Essentials of Statement of Purpose

An SOP is made of a variety of segments. Each segment complements the other and forms the right picture for the admission committee to look at. Therefore, all essentials must be put thoroughly to strengthen your SOP. 

So, let’s watch the next video to learn about the essentials of the SOP in detail. 

In the video, you learnt about the essentials of an SOP, which can be understood from the following image:

Next, you explored the first essential step of SOP creation, that is, Stating the purpose. While writing the purpose of your SOP, you should ask yourself the following questions: 

• Why do you want to pursue undergraduate or postgraduate studies?
• What are your research interests?
• What are the skills and expertise that you hope to acquire during the course?
• What do you want to do after the completion of the program?

Answers to these questions will help you understand the purpose behind your application to that particular course and university. By using these answers, you will be able to write the perfect SOP. 

Next, you learnt about the second essential of SOP writing, that is, Elaborating on experiences. While elaborating on your experiences, you should include the following pointers: 

• Your past experiences and their respective tenures: How is your experience related to the program that you are interested in?
• Professional or volunteer work experience: What skills do you aim to gain through the program? 
• Share vivid, concrete details of your experiences such as a paper you wrote, a project you worked on or a presentation you made.
• Mention your motivations, aspirations, interests, vision, values, mottos, goals and hobbies if there is no professional or any kind of experience.

Having understood the two essentials of SOP writing, let’s move on to understand the other important essentials in the next video. 

In the video, you learnt about the third essential of SOP writing, that is, Focussing on the program. While writing about the program, ask yourself the following questions: 

• Why do you want to study in that country?
• Why do you want to study in that college?
• How are your work or interest and the program connected? 
• How will the program be instrumental in achieving your objectives?
• What do you expect from the program?
• How will you contribute to the program?
• Does the college follow a particular curriculum that appeals to you?
• Does the college excel in a particular field of research?
• Are there any professors with whom you would like to work because of their expertise in the field that you want to pursue?

Answers to these questions will help you understand why you want to focus on a certain program at a certain university, in a certain country. Hence, you should use these answers to prepare a solid argument.
Next, your focus should shift from the program to yourself and you should think about colouring your personality. You can focus on branding yourself through the use of the pointers mentioned in the image given below:

The next essential of SOP writing is the use of simple language. You must understand that you will not get enough marks if you use complex sentences and heavy vocabulary. Instead, the application committee might take the wrong cue that you are trying to show off your skills. Therefore, it is important to maintain simple language throughout your SOP. You may use the pointers given below to make your SOP’s language simple: 

Finally, the most important essential for SOP writing is treating it as a process. If you consider your SOP as a process, you will most likely be able to bring out an SOP having the right flow and interconnections with each sentence and paragraph. 

With this, we come to the end of this session on ‘The Concept of Statement of Purpose’. In this session, you learnt about Statement of Purpose, its characteristics, its importance and the essentials that must be considered while drafting the same. In the next session, you will learn to draft an SOP.