IN TROD UCTION

In our series of e-books to help stud ents w ith their preparations to stud y abroad ; w e now
present our latest e-book on the Statem ent of Purpose.
The Statem ent of Purpose or the SoP as it is popularly know n as is essentially an essay of
sorts in w hich the applicant to a course w rites about his or her acad em ic and
professional goals and w hy he or she has opted to apply for a specific course and stud y
at a specific institution.
The e-book is d ivid ed into convenient mod ules covering various topics like the
com ponents of an id eally w ritten SoP, d os and d onts of w riting a SoP and m ost
im portantly sam ple SoPs for your reference.

CON TEN T

What is a Statem ent of Purpose/ SOP?

- 5

Com ponents of an SOP

- 7

Tips to w rite an effective SOP

- 10

SOP What not to d o?

- 12

SOP Sam ples

- 14

CH APTER 1

What is a Statem ent of

Pu rpose?

Everything you need to know about the Statement of Purpose

As the nam e signifies, the Statem ent of Purpose is your personal statem ent about w ho
you are, w hat has influenced your career p ath so far, your professional interests and
w here you plan to go from here.
This is u sually required for stud ents applying to universities, colleges and research
stud ies. A SoP usually narrates ones purpose of stud ying that particu lar course, area of
specialization, future career goals, and achievem ents in the past and so on.
The SoP is your chance to talk d irectly to the ad m issions com m ittee and m ake you stand
out from am ong a m ultitud e of sim ilarly qualified cand id ates. The SoP should convince
the ad missions team that you are the best applicant they could choose for the seat. You
m u st show that you have the m otivation and ability to succeed and perform excellently.
Your SoP should highlight any experience related to the course to w hich you are
applying.
Keep in m ind that your aud ience com prises experts in the field and m ake your SoP as
close to facts as possible. Includ e your research plans, acad em ic goals, and d escribe your
aptitud e.

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CH APTER 2

Com ponents of a Statem ent

of Pu rpose

Everything you need to know about the Statement of Purpose

Make a list that of all the m ain im portant topics that you w ant to cover and list out
su pporting m aterial und er each topic. You m u st rem em ber that inform ation about your
past is cru cial but its m ore vital to inclu d e how it led you to focus on your present area
of interest. The ad m issions team consid ers your current and future areas of research
interest.
You can d ivid e your SoP into three parts - the introduction, body and conclusion.
1. Introduction
You should pen d ow n personal reasons for w hy you have chosen this area of interest or
list out how you have overcom e d ifficulties. You can even go on to includ e how certain
incid ents in your life played a part in influencing your aspirations.

2. The Body
Professional Goals
H ere you should look to answ er som e of these questions:
Why is it that you w ant to becom e a m athem atician or a physicist (for exam ple)?
Which w ere the life experiences that m ad e you realise you w anted to becom e one?
What are your plans after you obtain the d egree from the university talk about your
future goals - both ed ucational and professional.
Why have you chosen this university?
Why d o you m ake a good cand id ate - talk about your trium phs and how com m itted
you are to acad em ics.
Education - Background
Includ e a sum m ary of w hat you d id as a high school or an und ergrad uate stud ent. H ere,
ensure you list out the specific classes or p rojects you had taken that enhanced your
interest in the field that you d esire to pursue stud y in. Mention the skills that you have
acqu ired through the projects that you have w orked on and stress the ones that are
relevant to your future grad uate w ork.

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Everything you need to know about the Statement of Purpose

Everything You Need to Know About the Statement of Purpose

Related Experience
Provid e all d etails of relevant research that you m ight have perform ed w ith all required
d etails such as the project title, the project responsibilities and the project outcom e.
If you have obtained any relevant work experience related to your professional area of
interest - ensure you includ e them .
Outstanding Triumphs
If you have been the w inner of any regional, state, or even international events or
com petitions, then m ention them - need less to say. This could includ e any form of
achievem ent includ ing special fellow ships to special nom inations or aw ard s.
3. Conclusion
The conclu sion is also an im portant part of the essay - it m ust bring in the essence of
w hat you are trying to say overall.

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CH APTER 3

Tips to w rite an effective

Statem ent of Pu rpose

Everything you need to know about the Statement of Purpose

11

Some basic tips you must be aw are of before you put pen to paper!

Use active voice and alw ays highlight everything from a positive angle and if the
program asks you for one page, stick to it strictly.

When it com es to font, go for 11-12.

N ote that its alw ays better to use exam p les than just m aking plain statem ents
especially w hile referring to yourself. If you say youre a persistent person, back it up
w ith an exam ple or d em onstrate how you are one in your SoP. Exam ples are alw ays
m ore catchy and hold the read er s attention com pared to general statem ents. Dont
hold back from d raw ing on situation from your very ow n life and ad d ing them . This
w ill p u t you above other su perficial applicants w ho m ay have ju st m ad e statem ents
w ith no content to back them up .

