How to Write Statement of Purpose

How to Write Statement of Purpose – There are many elements you need to consider when preparing your statement of purpose. Some of the main items would include an overview about yourself, the type of graduate degree you are looking for, why you are applying to this particular school, and what kind of research you want to do.

A Statement of Purpose (SOP), is a reflection of your personality that you portray in front of the admissions committee (AdCom) for getting enrolled in universities abroad. It is your chance of impressing the committee by presenting your profile strongly through an essay that describes your personality traits, which are not covered in your academic documents.

What is SOP?

An SOP is a long essay required by universities abroad and nowadays some of the Indian universities during the application process. As the full form of SOP reveals, a Statement of Purpose is an essay stating the purpose of applying to a particular course in a particular university. This essay consists of a gist of who you are, who you want to become, and how ready you are to pursue a certain course in an institution.

The document seeks to understand the candidate’s life, the motivations for the chosen career path and his/her goals. Hence, you should discuss the past incidents that have influenced your career path in a specific domain wherein you aspire to grow by joining a course/college.

Why is SOP important?

A well-written SOP is extremely critical to your admission. Needless to say, there are many aspects of a candidate’s application that are inspected before finalising a decision. While the academic record and other exam scorecards/academic transcripts and backlog certificates are essentially objective in nature, an SOP is the only truly subjective aspect of your application.

It is the only document in your application that gives you the opportunity to prove that you have something unique that makes you stand out from the crowd. As such, it is the document of your application docket that can hugely determine your admission.

How to Write Statement of Purpose

Creating an Outline

1. Come up with a “hook.”  Admissions committees will expect that every applicant is excited to study the field they’re applying for, whether it’s biology, history, or anything in between. If you want to stand out, you’ll have to start with an attention-grabbing hook that explains exactly why you are motivated to pursue advanced study in your field.
   • Brainstorm particular factors that led to your decision to pursue graduate study. Make these as interesting as possible, but truthful and believable.
   • For instance, maybe your interest in studying Italian grew out of that time you got stranded at the airport in Rome for 24 hours. Or maybe you decided to study entomology because you can remember your grandparents telling stories about how devastating the boll weevil infestations were.
2. Sketch out a description of your experience in the field. If you’ve completed any research projects or gained other significant expertise in the field, you’ll definitely want to say so in your statement of purpose. Focus only on experiences you garnered as an undergraduate–no one wants to hear about your high school chemistry class! Plan to include a section discussing anything relevant, like:
   • Your undergraduate thesis, senior project, or other major research work.
   • Time interning in a lab, with a cultural foundation, etc.
   • Any publications you have produced or contributed to.
   • Major presentations, talks, posters, or exhibits you have been involved in.
3. Plan a section that specifically discusses what you want to study. Be specific here. Instead of just stating that you want to study sociology, for instance, describe your serious interests in the intersection of gender, public health, and post-industrial urban spaces. This section should also make it clear why the school you are applying to is the right place to study this field.
   • Do your research. Study the webpages of the department you are interested in applying to as well as its faculty members. Their research interests don’t have to be exactly the same as yours, but they should be related.
4. Daydream about your future plans. Some discussion of where you’d want to go after graduate school would be a good idea. This could say that you’d like to become a researcher at a university, or apply your advanced knowledge of chemistry to the pharmaceutical field.
5. Pay attention to any specific questions you are asked. The prompts for statements of purpose are often very general, like “Describe your interests and experiences in this field, and where you see your future in it.” However, sometimes you will be asked more specific questions, like “What specific resources do you expect to need for your graduate research?” If your application’s prompt includes any specific questions, build them into your outline.

Drafting Your Statement

1. 1Wow them with your knowledge of the field. You should have at least one substantial paragraph devoted to the specific topics that interest you. Describe the contemporary theories, books, scholars, or topics that excite and inspire you.
   • You can pose interests as a question. This makes your writing engaging, and shows your ability to formulate research questions.
   • For instance, you might write something like “the question I keep turning to in my research is: How did gender-based concerns shape the epistolary novel and related genres in eighteenth-century France?”
2. Focus on showing, not telling. Let the details speak in your statement. This will excite the admissions committee, and make your personal statement stand apart from boring, stale, and vague essays.
   • For instance, write something more than “I gained significant experience as an intern in a chemical engineering lab that I will apply to my graduate study.”
   • Instead, try something like “While interning at the UC Berkeley Chemical Engineering Lab, I discovered a new method for crystallizing citric acid. In my article published in the New England Journal of Chemistry, I explained how this can potentially transform the industrial production of this compound. I intend to pursue research on these applications during my graduate study.”
   • Don’t be afraid to use the technical lingo of your field. Remember you are writing to your peers who want to know you are knowledgeable.
3. Toot your own horn.  A statement of purpose is no time to be modest. Don’t boast, but be forward about your accomplishments. Remember you want to impress admissions committees!
   • This means don’t settle for something like “As an undergraduate, I excelled academically.”
   • Instead, show specific evidence of your accomplishments: “A $2000 grant from the Louisiana Historical Society to fund my research on material culture in Antebellum African American daily life. The senior thesis I wrote reporting my findings earned the LSU Library Undergraduate Research Award.”
4. Name who you want to work with. If there are specific professors you want to work with in graduate school, mention them in your statement of purpose. This will need to be tailored to each individual school you apply to. For instance, you could say something like “I’m interested in taking one of Professor Mueller’s courses on contemporary theories of the novel,” or “As a student in your program, I would further my research by participating in Dr. Cortez’ genomics lab group.”
   • If you don’t yet have anyone specific in mind, that’s ok. Instead, you can mention the department’s or university’s strengths and how you would benefit from them: “As a practicing translator, I would enthusiastically contribute to UD’s Center for Intercultural Communications.”
   • Be honest in talking about your interests, and don’t feel as though you can only discuss working with big names.
   • Keep in mind that sometimes the most famous professors in a department might not work with many graduate students.
5. Explain any gaps or academic issues. It’s perfectly fine if you’ve taken some time off between your undergraduate years and entering graduate school, but you should briefly address this. Likewise, having an academic setback (like a failing grade one semester or a lowish test score), won’t get you automatically rejected if your application is otherwise strong–but you should explain yourself.
   • For instance, you might say “After completing my undergraduate degree, I spent two years as an assistant to the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, an experience that will inform my graduate studies in public administration.”
   • If you have an academic issue to address, try something like “After selecting my senior research topic, my sense of focus was heightened. My GPA increased significantly, and I received a High Pass on my senior thesis.”
6. Be concise. Most statements of purpose are about 500 to 1000 words (1-2 pages). If the length is not specifically stated, keep them within this range. Make your statement too short, and admissions committees will be underwhelmed. Make it too long, and they’ll be annoyed.
   • If the application specifically asks you to write a statement that is less than 500 words or more than 1000, however, follow the directions.

