Statement Of

Purpose

Writing Skills
SUREKHA KULKARNI
What is a Statement Of Purpose?
• Also referred to as an SOP
• a reflection of your personality that you portray in front of the
admission committee (Adcom) for getting enrolled in universities
abroad.
• It is your chance of impressing the committee by presenting your
profile strongly through an essay that describes your personality
traits, which are not covered in your academic documents.
• Innate & special qualities that make you different from others.
Purpose/ Objective Of SOP
• Differ according to requirement- undergraduate, postgraduate
and doctorate.
• Word limit for various levels and universities also differ.
• Speaks of your journey of life.
• Gives an opportunity to show your individual qualities.
Format for writing a SOP
• Should be written in about 500 words.
• Five- six paragraphs.
• Clear and lucid language.
• Avoid spelling and sentence construction mistakes.
• Be convincing and show determination in pursuing your career.
What is the general format?

• The general format is similar to any other piece of academic

writing. You should use:
• 12 point Times New Roman font
• 1-inch margins on all sides
• 1.5 line spacing
Task
Introduce and Describe yourself in
4-6 sentences without mentioning
your name in your book/diary.
Format- Para 1
• Introduction
o Personal background- 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.
o Aim in life- Discuss your long-term goal and connect it with your idea
of pursuing the course you are applying to
o Present your understanding of the chosen field and write how you
want to contribute to that field
o Explain your background in 2-3 lines and connect it with your future
goals.
o Mental makeup- Write about an anecdote that helped you realise
your professional interest in the chosen field
Task
Write in 5-7 sentences about your
academic background. Mention about
any extra- curricular activities and
achievements.
Write about any jobs or internships you
took up while studying.
Format- Para 2
• Academic Background and Professional Experience
o Research you conducted. Indicate with whom, the title of the
project, what your responsibilities were, and the outcome. Write
technically, or in the style of your discipline. Professors are the
people who read these statements.
o Work experience, especially if you had any kind of responsibility
for testing, designing, researching or interning in an area similar
to what you wish to study in graduate school.
o This helps in establishing your career progression.
Task
Write 4-6 sentences about your dream
career and what/ who inspired you to
take up that career.
What are some of the things/ qualities/
skills that sets you apart from others?
Format- Para 3 & 4
• Your recent and current activities and inspiration
o What inspired you to take up the career
o What you have done recently and currently doing.
o In detail about your past career and what you have learned
there, skills you acquired, etc.
o Something that sets you apart, distinguishing factor.
Task
After your HSC what course would
you pursue?
Do you have any particular college/
University (anywhere in the world) in
mind for the course?
Why that particular course and
institution?
Concluding Paragraph
• Relevance of this admission
• Why this course?
• Why this particular institution and university?
 Write Stories. Not Statements- Because
stories connect to us, statements don’t.
For example, most people say this: “I used to work in a multinational
software company in the development team, and I had to do the
same job every day: code stuff. There was nothing new for me to learn
at work, and there was nothing very exciting about going to the office.
One day I decided that I had to get out of there, so I applied to college
to study higher courses and get a better job.”
Doesn’t that sound like most stories? Albeit, a very normal story?
Instead, how about saying this:
“Late in the night one Monday, I had found myself in the middle of a
deserted office, and fifteen thousand lines of code. Full of caffeine in
my bloodstream, and an empty life beyond office, I realized that the
computers started coding my brain, and controlling my life. No longer
wanting to let the machines feed on me, I decided that college would
be my salvation.”
 Quantify Your Stories- our story must contain
measurable quantities instead of just stories.
• For example, if you have worked for a local NGO teaching math to primary kids, you
could say: “During my engineering days, I helped a local NGO by joining as a math
tutor, where I taught basic math concepts to school children.”
• Now even though this sounds really good, it doesn’t give the reader the entire
picture and they certainly do not know how much of an impact you made on those
children. So, you could change that bit to something like this:
• “During my second year of engineering, I joined ‘Teach Math’, a local NGO, where I
was a part of the Math tutoring team. For a period of 10 months, I taught basic
math like algebra, geometry and arithmetic to more than thirty 5th and 6th grade
students. And every single student I taught to, secured an A in math that year. I’ve
never been prouder in my life.”
• Do you see the difference? These numbers suddenly give a whole new perspective
to the readers
Be Specific- The ‘why’ is always profoundly
important
• Be introspective. Don’t just say “I chose this degree because I love this field.”
Explain clearly why you love this field, what made you decide that you want
to work in this field for the rest of your life, what skills you are trying to amass,
why it completes you as a person, etc.
• Don’t use ideal sentences like ‘I want to change the world’ or ‘I want to find
my inner self’ or any of those cheesy lines. Just be straightforward and
always to the point. find a nice, memorable way to say it.
 Customize Your Essay- Don’t be generic
• Every university is vastly different from the others. Each of them has a
diverse set of characteristics that define them, and their cultures,
methodologies, visions, values, mottos, strengths, weaknesses, etc., vary
greatly.
• If you are applying to multiple universities, you need to factor in all these
qualities of every university, and customize your statement accordingly.
Mere changes in names and details won’t suffice.
Use a Formal But Conversational Tone
• Nearly all statements or essays come under two categories: The super
formal, and the super friendly- neither of the approaches is ideal.
• The purpose is to pursue a graduate degree, not to impress people with
your sense of humour. So, if what you write brings a smile on the readers
face, then it’s perfectly alright. But it shouldn’t make them throw away
your application because you didn’t seem serious enough to them.
Decide How You Want To Portray Yourself.
And Learn How to Portray Indirectly.
• You simply can’t just go ahead and write “I am very passionate about the
field of study I have chosen.” That is the last thing you would want to write.
• “My grandfather was a car mechanic. I remember when I was nine, he took
me to his garage for the first time and showed me how he could repair my
damaged bicycle so I could ride it again. When he passed away a few years
later, he left me the entire garage. It was a turning point in my life. Some of
my best days were spent inside the garage, where after coming back from
school, I tried fixing various appliances in the house. That was what led me to
choose to be a Mechanical Engineer.”
• The above paragraph speaks volumes about you as a person and your
passion for Mechanical Engineering without you actually saying it.
Don’t Create Stories- Be Yourself of Purpose
• Write great stories only if you have great stories.
• Some people might come from normal backgrounds, who had normal
lives, and probably didn’t achieve anything spectacular. It’s completely
okay. If you don’t have anything great to write, don’t write it.
• Be normal, and write normal stories.
• The admissions officers are expert psychologists, and they can spot a true
applicant from a false applicant with just one read.
Proofread, Edit, and Re-edit. Ask Friends and
Family To Grade Your Essay
• Another mistake students make is, they try and keep their essays to
themselves. Maybe they are shy, or maybe they think their friends and
family aren’t necessarily experts on the subject. But, they sure are experts
on ‘you’. Which is exactly why you should approach them.
• They can not only give you additional points to add, but they can give
you valuable stories about your childhood or schooling days, which you
probably won’t remember. You will get new perspectives on your stories.
• Avoid typos, misplaced commas and semicolons, overused quotes, being
too wordy, using too many complex words and sentences, and being too
straightforward. Be careful. Be a perfectionist when it comes to writing.
• Take Advice From Professors.
 To Sum Up
• Introducing yourself in a unique manner.

