the story. Based on that,you should think about "which university you want to go to among the many universities if it were you."

(Book guide article for finding your future dream)

The"strangeness" of starting to talk about "the reason for choosing that university as your destination" without talking about the "necessity of going to university"should be clear now. And,those who have never felt caught by this "strangeness" until now might have thought without any doubt that "it's natural to go to university after graduating from high school."However, that is not "natural." Adults (readers) think at least thatit would be strange if there were no "motivation or reason for going to university" to "go to university"...This is something that students who need to write a statement of purpose should definitely know.

Summary: Think about your university application reason in a "two-step" structure.

Based on the above, it can be said that you should think of your statement of purpose in two stages. You should clearly state your future dreams to define your reasons and motivations for attending university, and then proceed to explain why you chose that specific university, faculty, or department.

In other words, a statement of purpose consists of 'the reason you chose to attend university (rather than a vocational school or entering the workforce)' and 'the reason you chose that specific department at that specific university,' with the latter being based on the former.

In this way, it is best to think of your statement of purpose in two stages when structuring the content of your document.

*Note: This article assumes the creation of a standard '800-character statement of purpose.' Some universities may require a statement of about 250–300 characters; in such cases, simply summarize the 'reasons for choosing that university' concisely.

(Instead of starting by thinking about 'choosing a university' or 'university selection,' you should first think about 'what a university is' and 'why you must go to university.' This is a book that allows you to think about what a university means for your future and your life.)

(Click here for the site map for creating a statement of purpose)

For those struggling with 'how to write a statement of purpose,' we recommend the 'Shimeno-style Template for Creating a Statement of Purpose' here! (Price reduced on 2025/03/25!)

Five points to keep in mind when writing a statement of purpose for those aspiring to enter medical school (and medical-related faculties)!