The key of the SoP is focus and continuity; have your essay proof-read and checked a
couple of times before submission. A fresh perspective alw ays help s. If youre
looking to apply to the US, it would be great to get som eone w hos currently
stud ying in a grad school to have a look at your essay- as they w ould be in the best
place to know w hat grad schools w ould be looking for in a prospective stud ent.

Tailor your SoP for every school you apply to; m ake sure your essay is convincing
enough to prove you belong there.

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CH APTER 4

SOP What N OT to d o?

Everything you need to know about the Statement of Purpose

13

What N OT to D o?
Steer clear of these!
There are som e w ord s that are painfully over-used and ju st sound em pty and vague
su ch as challenging; rew ard ing; beautiful; m eaningful. Make sure these d ont end u p
in your SoP.
N on-specific inform ation and com m on p hrases are d efinitely not going to get you any
closer to getting you noticed . Stay aw ay from them as m u ch as you can. Its useful to
ask yourself if you have just put d ow n w hat a hund red other stud ents w ould have
too.
Do N OT repeat inform ation from your application unless you m ust.
H um our m ay backfire as you d ont really know your aud ience. So refrain from jokes
or funny phrases.
Slang and unoriginal phrases like I have alw ays w anted to becom e a... w ont really
help you score either.
Talking about m istakes unless you are referring to it as a learning experience.
Special fonts or coloured paper are a d efinite no-no!
Dont let them m istake your confid ence for arrogance - m ake sure your tone
throughout the essay portrays you to be a person w ho is open to learning.

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CH APTER 5

Statem ent of Pu rpose Sam ples

Everything you need to know about the Statement of Purpose

15

Sample Statement of Purpose MBA

Below is a sam ple statem ent of purpose w ritten by a stud ent applying to a university
to stud y an MBA program m e.

Know led ge com es by eyes alw ays open and w orking hand s, and there is no know led ge
that is not pow er. This statem ent characterizes m y beliefs. Ever since I attend ed the first
ind u strial visit d uring m y sophom ore year of engineering I have nurtured a d ream of
becom ing a part of the top level m anagem ent team of a firm .
N ow, after two years of relevant experience in the field of procurem ent in Sup ply chain
Managem ent, the pow er of know led ge seem s to call m e out persuad ing m e to seek m ore.
The d ream I nurtured d uring m y grad uation has grow n w ith m e and I hope the d ay of
realization is not far off. To m ake this a reality I intend to pursue an M.B.A in strategy
and procurem ent m anagem ent at your esteem ed university.
Soon after my grad uation I set out to realize m y d ream by joining Olym pic Card s Private
Lim ited as a procurem ent engineer. After a year of experience I joined a top electronic
m anu facturing com pany (Foxconn International H old ings) in ord er to attain global
experience. The com pany trained m e in global procurem ent and ap p ointed m e as a team
lead er for the procurem ent team at Foxconn Ind ia Private Lim ited w hich I consid er as
one of the biggest achievem ent so far in m y life.

Early in m y life, at the high school level, I learnt the value of hard w ork and
perseverance. This led m e to secure 90% in m y higher second ary exam ination. Later this
served as a found ation for m y stud ies in electronics and com m unication at B.S.A
Crescent Engineering College w hich ranks as one of the top accred ited engineering
college affiliated to Anna University in the state of Tam il N ad u (South Ind ia). Besid es
this acad em ic achievem ent I am an active m usician and m y passion for m u sic has helped
m e to further und erstand the im portance of hard w ork and perseverance required to
excel. I w as elected as the secretary of the college m usic association in the year 2004 and I
perform ed at a num ber of prestigious venues around the city.
continues

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Everything you need to know about the Statement of Purpose

16

As a part of m y w ork experience I have gained know led ge in the follow ing field s,

Strategic d evelopment of suppliers

Analyzing and negotiation of the quotation
Managem ent of contracts and agreem ents w ith suppliers
Supplier perform ance evaluation
Different kind s of P.O d isposition
Debit note and Cred it note
Inventory Control
Docum entation for the procurem ent d epartm ent for TL9000
Part of internal quality and on-site supplier aud iting team
Key user for SAP R/ 3 Material Managem ent Mod ule

This had provid ed m e w ith a firm grasp of concepts and a launching pad to embark
upon a voyage of know led ge in procurem ent. My stud y of these field s has also served to
further fuel m y am bition and d eepen m y interest in the field of strategy and
procurem ent m anagem ent.
I got som e very interesting inform ation about my field of stud y by brow sing your
w ebsite and this has d riven m e to apply for the M.B.A (Strategy and procurem ent
m anagem ent) course offered at your prestigious university. The eight m od ules of
the M.B.A program which inclu d e the Strategic Managem ent, Organization & Resource
Managem ent, Strategic Marketing, Financial Managem ent, Operations Managem ent,
International & Risk Management, Pow er Regimes & Supply Chain Management,
Bu siness Strategy and Procurem ent com petence w ill help m e im prove m y cognizance in
the field of procurem ent and I believe that stud ying at your university w ill give m e the
m eans to achieve m y goals and realize m y d ream s. I therefore m ake an earnest request to
consid er m y application for ad m ission.

