The motivation letter for a master It is probably the factor that has the most influence on the acceptance of our candidacy. It is the document that the evaluator will read first, before the curriculum vitae, so a poor motivation letter can mean that our candidacy is rejected at the first opportunity.
So we are going to see what are the steps to follow to properly prepare this letter, and make sure that the evaluator has an optimal first impression about our candidacy.
What is a motivation letter for a master’s degree and why is it necessary?
Actually, The letter of motivation is one of the tests that any applicant for a master’s degree must pass. in a University. The letter of motivation is not a simple administrative formality, but is one more obstacle in the admission procedure, and must be satisfactorily overcome by the candidate.
Its difficulty lies in the fact that, in very few lines, we have to get the evaluator to perceive that we are truly motivated to take that specific master’s degree, and consider that we are capable of exceeding the high level of academic demands of this type of course. If the evaluator believes that we are missing one of these two things, our application will be rejected.
A motivation letter that is too long will denote our inability to synthesize ideas. A poorly written or misspelled letter will reveal that our academic background is not broad enough. And a badly structured letter will indicate to the evaluator a lack of aptitude to order and relate concepts.
On the other hand, we have to be able to convince the evaluators of our interest in being educated in the values of their academic institution, and that we want to take this master’s degree because of the additional knowledge that it will provide us. If the evaluator believes that the only thing that matters to us is obtaining one more title, the application will be rejected.
So let’s see what steps we must follow to ensure that our motivation letter is not an insurmountable obstacle, and becomes the key that enables our admission.
What structure should the letter follow?
Before getting into the subject, it is important to know by heart what is the optimal scheme that any motivation letter for a master’s degree should follow. The examiner will review our letter with a magnifying glass, and any failure or omission will be punished with the rejection of our request.
So it is necessary to follow this order strictly, and not omit any section although it seems unnecessary:
Header
Greeting
Introduction
Personal presentation
Motivation
Outcome
dating and signature
Let’s see in detail how to structure the letter so that it is short, but includes all the necessary information for the evaluator:
Letter length
The fundamental characteristic of the motivation letter for a master’s degree is that it must be brief: in no case will it occupy an extension greater than an A4 sheet, written with normal typography. Since the heading, dating and signature occupy half the space, we have half a page available to write the letter.
At first glance it may seem that there is little space, but we will see that it is more than enough.
Header
It can be placed near the top left or right corner. Responds to the following invariable format, respecting the upper and lower case indicated:
To the attention of (name and surname)
University or training center
Address
PC and population
e-mail
Note: If we do not know the name of the person responsible for admission, the first line will be:
To the attention of the Admission Department
We recommend alignment to the left. The right alignment is correct, but it’s more visually jarring.
To achieve a good aesthetic effect, two or three line breaks are recommended after the heading, before continuing with the greeting.
Greeting
The first line of the greeting will depend on whether it is a tester or a tester:
If it is a man, we will write “Dear Mr.:”.
If it is a woman, then we will put “Dear Madam.:”.
And if we don’t know it, the correct expression is: “Dear Mr./a.:”.
We will not start the introduction in the same line of the greeting. The line break is mandatory, before starting to write the introduction.
Introduction
In the introduction you have to be direct and do not overdo it, or give many explanations. Remember that we have little space. In order not to complicate our lives or lengthen, a good trick is to state the reason why we sent the letter, and not add anything else. An example could be the following:
CORRECT
We will place another full stop, to start the presentation on the bottom line.
Presentation: brief personal context
We will explain when we have finished the degree, and if we have any work experience or completed another master’s degree. Not a word more, not a word less. Example of an accurate and concise presentation:
CORRECT
«In June 2020 I finished my studies in Architecture and. Subsequently, I have been working for six months in the Arquiestudy company, with an internship contract».
The presentation ends with a full stop, to continue with the development of the motivation in the next line.
The importance of introduction and presentation
It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that the introduction and introduction make up the first part of any motivation letter. This implies that they are vital parts of our letter, because they will always be read by the evaluator first.
