PS A Statement of Academic Purpose of approximately 1,000 words. Your statement of purpose should avoid excessive personal or autobiographical anecdotes and offer a clear sense of your training in literary studies, your strengths as a scholar, and the reasons you are applying for the masters or doctoral degree. While applicants need not indicate a precise field of specialization, it will be helpful to the admissions committee to have a sense of their main area(s) of scholarly interest and the critical questions and/or conversations that drive their interest in pursuing the degree. Finally, applicants should address their particular reasons for wanting to work within the Department of English at New York University. CV A Curriculum Vitae (CV) or resume. his should provide an overview of your academic and, if applicable, professional experience RL It is important to have strong letters of recommendation that come from professors and instructors who know you and are familiar with the your academic work. Applicants who have been out of school for several years should make every effort to reconnect with former teachers to ensure that their letters of recommendation address their academic preparation and abilities and their readiness to pursue the degree for which they are applying. Transcript Transcript. An official, electronic copy of your transcript.