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Everything you need to know about the Statement of Purpose

17

Sample SOP For Engineering Grad Schools

The below Statem ent of Purpose is w ritten by a final year und ergraduate engineering
stud ent applying for MS program s in the USA.
Its bound less possibilities and instant outcom es are w hat I find m ost stim ulating and
appealing about Com puter Science. I believe that keeping an explorative attitud e and
inquisitive m ind is key to a constant learning process. As I am in the course of m y final
year in m y und ergrad uate program , I w ant to pursue grad uate stud y to further refine
m y skills and know led ge in this area of interest. I think the grad uate program m e in
Mechatronics w ill give m y career goal of becom ing a research p rofessional the right
d irection at research-oriented , com m ercial or acad em ic organisations.
I believe it w ill also serve to give d irection to m y goal of a career as a research
professional at an acad emic or commercial, research-oriented organisation. I intend to
pursue an MS d egree in ord er to reach that goal.
I have benefitted vastly from the bread th of Bharat Universitys und ergrad uate syllabus
and gained a com prehensive exposure to m any core areas of the field and a strong
conceptual und erstand ing. In m y four years of stud y at University I have learnt how to
m aintain an expend ing ind epend ent approach in all m y end eavours.
In the past tw o years, I found m yself d raw n tow ard s the areas of Inform ation Retrieval
and Com piler Construction. The Com piler Construction lab sessions and the subjects
Form al System s and Autom ata and Com piler Construction led m e to show appreciation
tow ard s the field s intricacies. H ow ever for m y MS program , I am open to topics
focussing on other areas as w ell. For m y B.E. project this com ing sem ester, I would like to
concentrate on Inform ation Retrieval. I would like to em ploy a technique for search
engines- to increase their precision of query listings and com prehensiveness.
One of the m ost im portant lessons I have learned as the head of the Engineering
Stud ents Bod y at Bharat University is that one persons life can influence the lives of
m any people. This gives us the reason to behave responsibly and be accountable. I w as
the youngest head of this stu d ent bod y in the history of Bharat University and the only
one to have served tw o consecutive years as the H ead . This role taught m e that selfreliance is the basis of good w ork and helped m e learn how to take both praise and
criticism positively. This w as a very d istinctive and gratifying experience w hich I feel
w ill stand m e in good stead if I choose to get in to the teaching line in the future.
continues

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Everything you need to know about the Statement of Purpose

18

I w ould like to say in conclu sion that the essence of University ed u cation lies in the
synergetic relationship betw een the d epartm ent and the stud ents. I think that grad uate
stud y at your University would be help m e best w ith m y acad emic pursuits and is a
m ajor step tow ard s achieving m y objectives. I w ould be grateful if I am given the
opportunity to pursue m y grad uate stud y at your w orld -renow ned institution.

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Everything you need to know about the Statement of Purpose

19

Sample Statements of Purpose - For Medical Studies

The below statem ent is w ritten by a practising d octor w ho w ishes to join the MSc in
Card iovascular and Diabetes Research at the University of Leed s..
Ind ia lead s the w orld in the num ber of people suffering from d iabetes and card iovascular d iseases; this is a fact corroborated by m ost m ed ical agencies. The w orrying
factor is that the age of those getting d iagnosed w ith d iabetes and card iac issues is
getting lesser. This is testimony to the lifestyle changes in the current generation and the
unhealthy eating habits of the current generation, w hich is getting ad d icted to junk
food .
I have com pleted m y MBBS course from MGM Med ical University; Ahm ed abad and
have w orked for two years in the Governm ent Med ical H osp ital, Rajkot. I secured 83%
overall in m y final exam s and received a certificate of m erit for being the Best Med ical
Stud ent.
During m y d ays of training as a m ed ical stu d ent; I noticed the nu m ber of patients w ho
w ere ad m itted to the hospital becau se of lifestyle ind u ced d iabetes and card iac
complaints. The percentage of such complaints w as m uch higher than those of patients
w ith age-afflicted and hered itary m ed ical com plaints. This prom pted m e to cond uct a
survey of about 50 patients w ho had been ad m itted to the hospital in the age-group of 23
to 40 years and I found that in nearly 15 patients; just eating proper nutritious food on
tim e could have prevented hospitalisation for card iac com plaints.
This reiterates the fact that healthy eating, ample exercise and regular m ed ical check-u ps
can prevent life-style d iseases. I w ould like to focus m y energies on und erstand ing m ore
about how the hum an bod y reacts to herbal m ed ical alternatives. In som e tests run here I
noted that blood -sugar levels and cholesterol levels could be controlled by regular
consu mption of extracts from bitter gourd and fenugreek. I noted this in some patients
and this is an acknow led ged practice in m any fam ilies in Ind ia.
I w ould like to d evote tim e to cond uct system atic research on the positive im pact of
bitter gourd and fenu greek extracts on d iabetic and card iac patients. As a first step in
this path, I w ish to apply for a place on the MSc in Card iovascular and Diabetes
Research offered by the University of Leed s.
The excellent research facilities and the strong research-centric curriculum seem to be the
perfect choice for m e to further m y acad em ic and professional goals. The strong Ind ian
com m u nity in Leed s is another factor, w hich d raw s m e to Leed s. I hope that I can fulfil
m y d ream of becoming a certified med ical specialist in d iabetic and card io-vascu lar
d iseases at the University of Leed s.

