The motivation letter is the only document in the application package that the committee reads from beginning to end. It looks over the diploma, scans the transcript, compares the recommendations, but reads these one or two pages to understand who you are and why exactly here. And if this page sounds in English as though Georgian sentences were carried over word for word, the committee notices it in the very first paragraph. That is exactly where our work begins: not writing the letter for you, which we do not do and universities do not allow, but carrying your text over into the language and format in which it is as convincing as it is in Georgian.
Three services that are often confused
Translation
You write the letter in Georgian, we translate it. This is the most natural route for those who find it hard to form their thoughts in English but know exactly what they want to say. The translation keeps the ideas, structure and examples; only what is linguistic changes: sentence length, the logic of paragraphs, the idiom of academic English. The result is your letter, not the translator's.
Editing
You write the letter in English, we correct it: grammar, vocabulary, register, logical links, repetitions, Georgian calques ("I want to study in your university", "since my childhood"). The editor returns the text with comments so that you choose the option yourself and see what changed and why. This option is the "cleanest" in the eyes of universities, because the text was created by the author's own hand.
What we do not do
Writing from scratch. A motivation letter must be the applicant's own work; many universities have this confirmed by a signature on the application form and run the text through similarity detectors. A templated letter, taken from the internet or written for someone else, is recognisable to a committee and damages the whole package. Instead, if you are sitting in front of a blank page, we share a structure and a list of questions whose answers become the letter.
A format that depends on the country
- Statement of Purpose (the USA, Canada). For master's and doctoral programmes, 1-2 pages, with the emphasis on academic and research goals: what you have done, what you want to research and why with these professors. Personal history is minimal, specifics maximal.
- Personal Statement (the United Kingdom). For a UCAS bachelor's application it is limited in characters and one text goes to all five universities, so it does not mention a specific university; for a master's it is freer, but still personal.
- Motivationsschreiben (Germany, Austria). For DAAD and the universities: structured, factual, without excess emotion; it often has a list of specific questions that must be answered in order.
- Lettre de motivation (France, Belgium). With the structure of a formal business letter: addresses, salutation, a three-part composition ("you, me, us"), a polite closing formula that cannot be translated directly from English.
- A letter for the embassy. In a study visa application the consulates of France, Germany, Italy and the USA often ask for an explanation of the study plan and the intention to return. This is a different genre: short, bureaucratic, specific, and it goes together with the documents proving admission and the financial documents.
When translating or editing we adapt the text to the target format: one letter written in Georgian is turned, where needed, into different versions as an SOP and a Motivationsschreiben, with one content and different structures.
What we correct most often
The typical weaknesses of Georgian motivation letters become sharper in English translation, so we warn the author about them too. First: a general introduction about a childhood dream that tells the committee nothing. Second: praise of the university with phrases taken from its own website instead of naming two specific courses or professors. Third: a list of achievements in CV style, when the CV is a separate document and the letter should develop only one or two examples. Fourth: contradiction with other documents, when the letter says "five years of experience" while the CV shows three. That is why one editor reads the letter, the CV and the recommendations. Fifth: length. If the programme asks for 500 words, 800 words is disregarding the instructions in the committee's eyes, and in translation a Georgian text usually grows by 10-15% in English, which has to be allowed for in advance.
How the work proceeds
On the first day we receive your text and the programme link, check the format requirements (word limit, questions that must be answered) and tell you whether you need a translation or editing. If there is a significant gap in the text, for example the specific programme is not mentioned at all, we tell you before translating, so that you fill it in first and then we translate, not the other way round. On the second day you receive the translation or the edited version with comments; you respond, we finalise. For three or more letters (the same story for different universities) we make sure the versions are not copies of each other and each speaks to its target programme.
Linguistic details
In an English SOP "I" is normal, while the "we" of Georgian academic style sounds foreign; in a French letter, conversely, too much "je" is immodest. Academic terminology, course titles and qualifications are carried over as in the diploma translation, and university names in their official English form. If you describe a research topic in the letter, a translator in that field works on it, so that "interpretability of neural networks" is translated with the correct term and not a descriptive phrase. Finally, we check that the text does not sound "machine-made": sentences of equal length, safe generic vocabulary and an overly polished, impersonal style are as much of a red flag for a committee today as grammatical mistakes.
Certification, format, confidentiality
A motivation letter needs no certification of any kind: no bureau seal, no notary, no apostille. It is sent in your name, as a PDF or in the portal's text field, and no trace of translation or editing shows in the document, nor should it. We return the text as an editable file, with change tracking if you wish, and as a PDF in the target format (font, margins, character limit). Every letter is confidential and deleted at your request after the project is complete; we never use one client's text as a sample for another. The rules for the other documents of the application package are on the category page, and we have separate pages on the language certificate and the school certificate.
Turnaround
The translation or editing of a 1-2 page letter is ready within 2 working days, including one round of corrections in which we respond to your comments. The day before a deadline we complete it in urgent mode the same day. A scholarship package (letter, CV, recommendations) is checked by one editor. Send the text in Word or as a Google Docs link and tell us the programme and the word limit.
Frequently asked questions
Do you write motivation letters from scratch?
No. A motivation letter must be the applicant's own text, and universities require this explicitly. We translate your Georgian text, edit your English draft and advise on structure; the ideas and the story are yours.
Does a motivation letter need certification?
No. It is sent in the applicant's name, signed or pasted into the portal field. A seal, a notary and an apostille are not used here.
What is the difference between a Statement of Purpose, a Personal Statement and a Motivationsschreiben?
The SOP is the American master's and doctoral format, with the emphasis on research goals; the Personal Statement is British, more personal and limited in characters on UCAS; the Motivationsschreiben is German, structured and factual. When translating we adapt the format to the target.
How soon will it be ready?
The translation or editing of a 1-2 page letter within 2 working days, with one round of corrections; before a deadline the same day.