Reviewing Your Statement

1. Read your work out loud. While your statement of purpose is written for an audience of scholars, and can make use of specialized vocabulary, it should sound nice as well. Reading your essay out loud is a good way to make sure it flows well, and doesn’t have any awkward phrases, overly long sentences, or other issues.
   • Mark any problem spots as you read your statement of purpose outloud, then revise them.
2. Have professors look over your statement. Professors in your field will know what makes a compelling and convincing statement of purpose. Ask at least two who know you well (such as your thesis advisor, or any who write you letters of recommendation) to read over the statement once you’ve drafted it.
   • If they have any suggestions to improve your statement, revise it and ask them to read it again.
3. Proofread and copy edit. After you’ve drafted and revised your statement of purpose, and some professors have given it their seal of approval, it’s ready for a final polishing. Go through your essay with a fine-toothed comb, checking for typos and any other errors.
   • Don’t rely on your word processor’s spelling and grammar check tools, since they might not catch everything.
4. Double check all requirements before submitting. After your statement of purpose is finished, re-read the directions on your application. Make sure you’ve answered any specific questions on the prompt, and that you’ve formatted everything properly. Once everything looks good, it’s ready to go!
   • If you have multiple applications, make sure that you’ve matched the right statement of purpose with the right application. You don’t want to send in a statement of purpose that mentions the wrong school!

How to make your SOP stand out from the Crowd?

Now that we have assessed how important your SOP is, we come to the important part – how to write an SOP that stands out amongst 1000s of applicants every year. There are obviously some basics about SOP writing, which clear what all you need to keep in mind like general word limit, format, etc.

What is important to note, is that you must, at all times, remember which course you are writing the SOP for. For example, if you are talking about studying Computer Science in a country, you must discuss all your encounters, experiences, and learnings of Computer Science. Do not miss out on anything important and do not talk about the rest of the things too much.

Specifically speaking, the SOP for an MBA application would be rather different from the SOP for a Masters course like an MS or an MSc. Similarly, the SOP for a Bachelors course would be widely different from any of the two. Here is a look at how to write a winning SOP.

How long should a statement of purpose be?

Statement of Purpose should be 1-2 pages long, ideally wrapped in 800-1000 words. However, the length of this document may vary as per university-specific requirements. Some universities have a fixed length and pattern of SOPs required, which is fixed to 500 words only, even 200 words in some cases. Most of the universities accept generic length, which is 800-1000 words, which may go beyond 1000, but not exceed 1200 words, in some cases.

It is generally easy to write a story of your life explaining the importance of each incident in shaping or moulding your character. However, when it comes to defining your SOP within the communicated word limit by some universities, the challenge is to portray your best within limited words. In such cases, it is better to mention the major achievements from every place you have been to such as school, college, office, etc.

Some abroad universities do not require SOP, they rather give you Essay Prompts along with a word limit. In order to learn the importance of word limit in an SOP, you may refer to this Importance of Word Limit in Essay.

What to Include in an SOP?

There are many elements to an SOP. Universities could ask question-based essays or simply a general statement of purpose. Until and unless categorically asked, an SOP must include your goals and the career path you have taken up so far as well as your academic progress. Other elements that are further important to the SOP are also the personal motivations that lead you to choose the university/course you have applied to as well as how you intend to use that experience to achieve that goal.

Essential Tips

1. What the admissions committee will read between the lines: self-motivation, competence, potential as a graduate student.

2. Emphasize everything from a positive perspective and write in an active, not a passive voice.

3. Demonstrate everything by example; don’t say directly that you’re a persistent person, show it.

4. If there is something important that happened to you that affected your grades, such as poverty, illness, or excessive work, state it. Write it affirmatively, showing your perseverance despite obstacles. You can elaborate more in your personal statement.

5. Make sure everything is linked with continuity and focus.

6. Unless the specific program says otherwise, be concise; an ideal essay should say everything it needs to with brevity. Approximately 500 to 1000 well-selected words (1-2 single space pages in 12 point font) is better than more words with less clarity and poor organization.

Conclusion

A Statement of Purpose (SOP) is a document which you need to provide along with your credentials for a student or a post graduate degree at a higher education institute. SOPs are generally one to two pages in length and present your academic and professional achievements, so learning how to write one will be so amazing.