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Key Points To Be Followed in Writing An SOP

The document provides guidance on writing an effective Statement of Purpose (SOP) for graduate school applications in 3 paragraphs or less. It recommends taking time to prepare and outline the SOP by listing topics and strengths. It suggests including an introduction, background, research interests, reasons for choosing the university and program, and a conclusion. Key advice includes being concise at 2 pages or less, using a professional tone and active voice, focusing on teamwork, and thoroughly proofreading for errors. Obtaining feedback from others is also recommended to write the best possible SOP.

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55 views

Key Points To Be Followed in Writing An SOP

The document provides guidance on writing an effective Statement of Purpose (SOP) for graduate school applications in 3 paragraphs or less. It recommends taking time to prepare and outline the SOP by listing topics and strengths. It suggests including an introduction, background, research interests, reasons for choosing the university and program, and a conclusion. Key advice includes being concise at 2 pages or less, using a professional tone and active voice, focusing on teamwork, and thoroughly proofreading for errors. Obtaining feedback from others is also recommended to write the best possible SOP.

Uploaded by

JECINJOHN
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Key Points to be followed in writing an SOP

a) Take preparation early. It takes time to write a good SOP. At least a month or may be
more. Make a list of what points you are going to discuss in it. Findout what are your
strengths.

b)Layout a structure. Decide how many paragraphs you will have, what will be the contents
of each paragraph. A basic layout of paragraphs can be like this –

Para I – Introduction. State your intent in short. Do you want to have an MS or PhD?
What research fields do you like to work on? This intro should be a summary of the
remaining paragraphs.

Para II - Your educational background. Things you have done that inspired you to take a
research oriented career path.

Para III - Your research interest and reasons behind selecting that field.
This interest can be based on your academic or job experience. Make the
relation clear. This paragraph can be decomposed into two paragraphs.

Para IV – Reasons behind choosing that particular university. Research


activities in that university those attracted your attention.

Para V – End paragraph focusing on your passion, goal, intent, reasons


behind being a perfect candidate for this admission and a nice finish.

c) Make the introduction attractive so that the reader thinks it is going to be a good one.
Attract his attention. State your intent clearly.

d) Do not write a lengthy SOP. The reader does not have too much time to spend on one. Be
concise. The optimal size of an SOP should be within two pages.

e) Do not start with your childhood fascination with computer, the day your father bought
you a computer and you fell in love with it. Don’t be funny.

f) Be coherent in each paragraph. Keep the transition from one sentence to another smooth.
The flow of the writing is too much important. Keep the flow smooth when you start a new
paragraph. There should be a connection between two consecutive paragraphs so that the
reader does not feel lost.

g) Never use any kind of negative tone, use active voice.

h) In one of the paragraphs, state the reason behind choosing that particular university that
made you interested about that university.
i) Five to six paragraph should be sufficient.

j) Use standard font and font size. Do not use any kind of fancy font. Be professional.

k) Focus on teamwork. People in here want a person to be team oriented.


l) State the reason behind choosing a certain research area.

m) Leave a sense of completion when you finish. Do not just cut off at some point. The
reader should feel that you have said everything and nothing else is left.

n) You can collect some sample SOPs from others to get an idea on how to write a good one.
But never ever copy. Be genuine, be yourself.

o) After writing a draft copy, print it and proofread. Correct the errors and again print and
proofread, three times at least. The reader will reject you as soon as he finds that you do not
know the basic rules of grammar. These people read hundreds of technical reports. They do
not like grammatical mistakes at all. You must have 0% tolerance for grammatical mistakes.

p) Get corrections from at least two people. One who knows English grammar better and one
who knows how to write a good SOP. Do not rely on your own instinct. Opinion from a
different person’s perspective always helps.

q) Do not use tough words, like GRE words. It might be tempting to use those words as you
might have just completed your GRE. But avoid this. Do not put too much “shahitto” in your
writing. Use simple words and simple sentences. Do not use long complex sentences.

r) You can also get some help online. There are tons of websites that can help you to write a
better SOP.

s) Do not procrastinate. Start writing today. Again I am telling you, it takes time. Edit,
proofread, print, rewrite again and again until you are happy. Don’t be happy too early.
Criticize yourself. You are not competing with only other BUET people; hundreds of students
from other countries are also competing at the same time.

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