|
|
Sample Statement of Purpose for LLM
When I was working as an teaching assistant in Sino-American
Link (China Program)中美纽带 in the summer of 2002, I met a student from
Ohio who, though deaf, was so proficient in Chinese as a result of
years of diligence and perseverance in the language studies. I became
wordless honestly at the moment he started to make his very first
presentation that was so strikingly impressive. At that moment, I
started to tell myself that time is flying but each and every second
can be as much colorful and significant as we want it to be, if we are
bold and industrious enough to address whatever challenges we may
encounter. Resolutely, I have identified criminal law as the object of
my pursuit of advanced studies, because I wish I could work hard for
the rest of my life to make contribution to help the restoration of
social justice and establishment of a genuine rule of law for my
country.
Currently I am a senior student at the Law School of Peking
University. As many other people around, I study law in order to help
in realization of social order and impartiality, and as I continue
with the specialty studies I become all the more motivated. As a major
of law, I have attended many courses and read extensively, and now I
have started to work independently on certain issues and to learn more
of sociological, philosophical and economic knowledge so as to enrich
myself. During this process of schooling and growth, I have come to
identify the object of my greatest interest, criminal law. I have
obtained “A” for both criminal law and criminal procedure law. Despite
my profound interests in a range of areas, I stood one of the top ten
of the entire session (totaling 150 students) in terms of credits of
undergraduate courses. I know it wouldn’t be possible but for my keen
interest in the specialty and a wholehearted devotion to the studies.
To conduct independent studies and research are the two major tasks I
have completed during the undergraduate program. Since I was a
sophomore, I have altogether authored and published three articles,
namely, On the Essence of Common Law, Economic Analysis of the Right
to Muteness, and Investigation Report of Evidencing by Witnesses
During A Criminal Procedure. The last one, which was based on
extensive investigations and interviews with nearly 200 judges,
prosecutors, counsels and witnesses and commons who appeared in court,
gives a true reflection of the reality and is highly considered and
made referential by China Prosecutors Journal, a national key
publication on legal practice. In addition, I also participated in the
famous Challenge Cup Collegiate Paper Contest, and was one of the only
two prize-winners of Beijing contest area.
I am fully aware that sound interpersonal skills and motivation of
team spirit are the basic personal qualities required of a good legal
practitioner, so I have been very active in taking part in various
social activities during the undergraduate period. I used to be the
class monitor and the assistant information officer of the Law
School's Students’ Union. I find these rewarding experiences extremely
helpful in developing leadership skills. Besides, I interned in a
lawyer company of the Law School of Peking University and subsequently
in Mingtai Company, where I gained substantial knowledge about the
practical problems of law enforcement in China. It is worthy of a
special note that throughout the schooling days in the University, I
have been the key player of basketball team of the School, and have
taken part in quite many contests and won prizes for the School. I
always find playing the ball extremely helpful in developing team
motivation, willpower and a spirit of going all out for success.
The major driving forces behind my identification of criminal law are
my profound interest in this subject and knowledge of so many problems
related with criminal law that need now addressing urgently. For
instance, a misjudged case we find during the criminal procedure in
China is just because of the absence of witnesses who are supposed to
appear in court. So it becomes extremely important, considering the
current social circumstances in China, to have a good look at the
causes of preventing the witnesses from appearing in court and to
explore a best possible solution thereto. When I was studying in the
University, I came across a number of books written by foreign law
professors, and I found their research methodologies very interesting.
I believe good methodologies are critical to successful studies and
analysis of specific issues. In addition, when I was working in the
Sino-American Link (China Program), I became acquainted with quite
many American students, who helped me a lot to understand the cultural
and ideological differences between China and the western world. These
unique experiences form the basis of my decision to apply for
admission by your acclaimed university. For I believe that extensively
comparative studies and intensive knowledge of different cultures and
histories are absolutely necessary for me to study law well.
In my studies in the future, I will focus on the courses on criminal
procedure and evidencing law as well as the methodology studies, and
will integrate the knowledge obtained in these courses with the
witnessing in court and other criminal procedure issues that I will
address in the future. The issues related to witnessing and protection
of the rights of the defendants are as much a hot-spot as a bottleneck
of theoretical studies of law in China. So far I have already read
quite extensively on these issues and conducted some research work.
The aforesaid two prize-winning articles that have been published
reflect part of my observations on these issues. Based on the
published Investigation Report of Evidencing by Witnesses, I am now
working on my graduation thesis titled Studies on the Witnessing . I
wish I could continue with the exploration in this area in the future
studies, in order to work out a perfect legislative approach from
sociological and economic perspectives.
To become a criminal law professor is what I aim to be for a life
career. I wish to explore the field of criminal law and to contribute
to the development of rule of law and an improved criminal law of
China. Anglo-American legal system claims the most up-to-date
achievements of studies in procedure law in addition to the best
methodologies applicable for research in the field of law. While
attaining the goal of my life, I will surely benefit tremendously from
the resources of faculty, dynamic academic atmosphere and unparalleled
facilities of your distinguished university. Moreover, I am confident
that, considering my keen interest in criminal law, the fundamental
knowledge I gained in this field and a spirit of perseverance I have
always cherished, I will make substantial contribution to the sector
of law of China in the future. In this I firmly believe: success is
the product of combination of interest, competence and hard work.
|
