What Is a Statement of Purpose? How to Write It?
A statement of purpose (SOP) is usually written by students when they are applying for graduate school. It can be defined as an essay that is one of the most important elements of the application because it tells the admission committee who you are, why you are applying, what makes you a good candidate, and what you want to do in the future. Also sometimes known as SOP letter, application essay, personal background, objectives for graduate study, cover letter, or something similar to one of these, statement of purpose plays a significant role in getting admission in the desired academic institute.
Read More: How to Overcome Fear of Failure in College Examination?
There is no doubt about it that the Statement of Purpose required by grad schools is probably the hardest thing you will ever write. Practically all the grad-school applicants, when they write their first draft of the statement of purpose, face a lot of problems in getting started and get it wrong. Much of what you have learned about writing and also about how to present yourself will lead you off the track and you will not be sure of what to include and what to exclude to give the best impression to the admission committee. When starting to write a statement of purpose, you must not forget its main objective. It must define now only who you are as a candidate but also reflect your writing skills.
In college and graduate school, you will be doing a ton of writing as there will be lots of homework, note-taking, and assignment writing, and keeping these tasks in mind, you must show that you are a competent writer who can handle all types of writing tasks. The better you work on the statement of purpose, the better you can convince the admission committee regarding your skills and competencies and how you will be bringing a lot more to the classroom. Some quick tips by cheap essay writing services for writing a statement of purpose include:
- It should not have any spelling or grammatical errors
- It should be written in a strong, clear, and concise manner
- There should be no clichés and repetitive language
- It should not use any overly informal language
- It should be written in a positive and confident tone
The main idea behind writing a top quality and custom statement of purpose is to convince the readers or the faculty on the selection committee that you have solid and recognizable achievements behind you that show promise of success in the coming years. Grad schools look for the best students who are interested in what goes on in their academic and professional careers and want to do their best. Here is a brief overview of how to write an impressive statement of purpose:
- Introduction – This is the part where you introduce yourself, your interests and motivations, and what drives you. Keep it to the point and make it clear what you are after.
- Sum up your undergraduate and previous graduate achievements – in this part you must summarize your undergraduate and previous graduate career and explain the research you conducted, what you did and what was the outcome. You must write in a style that has either been specified or keep it formal as this will be read by teachers. You can also mention here any thesis project you completed and work experience as well as anything similar that might help you with the degree program you are considering.
- The relevance of your recent and current activities – Here you must tell the readers what you have been doing, working, or studying and anything else that you have learned and also explain how it relates to what you plan to do now
- Discuss your academic interests – You must explain in detail why you want to study in graduate school and convince the faculty that you understand the scope of research in the discipline and are ready to move forward. Point out the area of your interest, pose a question, define a problem or indicate a theme that you want to address to ensure they understand what you are talking about.
Read More: How to Make Academic Paragraph More Interesting?
It is necessary to keep the statement of purpose to the point as well as interesting so that the committee members can determine your excitement and readiness for the challenges ahead. It must give them a chance to see your high motivation levels, competence as well as potential as a graduate student. Show them what you have done with examples from your life as it will give them a good idea of what you can do and elaborate on anything that has happened to you that affected your grades or degree and it might get you a chance to make the right impression.
