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飞越手册第四章申请文书的写作 created by zhj5825, revised by dirichlet 4.1概述申请文书的写作，在整个申请的过程中起着至关重要的作用。与GPA、G&T不同，申请文书是我们可以掌控并仔细雕琢的，因此我们有必要，也必须把它们写好。申请文书主要包括，个人陈述(Personal Statement/Statement of Purpose / Statement of Intent)，简历(CV/Resume)，研究计划(Research Proposal / Research Statement)和推荐信(Recommendation Letter)。除推荐信需要推荐人撰写之外，其余的都要大家自己完成。（绝大多数情况下，推荐信也要我们亲自动手……）下面就分别介绍一下这些文书如何写作，以及相关的注意事项。 4.2 个人陈述个人陈述有Personal Statement和Statement of Purpose/Statement of Intent两种形式，不同学校的不同的program，有的要求SOP，有的要求PS，有的则都需要。SOP是学习（研究）计划的陈述，侧重于未来；PS是自我陈述，侧重于过去。申请过程中用同一个版本即可，如果两者都要，那么需要针对两者的特点加以修改，PS着重过去的经历，SOP要更多的展望未来。个人陈述的篇幅一般控制在800字左右，有的学校要求字数更少，篇幅有限，我们要写好每个句子。需要给个人陈述留出足够的准备时间，大家要提前规划好。个人陈述可以用比简历更加具体的事例、更加生动的语言向教授介绍自己，从而让教授进一步了解你，认识你，要让他/她觉得你是非常适合这个program，认为你有能力、有潜力成为一个优秀的研究生。在动笔之前，先要好好构思一下。自己申请的program是什么性质的？非研究型的硕士，需要考虑清楚自己选择这个program的缘由，理清自己的实习、工作经历，阐明职业规划；研究型的硕士和博士，则需要想好自己的研究兴趣和方向（研究方向要与申请的项目match！），通过叙述自己在该领域内做过怎样的事情（用尽可能详细的事例来支持自己的说法），让教授认识到你在这个研究领域是有很好的基础和能力的。构思的时间稍长一些，考虑好了再动笔就很容易了，磨刀不误砍柴工嘛。想清楚这些问题之后，便可以开始写了，写的时候最好一气呵成地完成初稿。之后，自己仔细检查一下语言、语法的错误。至于内容的组织和行文结构，可以先让别人帮忙把把关，自己不要马上修改，因为毕竟自己刚刚写完，看不出什么大毛病，多听听他人的意见是有好处的。个人陈述最关键的是内容，教授们关心的是你做过什么，以及今后的学习研究计划和职业规划。我们要精雕细琢的就是文章的内容和逻辑结构，至于语言、用词是否地道，仔细认真，不犯低级错误即可（如：本来申的是master，PS中却说I would like to pursue PhD degree in …），没必要对每个单词逐一推敲，要分清主次。下面列一个提纲，仅供大家参考： 1、介绍自己的背景、兴趣 2、列举事例两三个来展现自己在申请领域的基础和能力 3、介绍自己的学习计划和职业规划 4、说明为何要选择该学校、该项目，要自信地表达出自己想在该项目中学习的强烈意愿。 4.3简历简历，Curriculum Vitae/Resume，就是把自己的经历罗列出来。尽量挑选同申请的项目有关的研究、实习经历。至于简历的模板，网上有很多，内容基本是一致的，包含：个人信息及联系方式，教育背景，研究、实习经历，G&T成绩，获奖经历等。下面给出一份简历，仅供大家参考： John Smith Address Telephone: +86-106228XXXX/138118XXXXX E-mail: XXX@gmail.com Objective Pursue PhD in Computer Engineering at XXX University Education B.S., Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications (BUPT) School of Computer Science and Technology; Major: XXXXXXX, GPA over all: 3.4, GPA Major: 3.7, ranking: 29/150; expected July, 2008 Research Activities 1. September, 2007-Now Research member in Broadband Network Research Center, of the Chinese State Key Laboratory of Networking and Switching Technology. Doing research in QoS-aware mobility management scheme. 2. September, 2007-December, 2007 Member in a research project in Broadband Network Research Center, of the Chinese State Key Laboratory of Networking and Switching Technology. Participate in a research group to make modifications of Internet Group Management Protocol to achieve a light-weighted and more efficient protocol so as to enhance the performance to multicast in the networks. ... Test Scores TOEFL XXX; GRE: VXXX, XX% QXXX, XX% AWX.X, XX% IELTS:X.X Awards 1. Gold medal, the 1st BUPT Programming Competition, sponsored by Yahoo China; the 3rd place team winner out of 302 teams in total 2. Second Prize in Chinese Mathematical Contest in Modeling, 2006 3. Second Prize and Third Prize in the National College English Contest 4. “BUPT Scholarship” award for the excellent performance, 2005 and 2006 5. “Excellent Volunteer” of the International Forum for University Presidents on ICT Education 2005. 4.4 研究计划研究计划，Research Proposal，简称RP，是另一种申请文书。美国学校一般不需要RP，而英国、新加坡、澳大利亚、和中国香港地区的绝大多数院校都要求申请者提供RP。简单的说，RP就是请申请者阐明在未来的研究生学习期间计划从事的研究方向与课题。通过RP，对方院系或教授可以更加清楚的考察申请者研究能力。需要说明的是，RP里所述的研究课题并不意味着你以后就一定研究这个课题。从本质上看，RP就是一篇小型的研究课题开题报告。对于硕士生来说，写RP并不难，只要把硕士期间研究的课题加以总结，再提出一些新的前沿问题即可。对于本科生来说，由于缺乏研究经历以及对研究方向的宏观把握，因此写RP是一件相对麻烦的事情。对于本科生，我们需要确定自己想要研究的具体问题，之后则需要阅读多篇参考文献来明确这个问题的来龙去脉。