Dear Sirs/Madams,
After being immersed in fine arts more than a decade, I would like to study International Studies at Leiden University, for the 2016 autumn term.
As I was a student of National Taiwan University of arts, which counts a second place in the field of fine arts in Taiwan, I believe that the only way to enhance myself as well as my artworks is to study broadly from languages to literatures, politics and cultures since they all effect essentially to paintings. Although I have majored in western arts, I still find the colour-matching, compositions or metaphors vary from country to country. That is, without sufficient knowledge and living experiences of Europe, I can hardly use the similar colour of which I am often in awe to many European artists. Take my one month trip in Edinburgh where I was stunned by the Glasgow boys' works for example. By reading histories, knowing English and visiting Glasgow, I understood a little more as to why Joseph Crawhall's paintings could be so much harmonious. I would not have known this had I simply seen his paintings through pictures.
As soon as I realised how much easy I understood the subtle meaning in Chinese literature by using Mandarin rather than other languages, I started taking language courses and subsequently developed a passion for finding the various logics and ambiguous values in many different languages. Therefore, I have chosen to apply to Leiden University because it provides many language courses and relevant subjects, not to mention the professional teachers, well-equipped libraries, and humanity projects such as a VIDI project about manuscripts from which I learnt a lot. Moreover, the convenience of travelling to many other places is one of the boons of studying in Leiden University which I can meet people from various backgrounds, visit museums and diversify my work experiences.
I do not excel at all subjects; however, I am proud of my improvement and passions for arts and languages. For instance, due to my strong interests in drawing, I started attending art lessons at the age of five and have passed two national drawing exams with high grades. My interests in reading the classics as well as watching Chinese opera have fuelled me to be more creative. At 16, I arranged my first exhibition; I have learnt quite a lot from making invitation letters to dealing with the decoration and frames. The paintings I exhibited helped me earn a one thousand Euro scholarship yearly due to my excellent performance of painting. Finally, in high school, it was not until I wanted to read more stories without the limits of translation did my English score rise from C to A.
As an avid learner, I have also arranged myself some lessons-aside from language courses- during the home-schooling period, such as: visiting exhibitions, learning Pipa, a Chinese instrument, and watching classic movies. Also, after learning some languages, I have tried to translate several articles in terms of art supply materials in the hope to help Chinese users understand more about paintings.
During my spared time, I have helped a local teachers' union in terms of designing some posters and cards, taught English as well as drawing to adults and painted some pictures for book covers. All of which may not be seen as profitable, yet I have benefited greatly because I could share my passions to others via the media I love.
As for volunteering works, due to my close connection to libraries, I have been helping my high school library for decorating for nearly two years, and recently I have been selected to be a volunteer in the Centre for Chinese Studies, a respectful national research institution in Taiwan.
After I finish Leiden University, before applying for a Mater degree in humanity fields, I am planning to work in a museum or, some projects in terms of holding exhibitions, writing articles about aesthetics in order to improve and help people to understand other cultures and aesthetics which, after studying International Studies,
I hope that you will consider my application favourably, and help me in my goal to use my education and artistic backgrounds to benefit the institution where I first discovered my passion for languages and cultural activities.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Kind regards,
Charlotte Fang
Hi Charlottefang
As I was a student ofin National Taiwan University of arts, which counts a second place in the field ofin position for fine arts in Taiwan, I used to believe that the only way to enhance myself as well as my artworks is to study broadly from languages to literatures, politics and cultures since they all effectcommensurate/ relate essentially to paintings. Although I have majored in western arts, I still find the colour-matching, compositions or metaphors vary from country to country. That is,which means without sufficient knowledge and living experiences of Europe, I can hardly use the similar colour of which I am often in awe to many European artists.( I did not get this line: do you mean that : without knowledge you can not use the same color which was supposed to amaze many European artists, Kindly explicit this phrase))TakeI would like to exemplify here by a personal incident : I went for a short trip inmy one month trip in Edinburgh where I was stunned by the Glasgow boys' works for example . ByWhile reading historiesy , knowing English and visiting Glasgow, I was able to understood a little more as to why Joseph Crawhall's paintings could be so much harmonious.
As soon as I realised how much easil y I understood the subtle ...
... passion for finding the various logicslogistics and ambiguous values ...
... studying in Leiden University whichwhere I can meet people from ...
... share my passions towith others via the media I love.
....
Good luck :)
Hi Ssakshijain,
thanks for your correction!
As for this sentence:...of which I am often in awe to many European artists. I wanted to say something like: as long as I get a better understanding of European cultures, I could have the similar colour palette/taste/aesthetic with the European artists I admire.
Can I use logics instead of logistics if I wanted to say every language has its own logic of word orders etc? Or I should simply say linguistics?
Thanks again for your help!
Charlotte, a motivation letter should actually just occupy 5 well developed paragraphs. It should not be used as a narrative of your resume or other documents that you are submitting along with the essay. It should only be a summary of the content with an emphasis on the development of your interest in International Studies.
In a motivation letter, you should outline your current accomplishments in the field (if any) that you have chosen to pursue, lay-out the foundation of your activities that helped to develop your interest, and then offer an insight as to how you see yourself using this particular degree in the future. In order to present an overall idea as to what you hope to accomplish during the next 4 years of your studies.
Now, taking the content of the essay into consideration, 700 words would seem excessive for a motivation letter.However, that will also depend upon whether the university has specified a word limit for your letter or not. If they have guidelines for their motivation letters, them make sure to follow it. If you want to shorten the essay, there are a number of paragraphs that you can actually delete in order to make it more interesting and easier to read. I would like you to consider removing the following paragraphs (Only the beginning of the paragraph will be posted):
I do not excel at all subjects; however, I am proud of my improvement and passions for arts and languages.
- Never degrade your abilities in any letter. You should always build your image in such a way that the negative becomes a positive. However, since this paragraph deals with your interest in arts, it should not be in this essay, it does not relate to your chosen major.
As an avid learner, I have also arranged myself some lessons-aside from language courses
- Just stay on topic. Focus on the motivation. Don't clutter the letter with extra curricular activities and the like. You just need to discuss your interest in International studies and nothing more. Save everything else for the other prompt requirements.
During my spared time, I have helped a local teachers' union in terms of designing some posters and cards
- Same reasons as above.
As for the library reference, try to connect it to your interest in international studies somehow. It is an important activity that can easily related to your chosen major.
