Grad School Applications

So, does anyone have any advice on graduate school applications? Mine are all due in the next couple of months, and I would love some tips!

In Canada, we don't have to write any sort of essays to get into undergrad programs, so the idea of writing statements of intent is sort of intimidating to me. My understanding is that I'm supposed to convince them that I must go to that school or my life will be over, but I also have heard that I'm supposed to explain any problems with my transcript (ie, my really low french mark) and my undergraduate research.

Also, what is with the GRE? I did pretty bad on the math section (580). But I'm really not planning on doing a lot of quantitative analysis in my research (although I have done them before, I'm just really not a standardized test person). Was Yale lying when they said I didn't need to write them again?

I'm applying to Yale, and a bunch of Canadian schools, which are the U of British Columbia, U Victoria, Queen's, and Dalhousie. My undergrad is environmental studies, and all the master's programs I'm applying to are environmental studies/management type stuff.

Avoid words like Sodomy.

Ok; having been accepted myself:

GREs: The different score's importance depend on the program you are trying to get into. I also did badly on my Math section (partially as a result of not realizing there was a calculator on the computer, until there was only 20 minutes left on the test ), but scored amazingly well on my Writing and Reading segments. Since I was going for History, this wasn't a huge deal; had I been going into, say, Physics, I expect it would have hurt me.

Letter of Intent: I was just helping someone else on one of these. I'm not going to rewrite my entire thing, but I will give you a few pointers

First of all, the goal of the letter is two-fold; you need tell them why the school is a good match for you, but also, why YOU are a good fit for the school as well.
Because of this it helps to do some research into the school and mention the things about it that would suit your needs as a student (and be specific: If the school has a Historical Society which has an extensive collection dealing with Norwegian immigration, and you are studying immigration, MENTION it! ). If a Professor at the school has published an important work in your field, mention that you'd love to work with him/her. This not only shows them that you can use their facilities, but also that you've done your research and care enough to have looked into the school and what they are good at.
Tell them about your experiences in life; what sets you apart from the rest of the pack and what skills will you be bringing to the table if you get accepted. List the clubs and activities you did in undergrad, but also any professional jobs you've had after graduation, volunteer work, that sort of thing. It makes you look well rounded, gives them an idea of who they are dealing with, and also suggests that you have REAL LIFE experience, as opposed to just academic ones.
Finally, the most obvious part of the essay is where you describe what it is that you want to study. Don't go into excessive detail; many students enter with only a vague idea of what exactly they want to study in the field, and this is expected. Just give a description of where your interests currently lie.

One last thing: length. A good statement of interest should be no more than 2-3 double spaced pages. Remember; the school gets a lot of these and some poor shmuck has to read them all! Trying to go the extra mile and write a dissertation-length essay will not win you any brownie points from the person who has to read the damn thing!

Good luck, and hopefully this was helpful to you!