Minimum of 100 words, maximum of 200 words
State what you want to study and what you are trying to find out. Name the problem in the field that your study will examine. This is the academic argument, stated plainly.
What to include in your essay:
- The specific texts or body of work you intend to study.
- The theoretical frameworks you are working with and why they are worth questioning.
- The exact problem you are trying to solve.
Paragraph 2
Where the Goal Came From
Ground the intellectual goal in a real moment or recurring experience that makes your goal feel genuine. Show that the goal did not come from a reading list but from something you actually encountered.
What to include in your essay:
- The specific situation or moment that exposed the gap you are now trying to close.
- What question it left you unable to answer.
- A direct line from that unanswered question to why this scholarship matters.
I want to spend two years reading African postcolonial fiction against the theoretical frameworks that were mostly built without it in mind, and figure out where those frameworks actually hold up and where they just don't fit the text.
Technique:
This paragraph works because it is a precise intellectual claim stated without preamble. It names the body of work, names the frameworks being questioned, and frames the whole study as a testing exercise rather than a confirmation of something already believed.
Breakdown:
"Mostly built without it in mind" is doing serious critical work. It does not say the frameworks are wrong, only that they were not built for this material, which is a more careful and interesting claim.
"Where they actually hold up and where they just don't fit" frames the study as genuine inquiry rather than a predetermined conclusion.