My mastery: how should I talk and write about it?
There are many circumstances in which foreign students have to discuss their intentions to study for advanced degrees. Written statements of purpose to accompany university applications are the most obvious case, but the same situation arises in interviews with recruiters, IELTS speaking tasks, and verbal interactions of all kinds with university officials. the universities you will attend.
Unfortunately, it is the time when many foreign students say things that sound less “English”. As a result, these unavoidable statements can often suggest that your command of English is weak. Even though all native English speakers who regularly hear foreign students make these statements have long since grown accustomed to hearing them mispronounced, the error always registers on some level, albeit subconsciously.
To make the best impression on university administrators and IELTS examiners, use the right language to talk about your degree and your academic sentences.
The following are the most common errors:
“I’m going to learn a master’s degree.”
“I’m going to study a master’s degree.”
“I plan to learn a master’s degree.”
Don’t make these unnecessary but common mistakes. All that is necessary for you not to do them is to clearly understand what they are and what the appropriate words mean.
– A “mastery” is a noun. When it is written, it always has an apostrophe, that is, “mastery”, not “mastery” or, even worse, “mastery”.
– However, a master’s degree is not a field of study. We don’t study for a master’s degree, we study a field in which we earn (or, more colloquially, “get”) a master’s degree. That’s why, in English, we say that we plan to “get a master’s degree in marketing [or the name of some other field].”
– The title is what we get as a result of studying, not what we study. So when we talk about studying, we usually say: “I plan to study economics [or some other field].” It’s not incorrect to say, “I plan to learn marketing,” but “I plan to study marketing” is more normal idiomatic English.
– The certificate confirming that we have successfully completed a course of study and obtained an advanced degree (not necessarily a master’s degree) is called a “diploma”. You can say, “I plan to get a degree in marketing” or, if you’ve completed the degree, “I have a degree in economics.” But if you do, keep in mind that a native English speaker won’t necessarily understand what graduate degree you’ve earned.
– The most appropriate verbs to use with “mastery”, before receiving the title, are “study to”, “win” or “pursue”. So you should say, “I plan to get a Master’s in Communications,” “I plan to get a Master’s in Marketing,” or “I plan to get a Master’s in Engineering.”
This may seem like a minor issue in terms of language. However, making the most common mistakes can make a university official or IELTS examiner think less about your English language skills or, worst case scenario, your intelligence.
So, practice writing and saying these simple but important sentences correctly.
Incorrect: I’m going to study a master’s degree.
Correct: I’m going to study for a master’s degree.
Incorrect: I will study a master’s degree in marketing.
Correct: I will study a master’s degree in marketing.
Wrong: I will learn a master’s degree in economics.
Correct: I plan to get a master’s degree in economics.
