文书写作指南大全（二）主题明确，问题具体
个人声明之所以难的部分原因是因为在一篇文章中你需要做许多事。与申请上大学的文章不同，在那个申请书中你的动机是没有疑问的，你的目标也可以不必明确，但写申请上研究生院的个人声明却要求你把多个主题包括在一篇作文里。用不着说，这可能是辣手的。
有三个主题可供你考虑：
1．你为什么要研究这个领域/上这所研究生院？
2．哪些方面使得你特别、不同、或优越？
3．为什么你够资格？
你可以只集中在一个主题或想法把三个都包括进去。不论你选择怎么做，要记得如果你的文章最终没表达你上研究生院的动机，没提出为什么你应该被接受的论点，那你就已经丢了分。
在本节你还将发现具体文章题目的一些特定问题策略。要是你面对的一个具体问题没被列在这儿，请务必查看我们的“大学录取作文辅助课程”或“商学院录取作文辅助课程”，那儿有20多个不同的普遍问题的特定问题策略。许多研究生院有一些简短回答的问题，这些问题在本网站的其他章节都作了深入的探讨。
一、为什么上研究生院？
写好这个主题的诀窍是说明你为什么要研究该领域。不要只是说一下就认为可以了。录取官员需要的是你生活中那些证明你的愿望并使得你的愿望得以成真的那些可信的详情。
有个诀窍可以避免给人以“这样的内容由来了”的反应，那就是密切注意第一行。当录取官员一开始就看到“自从 … … 以来，我一直想当个物理学家”这样的句子，他们肯定缩回去。我们知道可提供帮助的是文章的那行句子，但是这些可怜的官员已经有多少次读过这样的句子，他们自己也数不清，这样的句子很快就变成老一套了。相反，可以用一个能说明你早就呼唤法律的故事来开始你的文章。现看一看例1文章的第一段：
"That's not fair." Even as the smallest of children, I remember making such a proclamation: in kindergarten it was "not fair" when I had to share my birthday with another little girl and didn't get to sit on the "birthday chair." When General Mills changed my favorite childhood breakfast cereal, "Kix," I, of course, thought this was "not fair." Unlike many kids (like my brother) who would probably have shut up and enjoyed the "great new taste" or switched to Cheerios, this kid sat her bottom down in a chair (boosted by the phone book) and typed a letter to the company expressing her preference for the "classic" Kix over the "great new taste" Kix.
在讲述故事的时候，文章作者说明了她政治上的激进主义是根深蒂固的，但她不必说出来。她不是只告诉我们就希望我们相信，她是展示给我们看的。
另一个开篇方式是“我爸爸是个 … …”。有些录取官员说，如果申请人给出的想要研究某一个领域的唯一理由是家庭的愿望，那么他们不仅会对申请人的动机，而且对他是否成熟表示怀疑。这当然不是说你必须掩盖你的父母支持你做该领域研究这一事实，但这的确意味着你应该避免你想靠它作为进入研究生院的唯一理由。如果你的父亲或母亲确实鼓励你进研究生院，那么需要详细地描述你为什么受到他们的鼓励，以及你在现实生活中做了那些事可以检验你的动机。
例1：英语专业
注意：为了教学目的，该文发表时未加修改。
"That's not fair." Even as the smallest of children, I remember making such a proclamation: in kindergarten it was "not fair" when I had to share my birthday with another little girl and didn't get to sit on the "birthday chair." When General Mills changed my favorite childhood breakfast cereal, "Kix," I, of course, thought this was "not fair." Unlike many kids (like my brother) who would probably have shut up and enjoyed the "great new taste" or switched to Cheerios, this kid sat her bottom down in a chair (boosted by the phone book) and typed a letter to the company expressing her preference for the "classic" Kix over the "great new taste" Kix. Through the plenty of "not fair" incidents that followed, my mother tried to explain that unfair things happen sometimes, but I never accepted the idea of an unfair world and began to realize that there were a great many situations and conditions that were "not fair" to women. At age ten, I was mortified that all the boys in my Catechism class were signing up to be altar servers, but girls could not. When my grandmother told me that, at one time, because she was a woman, she was only allowed to touch the altar when she was cleaning it-the fight against the Catholic Church was on. Once again, I sat my bottom down in the chair (still with the phone book) and typed a letter to the Monsignor requesting to be trained as an altar server. With no immediate response, I respectfully but persistently harassed the Monsignor and the other priests every Sunday when I saw them in church, until, nearly two years later, I became an altar server. At age twelve I was almost too old to appreciate the new privilege, but there are girls becoming altar servers in that church to this day.Fighting against things "not fair" for women has been my goal throughout my education, just as it will be in my future, and I have had several unique opportunities toward this end.
I have worked two summers in a Sacramento, California, law firm for the managing partner, a brilliant litigator and a woman who really cares about justice, on two of the biggest cases of her career. I performed legal research relevant to the issues of spoliation and antitrust, and I directly assisted Ms. F with trial preparation, accompanying her to court during the trials. Under her guidance I have learned the inner workings of litigation, and I have seen that unfairness pervades all types of law. Having experienced litigation, I know the heavy work load that characterizes trial preparation and can safely say that I approach a legal career aware of its realities.
I have also participated in the [school] Center for American Politics and Public Policy (CAPPP) Quarter in Washington program, which allowed me to take classes at the [school] Center and intern at the National Women's Law Center in D.C. The Law Center showed me the public interest side of law, the area of law that I hope to enter in order to address the women's issues that are so important to me. Public interest offers the opportunity to help
women who need it the most, those who could not otherwise afford legal assistance and who are often victims of the "not fair," of violations of their civil rights.
My classes at [school]