Writing Effective Purpose Statements

A purpose statement is a declarative sentence which summarizes the specific topic and
goals of a document. It is typically included in the introduction to give the reader an
accurate, concrete understanding what the document will cover and what he/she can
gain from reading it. To be effective, a statement of purpose should be:

Specific and precise - not general, broad or obscure

Concise - one or two sentences
Clear - not vague, ambiguous or confusing
Goal-oriented - stated in terms of desired outcomes

Some common introductory phrases for purpose statements include:

"The purpose of this paper/letter/document is to..."

"In this paper, I will describe/explain/review/etc. the..."
"My reason for writing is to..."
"This paper will discuss the..."
"The purpose of this paper is twofold: to ___ and ___"

Examples of Ineffective Purpose Statements:

(1) "The purpose of this paper is to describe the changes that are occurring in
corporate America."

Critique: too vague and broad. No clear expectation of what the reader will
learn. Questions: What specific changes in corporate America will be
described? What types of changes? What aspects of corporate America will be
discussed? Will this paper also discuss the effects of these changes?

(2) "The purpose of this report is to discuss the eating disorders Anorexia and
Bulimia."

Critique: too vague and broad. It is not clear what aspect of these disorders will
be discussed, or what the reader will learn. Questions: What specific aspects of
these eating disorders will be discussed? The causes of these disorders? The
signs or symptoms of these disorders? The effects of these disorders? If so,
what types of effects - physical, emotional, psychological?

(3) "This article will cover the different ways a company can become
organized."
 Critique: obscure and misleading. It is not clear what is meant by "different
ways" or "become organized." These terms are vaguely stated and
ambiguous. Questions: What is meant by "different ways" and "become
organized"? What, specifically, will the reader learn about companies and how
they become organized? Any specific types of organization? Any specific types
of companies?

Examples of effective purpose statements:

(1) "This paper will describe four common causes of co-worker conflict in
organizations and explain how to use a five-step procedure to constructively
manage this conflict."

Critique: Very specific about what aspects of conflict will be discussed. Very
precise about how much information will be given. Very clear about what the
reader will learn.

(2) "This report will explain how supervisors can use four planning strategies to
improve employee productivity in the workplace."

Critique: Very specific about what will be discussed (planning strategies), and
what the outcome will be for the reader (how to improve employee
productivity).

(3) "This purpose of this report is to describe the main causes of traffic
congestion in Seattle."

Critique: Leaves no doubt about the report's main purpose. Specific about the
focus of the traffic congestion (Seattle).

In writing the introduction of a thesis, a section is devoted to the significance of the study. This article
discusses how to write this section and provides an example to illustrate the technique.

Essentially, the section on significance of the study provides information to the reader on how the study
will contribute. It must be specifically stated, however, what the study will contribute and who will
benefit from it.

You can figure out several important contributions of your research paper if you let your mind flow. But I
find the following tips helpful in writing the significance of the study.
2 Tips in Writing the Significance of the Study

1. Refer to the statement of the problem

Your problem statement can guide you in identifying the specific contribution of your study. You can do
this by observing a one-to-one correspondence between the statement of the problem and the
significance of the study.

For example, if you ask the question Is there a significant relationship between the teachers teaching
style and the students long quiz scores in Mathematics? then the contribution of your research would
probably be a teaching style or styles (among say, three teaching styles you evaluated) that can help
students perform better in Mathematics. Your research will demonstrate that that teaching style really
works. That could be a groundbreaking approach that will change the way teachers teach Mathematics
which many students abhor.

2. Write from general to specific contribution

I learned this technique from a former professor while in pursuing my masters degree. It works this way:

Write the significance of the study by looking into the general contribution of your study, such as its
importance to society as a whole, then proceed downwardstowards its contribution to individuals and
that may include yourself as a researcher. You start off broadly then taper off gradually to a specific
group or person.

Coupled with reference to the problem statement, this effectively stimulates the mind to think in a
deductive mode, i.e., from general to specific. This writing approach is similar to the Inverted Pyramid
Approach discussed in How to Write a Good Thesis Introduction.

For example, in the study on teaching style given in #1, you may write:
Example significance of the study.

These two techniques will prevent your mind from wandering wildly or aimlessly as you explore the
significance of your study. Applying them will save time thus allow you to focus on the next section of
your thesis. Who knows, this section may also help justify why your study deserves a grant.