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Everything you need to know about the Statement of Purpose

20

Sample Statement of Purpose- MS in Computer Science

The below statem ent of purpose is w ritten by a stud ent w ho aspires to stud y an MS
in Com puter Science at the University of Melbourne.
"The com p uter is the m ost rem arkable tool w eve ever com e up w ith. Its the equivalent
of a bicycle for our m ind s." - This quote by Steve Jobs has inspired m e ever since I read
about him in a new sp aper article w hen I w as in school. The sheer passion, d ed ication
and insight into the fu ture that Steve had led to the growth of Apple one of the riches
technology com panies in the w orld . The prod ucts created by Apple Inc. from the ipod to
the iphone and the ip ad have all been gam e-changers and have a fanatic fan-follow ing
all over the w orld .

My interest in computers w as sparked by the story of how Jobs created Apple as a

technology firm w ith his friend s. This led m e to opt for the Bachelor of Engineering in
Com puter Science course at Mercy Engineering College. I rate the four years of stud y at
the engineering college am ong the best years of m y life as I spent a lot of tim e in the
com puter laboratory learning program m ing languages and also concepts of hard w are
technology and the com ponents that m ake up a com puter.
As part of the project of m y final sem ester of stud y; I w orked on d eveloping a portable
w ord -processing application that w ould also w ork on low -cost Java-based m obile
phones. In d eveloping countries, sm art-phones are still a luxury and m ost people still
use su b-US$25 m obile phones, w hich w ork on Java-based op erating system s. The
external examiner for the project rated m y project 4.5 out of a maxim um of 5 rating
points. I com pleted the engineering course w ith a cum ulative grad e point average of 8.75
out of a m axim um of 10 points.
I aspire to stud y the Master of Science in Com puter Science at the University of
Melbourne because it is am ongst the m ost highly rated postgrad uate program s offered
in Au stralia. Ad d itionally, one of m y lecturers Mr. Avinash Tripathi an alu m nus of the
University of Melbourne recom m end ed that I stud y here. I have com plete faith in Mr.
Avinashs recom m end ation and I hope I w ill get a chance to stud y m y d ream course at
Melbourne.
continues

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Everything you need to know about the Statement of Purpose

21

My am bition is to focu s on creating a low -cost yet robust com pu ting d evice that can
offer the full fu nctionalities of a personal com puter. This w ill w ork on open-source
technology and w ill help everyone from stud ents to farm ers and the biggest USP of the
d evice w ould be that it w ould run on a solar-pow ered battery.
The process of learning is continuous and I hope that I would also be able to w ork on a
d octoral program at the University of Melbourne. I hope I w ill get ad m ission at the
University of Melbourne and w ill be able to fulfill m y d ream s.

Caut ion: Please note these SOPs are for reference only. Do not copy-paste them
to write your SOPs. Institutions may refuse to acknowledge them citing
plagiarism of content.

Disclaimer The names of institutions and students and faculty have just been used for reference. All
cases and scenarios mentioned are fictitious and have just been used for the purpose of explaining how
sample SoPs look like.

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Everything you need to know about the Statement of Purpose

22

Dear read ers, thanks for d ow nload ing this e-book and read ing this book to learn about
the various aspects of w riting a Statem ent of Purpose. We hope that you found this
useful and now you w ould get a clearer id ea on how to w rite the perfect SoP that w ill
help you w ith your ad m issions. If you have any tips or suggestions or would like to
suggest new topics on w hich you w ould like to read e-books; please w rite to
support.hotcourses.co.in.
Team Hot courses India Wit h y ou on y our st udy abroad mission!

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