Writing a statement of Purpose that others will want to read
Writing a statement of Purpose is standard practice for anybody applying to Graduate school. Most schools ask for this alongside your CV and Transcript.
Your CV and Transcript already contain a history of the jobs you have done in the past and the grades you have. They contain quantitative information and little qualitative information. Your SOP on the other hand is the why to your what. It helps you meet the employers face to face and have real conversations with them albeit through writing. It follows that there is no point restating what is already on your CV in your SOP.
Now to the general format you should follow, SOP’s are usually between 500–700 words and this should be broken down into 5 paragraphs. They should be easy to read and skim through and the first paragraph should immediately grab attention
A brief breakdown of the 5 paragraphs
Paragraph 1 — Introduction
This should contain colorful stories about you. If you had a lifelong dream to study what you now intend to study mention it, Tell us about how when you were 5 years old your father took you to his shop and this helped pique your interest in what you now want to study. Link it to what you studied in university/secondary school and now why you want to continue to study it, Allow your personality and interests shine through this paragraph. The reader wants to meet you, Indulge them.
Paragraph 2 — What you are currently doing
This is self explanatory, Since you got out of University what have you been doing with the skills you have learnt. Are you working currently (mention it), do you run a business (mention it), have any volunteer experience (mention it). This part helps show your resourcefulness as a person and the desire to continually improve yourself. Link the experiences to what you intend to study now. Even if they are not directly related,talk about the transferable skills you have learnt.
Paragraph 3- Delve into the choice of course
Why do you want to study this course in particular, if your 1st paragraph was great, this helps you connect it easily. Do some research into the course content, what do you hope to learn, what can you see as a gap in your job that this course will help fill. Round up saying that this course will provide you the necessary skill to be what you want to be
Paragraph 4 — Justify choice of school and Country
This part is very important as you have spent all your time in the earlier paragraphs talking about you. This is the part where you get to show your value to the school and talk a little about why this relationship should happen. What is the school known for — a big international community , great research, A popular person, Industry relevance. Also the country you intend to study in, what makes it interesting to you- the weather, the inclusion and diversity, a booming economy, the environment. Do your research and mention this things
Paragraph 5- Summary
In this part, we summarize all we have mentioned in the earlier paragraphs. Then express excitement to start studying, meet new friends and make valuable connections. This is a good place to plug your post study plans and how you intend to impact the world with what you have learnt.
That is it
Some general tips on writing
- You are writing to a human being so be expressive
- Try a much as possible to imagine the person is in front of you as you write. This will be read by one person, so write with that in mind
- Build a persona, a story, a theme that helps you link your experiences together.
- Edit and re-read many times, to get close to what you intend to say you must cut out what is unnecessary
Thanks for reading
Good luck on Your Graduate School Journey
