Strategies to Write a Powerful and Convincing SOP
Whether applying for undergraduate, graduate, or postgraduate programmes, the strategy of writing a powerful statement of purpose would be to sound focused throughout. Starting from your academic and professional background to your career aspirations, you need to carefully connect all the dots between reaching your goals through your choice of school and course.
The essay should always go in a flow covering your past experience, present involvements, and future plans. An important point to remember while writing your SOP would be to divide it into paragraphs that cover all the pointers. Here is a look at how you may write the SOP presenting your profile strongly:
Introduction of SOP: 1st Paragraph
This paragraph is often confused with self-introduction. It should not introduce you but should discuss what you are about to discuss in your SOP. There are multiple approaches you may adopt to go about this paragraph:
- Discuss your long-term goal and connect it with your idea of pursuing the course you are applying to
- Present your understanding of the chosen field and write how you want to contribute to that field
- Explain your background in 2-3 lines and connect it with your future goals
- Write about an anecdote that helped you realize your professional interest in the chosen field
Students often make the mistake of introducing themselves or their childhood in the first paragraph. In some cases, students tend to forget about the purpose behind writing an SOP. Check out the Common Mistakes to Avoid in an SOP.
SOP 2nd and 3rd Paragraphs: Academic Background and Professional Experience
This comprises your academic background: what you have done so far, what you are currently pursuing, your academic strengths and projects, industrial exposure you have attained, etc. If you have any professional experience it should be discussed in the upcoming paragraphs. This helps in establishing your career progression.
This comprises your academic background: what you have done so far, what you are currently pursuing, your academic strengths and projects, industrial exposure you have attained, etc. If you have any professional experience it should be discussed in the upcoming paragraphs. This helps in establishing your career progression.
SOP 4th Paragraph: Why This Course?
In this paragraph, you should discuss why you want to join a course and what modules would you tap during this course. It should also cover the skills you would acquire in this duration along with the exposure that would help in developing the skills desired to realise your goals.
SOP 5th Paragraph: Career Goals
This is the most important paragraph, where you should discuss your short and long-term goals. Your immediate goal would be where you would want to work right after completing this course. You should be able to name some companies within India along with the designation you see yourself working at. This should explain the kind of job profile you would be working on.
Then comes your long-term goal, wherein you should mention where you see yourself from 10-12 or 15 years down the line. This may include your desire of working at the CEO/CFO/CTO level or maybe establish a firm that you own. It may also include your dream of expanding your existing family business overseas. You may also be interested in further studies like a PhD which can be included here.
More in this section may include your desire of becoming a professor or researcher. In any case, it is suggested that you discuss your business aim, principles, and core values or how you would influence the young aspirants of this industry. You should be able to portray 'how you wish to make a difference in the industry keeping in mind the current industrial scenarios and emerging trends'.
SOP 6th Paragraph: Why This University?
This is a specific paragraph wherein you can convince a university as in how they are suitable for your profile and you are an ideal candidate for their university. You should discuss the course curriculum, research work, faculty names, as well as the university-specific activities that would help you in enhancing your profile.
This is a specific paragraph wherein you can convince a university as in how they are suitable for your profile and you are an ideal candidate for their university. You should discuss the course curriculum, research work, faculty names, as well as the university-specific activities that would help you in enhancing your profile.
Closing Paragraph of SOP
In this paragraph should conclude your desire and readiness towards joining the chosen course. Since this is the closing paragraph, you should sound focused and prepared for all the challenges that came your way. It should also show that you have the zest in you to succeed and with the help of the chosen course and university you will definitely make a difference in the industry on a global perspective.
Common Mistakes to Avoid in an SOP
- Talking too much about your childhood fantasies
- Beating around the bush and not paying attention to career goals
- Write on your own but always take a second opinion, because what’s ordinary for you may be extraordinary to someone else and the same goes the other way round.
- It is always better to take help from a subject matter expert, who knows what to include in your SOP and what not to include in your SOP
- Writing more or less than the needed (not understanding the value of space and word limit)
- Being too direct or too casual in the beginning and conclusion
- Using jargons or technical terms more often
- Never lie or provide false information in documents
- Never copy your SOP or essay from your friends or the internet
Note: All the points discussed above need to be considered seriously as they would help you make your application remarkable and outstanding.