Therefore, if they are inconsistent or unconvincing, they can cause a bad initial impression, negatively conditioning the rest of the motivation letter. So we have to burn in our minds the following statement:
The introduction and presentation are two essential parts of the cover letter for a master’s degree, and just as important as the motivation itself.
Therefore, if we have difficulty writing them, it may be convenient to do so after having elaborated the part related to the motivation, not previously. And it is that writing them cold is not as simple as it seems. It is much easier to do them if we already know what we are going to say next.
Let’s look at this last point in more detail. Let’s present a practical case, with two different assumptions:
Let’s imagine that we have to give a talk aimed at university graduates. In the first case, we have been previously informed that the talk will be about the importance of taking a master’s degree. In the second case, they have simply told us that we have to give a talk, and that, after we present ourselves to the public, they will tell us what we have to talk about.
In the first case, we will introduce ourselves, more or less, as follows: “Good afternoon, my name is Juan Español, I am an expert in training, and I come to explain why it is essential take a master’s degree”.
In the second case, the presentation will necessarily have to be similar to this: “Good morning, my name is Juan Español, I am an expert in training and I am going to give an informative talk, but I still don’t know what I have to talk about.”
This example is clear evidence that it is easier for us to present ourselves adequately when we are already we know in advance what we are going to say, and that the presentation is much more effective and coherent.
development of motivation
The development of motivation is the ultimate goal of our letter. It will be of little use if we have not failed in the introduction and presentation, if afterwards we do not know how to make the evaluator perceive that we are motivated to take the master’s degree.
We must be honest and look within. Ask ourselves why we want to do the master’s degree, and write the answers on a piece of paper. We will discover that we probably have more than one motivation, and we will choose the strongest one, or the one with the greatest emotional charge.
And we will do the development following the guidelines already indicated: clarity, precision and brevity. This section should be longer than the others, since it is the fundamental part of the letter, but let’s not make the mistake of writing a small Quixote.
As an example:
CORRECT
“My personal conviction as an architect is that the current urban model must be replaced by a friendlier one, which facilitates general access to affordable single-family homes. I have thoroughly analyzed the program of this Master in Design of Single-Family Residences, and I am convinced that it covers all my training gaps in this area of knowledge”.
Again, we will put a point and aside, to finish our letter of motivation with the wording of the outcome.
outcome and final words
If our tester has made it this far, it would be a shame to throw the job away due to an error in the ending. Therefore, we will take special care at the end and say goodbye.
We will politely request that they consider our application for admission, and we will say goodbye soberly, indicating that we are making ourselves available to the evaluator.
A suitable text might look something like this:
CORRECT
«For this reason, I beg you to kindly consider my application for admission to pursue the studies already indicated. I am sending you additional documentation regarding my training.
I am at your disposal to clarify any doubt, or hold a personal interview.
Awaiting your news, receive a cordial greeting.
All that would remain was to sign the letter. And here you also have to be very careful. Let’s see why:
Dating and handwriting signature
Once the letter is finished, after a full stop, we will date the letter of motivation. That is, we will indicate where and when it has been signed.
Example: «In Madrid, on March 15, 2021».
dating is a mustand its absence is an obvious indicator of carelessness or lack of preparation, even more inexcusable than a misspelling.
We will then sign the letter from our hand and letter. And under the signature, in typographical characters, we will include our name and surname. The omission of the name and surname in typographical form is also an unforgivable fault.
Although the motivation letter for the master’s degree is sent in electronic format, it is necessary to insert the handwritten signature. It gives a very good image, since it indicates that we have taken the trouble to digitize it so that the evaluator can see it. We can scan our signature on paper and then vectorize it, or digitize it directly by signing on a digital drawing panel.
If our computer knowledge is insufficient to do so, we will go to any digital printing establishment, and in five minutes we will obtain a graphic file with our handwritten signature. This file will also be useful for any other future document.
Reasons that have led me to be interested in the master’s degree
In the event that it is difficult for us to verbally express what our motivation is, a good idea is to examine the following list. These are reasons put forward successfully by others…