比如，我想将Mobile QoS作为我今后的研究方向，那么我先要了解在Mobile QoS这个领域的主要研究成果，最直接的途径是阅读综述类文章。这些综述类论文一般比较浅显易懂，涵盖的内容较为全面，非常有助于我们迅速入门。搜文章可以利用学校图书馆提供的电子资源，例如IEEEXPLORE，中国学术期刊等。下载了论文后，我们可以先通过阅读文章的摘要（Abstract）和介绍（Introduction）部分了解每一篇文章的大致内容。读完多篇后，我们可以将问题进行分类和总结。需要注意的是，每一篇文章最后的参考文献部分非常重要，如果像深入了解某个方面，可以通过参考文献继续找出关于某个问题的更多的论文。一般来说，通过约20篇的顶级会议和期刊论文，我们便可以对某个领域的研究有了一定程度的了解。对研究课题有了基本的认识后，我们便需要按照一定的格式完成RP。下面是夏威夷大学网站上Paul T.P.Wong写的一篇关于何写好RP的文章，大家可以参考一下。 A research proposal is intended to convince others that you have a worthwhile research project and that you have the competence and the work-plan to complete it. Generally, a research proposal should contain all the key elements involved in the research process and include sufficient information for the readers to evaluate the proposed study. Regardless of your research area and the methodology you choose, all research proposals must address the following questions: What you plan to accomplish, why you want to do it and how you are going to do it. The proposal should have sufficient information to convince your readers that you have an important research idea, that you have a good grasp of the relevant literature and the major issues, and that your methodology is sound. The quality of your research proposal depends not only on the quality of your proposed project, but also on the quality of your proposal writing. A good research project may run the risk of rejection simply because the proposal is poorly written. Therefore, it pays if your writing is coherent, clear and compelling. This paper focuses on proposal writing rather than on the development of research ideas. Title: It should be concise and descriptive. For example, the phrase, “An investigation of . . .” could be omitted. Often titles are stated in terms of a functional relationship, because such titles clearly indicate the independent and dependent variables. However, if possible, think of an informative but catchy title. An effective title not only pricks the reader’s interest, but also predisposes him/her favourably towards the proposal. Introduction: The main purpose of the introduction is to provide the necessary background or context for your research problem. How to frame the research problem is perhaps the biggest problem in proposal writing. If the research problem is framed in the context of a general, rambling literature review, then the research question may appear trivial and uninteresting. However, if the same question is placed in the context of a very focused and current research area, its significance will become evident. Unfortunately, there are no hard and fast rules on how to frame your research question just as there is no prescription on how to write an interesting and informative opening paragraph. A lot depends on your creativity, your ability to think clearly and the depth of your understanding of problem areas. However, try to place your research question in the context of either a current “hot” area, or an older area that remains viable. Secondly, you need to provide a brief but appropriate historical backdrop. Thirdly, provide the contemporary context in which your proposed research question occupies the central stage. Finally, identify “key players” and refer to the most relevant and representative publications. In short, try to paint your research question in broad brushes and at the same time bring out its significance. The introduction typically begins with a general statement of the problem area, with a focus on a specific research problem, to be followed by the rational or justification for the proposed study. The introduction generally covers the following elements: 1. State the research problem, which is often referred to as the purpose of the study. 