In many countries, it is not common to write motivational letters at all. Therefore, it is not surprising that the majority of people struggle to write one.
Below I’ve listed life hacks on how to write a good motivation letter:
- This is the most important advice I’m going to give you! Do not use sample letters from the internet, or think you can change a sample letter taken from online and simply make it your own. In almost all foreign universities (the top ones for sure) they use a plagiarism detection programme that scans submissions. If the system determines that you have plagiarised, then you not ever get into your chosen university!
- Read the requirements for the motivation letter carefully! If the length should be 500 words, you should write as close to this as possible. Any significant deviation above or below the word count will penalise your application (usually a discrepancy of 5% is allowed at most).
- Write the motivation letter in the required language from beginning. Many portals recommend to compose it in your native language, and then simply translate it to English. Our experience and experience of our customers shows that this is not the best way to compose the letter. The smooth flow of sentences are often lost when translating and your motivation letter can read cumbersomely. If it’s too hard make a plan for the motivation letter in your native language and then write it up in English.
- When you have finished the first draft, put it away and don’t touch it for at least a week. This will allow you to take a fresh look at it. Typically, to create a good motivation letter for admission to top 10 universities, you need to put in roughly 1.5 to 2 months of preparation.
- Send it to at least three people for proof-reading: The admission committee will not mark your letter more lightly just because you’re not a native speaker. Grammatical errors in the letter should not happen. So try to ensure that your motivation letter is proof-read by a native speaker.
