Struggling with writing a Statement of Purpose (SOP)? Here’s how to crack the code of an exceptional SOP:
These are the sections of an outstanding SOP:
- Introduction
- Why You?
- Why this Program and Uni?
- Professional Goals
Here’s what these sections are and how to write them:
- INTRODUCTION
An SOP begins with a personal story (a life experience that connects you and your program of study) that ties back to every single experience, motivation, and goal written in your SOP
How to Write:
- Know that it’s a reflective process
- Think of your entire life, and every single experience (academic, personal, or any other) that has led you to want to pursue this program and career, and list them down
- Begin writing them as potential intros and focus on connecting them with the program
- See which one connects the best, is the most cogent and relevant to the program, and choose that
- WHY YOU
In this section, you need to justify, prove, and explain why you deserve to be in this program and not other applicants
How to Write:
- Elaborate only those experiences most relevant to the program - an SOP is not your CV in paragraph format.
- Connect your experiences with the program i.e. the professors and courses, and how you’ll develop further on those experiences and skills through this program.
- Suggest hypothetical thesis ideas. One source for these is the ‘Directions for Future Research section of professors’ papers.