Help writing a research experience essay for PhD program apps

[McPsychy]

Greetings I'm having to write a essay on a summary of my previous research experiences and wanted to know if anyone has any tips or a particular direction I should take with this assignment? It`s 1 to 3 pages, but would like to know if people tend focus more on a bigger project they had a lot of involvement in or focus equally on every experience (my exp. ranges from spied focus in my masters to more social psych. in undergrad). I also have to write a personal statement, but have never had to focus on just my research in my grad school apps ( I`m applying to developmental/cognitive science based PhD programs)

Also I have first authored and Coauthored a couple book chapters on topics similar to research done by some of the faculty I'm hoping to work with at these programs. Would it be ok to include this on a essay research exp.? Thanks

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[bpsydme]

Greetings I'm having to write a essay on a summary of my previous research experiences and wanted to know if anyone has any tips or a particular direction I should take with this assignment? It`s 1 to 3 pages, but would like to know if people tend focus more on a bigger project they had a lot of involvement in or focus equally on every experience (my exp. ranges from spied focus in my masters to more social psych. in undergrad). I also have to write a personal statement, but have never had to focus on just my research in my grad school apps ( I`m applying to developmental/cognitive science based PhD programs)

Also I have first authored and Coauthored a couple book chapters on topics similar to research done by some of the faculty I'm hoping to work with at these programs. Would it be ok to include this on a essay research exp.? Thanks

The advice that I saw on here and what I ended up doing is making a coherent "story" of the various research experiences I've had. I spent maybe the first page starting with my first research internship up until my current (which included multiple labs, that's why it's so long). The next 2 pages were spent on the current research (most directly related to my topic), weaving it into my interests and ultimately ending with how everything led me to where I am, what I want to study, and at that particular school. I think you'll find that this style is probably the most common.

I included research experiences that may or may not directly relate to my current interest and explained their significance, even if their significance was that I realized I didn't like this topic.

Lastly, I also spent a small portion of my research essay/SOP talking about various skills I picked up that isn't necessarily following protocol. For example, team work and things like software you may know, especially if it is used in your lab of choice or in your field. I did mentioned any publications (not posters) but only if it was relevant to my argument. I wouldn't randomly say "I have 2 published articles" without context, since they'll have a copy of your CV anyways. An exception is one school specifically asked to mention any posters/publications you have in your SOP.

I hope this helps. Another thing is if you're having a very difficult time with your research essay, maybe you should consider whether you want to go into research as a career. For me, writing the research essay came as easily as writing my own autobiography. Good luck!

 

[McPsychy]

Thank you for your reply! This is very helpful. Most of my personal statements have called for my research exp. to be included in the PS, so focusing on just my research experiences is different since I had to leave out a ton of things so I didn't use up all my word limit! Thanks!

 

[bpsydme]

Thank you for your reply! This is very helpful. Most of my personal statements have called for my research exp. to be included in the PS, so focusing on just my research experiences is different since I had to leave out a ton of things so I didn't use up all my word limit! Thanks!

I agree. I only had an SOP for all schools except 2, which required separate research essays. At first, it was confusing and seemed daunting to have to dissect my SOP into several different parts, but what worked out for me was I used my SOP as the skeleton, delete all non-research oriented things, and then just add in details. I actually ended up practically re-writing the whole thing in order to sound coherent, but that initial step helped me formulate my thoughts.

I'm not sure why there aren't more responses....maybe people are too busy prepping for interviews.

Anyways, good luck, and once you start writing, it will be so much easier than staring at a blank page.