2. Provide the context and set the stage for your research question in such a way as to show its necessity and importance. 3. Present the rationale of your proposed study and clearly indicate why it is worth doing. 4. Briefly describe the major issues and sub-problems to be addressed by your research. 5. Identify the key independent and dependent variables of your experiment. Alternatively, specify the phenomenon you want to study. 6. State your hypothesis or theory, if any. 7. Set the delimitation or boundaries of your proposed research in order to provide a clear focus. 8. Provide definitions of key concepts. (This is optional.) Literature Review: Sometimes the literature review is incorporated into the introduction section. However, most professors prefer a separate section, which allows a more thorough review of the literature. The literature review serves several important functions: 1. Ensures that you are not “reinventing the wheel”. 2. Gives credits to those who have laid the groundwork for your research. 3. Demonstrates your knowledge of the research problem. 4. Demonstrates your understanding of the theoretical and research issues related to your research question. 5. Shows your ability to critically evaluate relevant literature information. 6. Indicates your ability to integrate and synthesize the existing literature. 7. Provides new theoretical insights or develops a new model as the conceptual framework for your research. 8. Convinces your reader that your proposed research will make a significant and substantial contribution to the literature (i.e., resolving an important theoretical issue or filling a major gap in the literature). Most students’ literature reviews suffer from the following problems: • Lacking organization and structure • Lacking focus, unity and coherence • Being repetitive and verbose • Failing to cite influential papers • Failing to keep up with recent developments • Failing to critically evaluate cited papers • Citing irrelevant or trivial references • Depending too much on secondary sources Your scholarship and research competence will be questioned if any of the above applies to your proposal. 我当时就是按照这篇文章的意思，写了一篇RP。个人认为，在申请阶段，尤其是本科生申请者，最重要的部分是Background的介绍。，要让教授知道你对这个领域是十分了解和关注的，这一点是相对容易做到的，但想要提出一个建设性的idea对于我们是比较困难的。 4.5推荐信推荐信的作用不容忽视。作为申请者，我们很难判断某件申请材料所起的作用有多大，因此需要尽心尽力做好每份材料，包括推荐信。推荐信有纸版和电子版两种方式，具体用哪一种取决于你所申学校的要求以及你的意愿。下面先说纸版推荐信的准备过程。推荐信一般需要2-4封。对于申请非研究型硕士的申请者，如果能有一封来自实习公司的推荐信则更好；对于申请研究型硕士和博士的申请者，最好找学校的老师来写推荐信。一般来说，推荐信需要出自教授或副教授，讲师则一般不行。如果申请者是硕士生，则一般还需要研究生导师的推荐信，不过如果这点很困难的话，也没有太大问题。有的老师要求申请者先把推荐信写好，让他/她过目后再签字；也有的老师就是直接自己写。如果是自己写推荐信，那么必须注意：不同老师的口吻不要相同，且同一位老师会同时给很多同学写推荐信，这需要所有请这位老师写推荐信的同学互相联系，统一信的格式，免得发生不必要的麻烦。推荐信要用老师的口吻来写，不要过度抬高自己，要基于事实，尽可能的用具体的事例，别尽写空话，要突出你的研究能力和潜力！推荐信的信纸要用学校名抬头的信纸，这样的信纸，还有推荐信信封都可以在学苑超市买到。打印出来后让老师签名、签日期。绝大多数学校还要求推荐人提交推荐表格，那么推荐表格也需要老师签名、签日期，其它部分如果老师不填的话，可以打印或自己填写。最后将推荐信、推荐表格（如果有的话）一起放进推荐信信封，密封好，并在信封骑缝处请老师签名。找老师签字的时候，尽量一次将所有学校都搞定，否则总去麻烦老师还是不太好的。除了纸版推荐信外，现在很多学校也都接受电子版的推荐信。电子版推荐信不会出现丢失现象，处理起来更加方便，因此受到很多学校的推崇。如果打算提交电子版推荐信，就需要要申请者提前和老师协商好，要么请老师帮忙提交，要么请老师将对方学校发来的提交电子版的推荐信网页链接转发给你，由你代为提交。推荐信写的过程仍然与前面所述相同，写完且老师同意后，将其转为PDF格式文档即可。

飞越手册 第四章 申请文书的写作

飞越手册第四章申请文书的写作