Step 2 Determine the contents of your statement
Prepare an outline by selecting the main topics you want to cover (here I give you the sample list of main topics, needs will vary according to the area you're applying for) and listing supporting material under each topic (here this step is represented by questions which you need to answer) Personal background
Remember, that while information on your past work is important, it is most relevant in explaining how it led you to focus on the problems that currently interest you. The admission committees are primarily concerned with learning about your current and future research interests.
List personal reasons for your interest in the area, for example, difficulties overcome, great extracurricular achievements, etc.
Have your parents or unusual life situations influenced your aspirations?
Professional objectives
Why do you want to be a physicist/mathematician/historian/...?
When did you know you wanted to be a physicist/mathematician/historian/...? What life experiences contributed to this?
What do your plan to do with your degree in physics/math/history/...? (Discuss your future educational and professional goals)
What area of physics/math/history/... do you want to get into?
Why do you want to attend X University? (You can discuss academic environment, geographic location, etc.)
Why will you make a good candidate for X University? (You might want to discuss your past triumphs, your commitment to academics)
Educational background
(summarize what you did as an undergraduate and in rare cases as a high school student)
List important classes you took or specific projects for a class which enhanced your interest in the field and stimulated your desire for graduate study.
List specific skills you have acquired and projects you have worked on, stress the ones which might be useful in your graduate work.
Related research and work experience
Research you might have done, indicate with whom, the title of the project, what your responsibilities were, and the outcome. Write technically, professors are the people who read these statements.
Work experience, especially if you had any kind of responsibility related to your professional interests (for example: testing, designing, or researching a product or apparatus).
Work done with or that displays knowledge of top people in the field--summarize key points of your actual experience
Recognition of and interest in work of individuals in the department to which you are applying
Outstanding achievements
Have you been a winner of regional, state, international, undergraduate Olympiads?
Have you received any special fellowships such as Soros, Eximer, etc.?
Have you got any special awards or nominations?