• Demonstrating your passion for the field.

• Story about your background or experience in the field you’ve chosen.

• Description of your academic background in the field you’ve chosen.

• Specific classes or special courses you have taken, that are related to your field of interest.

• Some of the professors you have studied under, especially if they are well-known in that field.

• Co-curricular and Extracurricular activities in the field of you interest.

• Publications or other professional accomplishments in the field (perhaps conference presentations or public readings)

• Any community service or leadership experience while in college. Explanations about problems in background (if needed)

• Explanation of why you have chosen the specific grad school and other related questions as discussed in the beginning of this article.

• Mention what you like about the university you are applying for, and why: facilities, infrastructure, etc.

• Mention names of one or two professors in that school and what you know of and appreciate about their work, and why you want to study
or work under their guidance.

• Specific features of the grad program and the university, which attract you personally. And why.

• Get advice from several of your professors, family, and close friends. Ask for stories about yourself.

• Proofread and edit; ask friends and family to proofread for you as well.
Assignment
Send in your assignments on Google
Classroom

Use the class code to join- 4sfxh3a

Resources for this PPT
• Get more about SOP
• https://crunchprep.com/gre/powerful-statement-of-purpose
• https://grad.berkeley.edu/admissions/apply/statement-purpose/
• https://www.essayedge.com/blog/statement-of-purpose-format
/
• Std XII English Yuvakbharati Textbook