Here, in this blog post,
The Global Exposure explains to you what is SOP (Statement of Purpose) and how to write effective SOP.
1. Introduction:
An SOP is a form of a long essay that is very often asked by universities abroad. Its full form is Statement of Purpose.
It is generally about 1000 words and its purpose is to try to understand the student’s life, the motivations for his / her chosen career path as well as the goals.
There are many elements of an SOP. Besides your goals, your chosen career path, you may be asked about your academic progress too.
Sometimes a University could ask question-based essays and at other times it may ask you to simply present SOP.
One more element can be the personal motivations that led you to choose the particular University/Course and to explain how you intend to use your experience to achieve your goals.
Please understand that a well-written SOP is extremely critical to your admission. While your academic records and exam scorecards are objective in nature, an SOP is the only subjective aspect.
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 in a crowd.
Therefore, SOP is the main document of your application that can hugely determine your chances for your admission.
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2. How to write a winning SOP?
Having understood how important your SOP is, we now come to the important part about writing it and more importantly, how to write an SOP that makes you stand apart and a winner.
Besides keeping in mind things like the general word limit, the format, etc, please note that you must, at all times, remember which course you are writing the SOP for.
An SOP for an MBA application would be very different from an SOP for an MS or an MSc course. An SOP for a Bachelor’s Course would be entirely different from any of the above-mentioned courses.
Before you start, be clear about a few things. First of all, note that the SOP is not your resume in a running form. Secondly, you cannot write it in a day. So try to understand what to include in an SOP and how to write it. It has to be unique. Your experiences would be your own, your thoughts and ideas would be your own but your aspirations should be unique. When it comes to writing the above points, please note that there are quite a few basics that everyone needs to follow.
3. A 5 Step Method for helping you to write an effective SOP:
Step 1:
First of all, prepare a list of all information you wish to include in the SOP.
Well, an SOP ideally lets you express the journey of your life so far and seeks to understand your future goals and aspirations. Hence, there are so many things that you would like to include. Therefore, just take a piece of paper and jot down all the points you think you would like to talk about.
It must have included a list of your short term goals, your long term goals and include all your life events you may wish to include. Please remember, the key is to write down every incident, however, irrelevant it might seem to you.
Step 2: Ideate on the theme of your SOP.
Your SOP must have a theme which means that it should try to focus on a certain thought process. Thinking of a theme also means planning how your SOP would flow towards your ultimate goals. So, imagine that you are telling your story and ask yourself as to which incident in your life would you like to stand out.
It could be a particular incident that got you interested in a Mechanical Engineering Course or perhaps how your job indicated why you should go for an MBA. Thus, finding the theme is very important and the best manner of doing that is to find that one turning point in your life when you knew that this is what you wanted to do
Step 3: Prune the List
The next stage is to go through your prepared list and start pruning it. That just means to start removing the instances which do not fit in it. So, just take a red pen and starts striking out the instances that you think are not important or let us say would not necessarily go well with the theme you have decided. Further, the list can even be customized as per the course you have thought of applying for. For instance, what to include in an MBA SOP would vary a lot from what you include in an MS SOP.
BTW, how to write an SOP for a UG Course would be completely different since there would be lesser instances and points to highlight. So, cutting short the list prepared, depending on the course, is important.
Step 4: Research about the course and the University
The next step will be to do meaningful research about the University’s culture, its alumni, etc. and decide how the success stories chosen by you will fit in with the theme that you have chosen. By this time, you would know quite a lot about the Course and the University. So it will help you to properly customize your SOP and ensure that it is in sync with your goals and with your chosen path. Here is a useful tip.
For research-based programs, it would be very necessary to include the names of some of the faculty members and their research projects that are currently going on and who would be taking up the course you are planning to take up. Meticulous research about the program will be highly appreciated by the University.
Step 5: Write, Edit, and Re-write
After completing the above steps, it is now time to write. Remember- never submit your first draft. It is very very important to write it once and then edit it, maybe once, twice, or thrice. Editing is essential and a must. Needless to say that even if your basic story and thoughts do not change, its vocabulary and its basic punctuation must be thoroughly checked. Remember that in any essay that you write, vocabulary, spellings, and punctuation marks should be in order.
Never ever underestimate the importance of punctuation in your essay / SOP. And yes, there should be no reason to commit typographical errors. It is also recommended that you should go through the SOP after a few days. When you have had time to relax, you would be able to look at the essay/SOP with fresh eyes and you may also find something else you would wish to include. Therefore, once you have edited your essay / SOP and have had time to think, you must rewrite it to finalize your draft.
4. We have now completed the discussion on the 5 Steps so let us read a little more about some points to add more value to your SOP:
Here are a few tips on what elements should an applicant include in his/her SOP and how to mold it in such a manner that it would ensure that his/her application stands out.
a. Personal/ Financial Background
While giving your Personal background try to showcase how you are different from others, how you are more than your scores, and how you can be an ideal candidate and the best suited for them. What students need to understand is that when the University screens your application, they look for areas that highlight you.
If you have a story of beating all odds, please include it in your essay. Just state it, as a matter of fact, and focus on how you overcame the same. For example, if you are coming from a rural area, mention it and highlight how in spite of poor facilities in that area you managed to excel. Simple.
b. Your extracurricular activities
Well, you may not be a national level hero or even a state-level champion but what is important is to always mention the activities you have participated in. Sports is one ideal way of highlighting your leadership qualities. So also are debates/clubs/other activities. Working individually or in teams are important aspects of your personality. This would help the University to understand how much of an individual you are and as to what kind of a leader you are, and importantly, whether you are a leader or not. Also, try to focus on things you are passionate about
c. Your Failures
Failures? Yes, that is very right. Quite a few students try to hide behind the awards and trophies they have won but never ever talk about the failures that have made them what they are today.
Never be ashamed to talk about a subject /paper you failed in or about losing a sports tournament or about meeting with an accident. The reason behind not hiding such failures is to lay importance on your ability to rebound from such situations and failures. Basically, a University will be more interested in knowing how confident you are and how positive you are in such situations.
d. About your Work Experience
Always make a mention of your work experience-whether part-time, full time, or voluntary. The point is the university would be interested in knowing what exactly you have gained from such experience.
e. Published Works/ Papers submitted
This is also an extremely important point. Mention about having submitted a story for a magazine. Also mention about having worked on a research project during your last 2 years of your school. Making a mention of such work highlights your ability to think logically / scientifically and work towards a goal in a very dedicated manner.
Conclusion about what in SOP and how to write Statement of Purpose
FINALLY, you can now start writing that essay / SOP.
Keep it short and simple and do it for a valid reason. OK? Even if you talk about having saved a puppy on the street or having helped your colony residents to understand rain harvesting techniques, the main idea behind your essay should be your purpose in life, how motivated you are about achieving your aims and what are the things that really matter to you in life.
BTW, a few course-wise samples of the SOP are available on the internet so see them if you wish to, but please do not blindly copy them.
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