Writing a Powerful Statement of Purpose (SOP)

The Statement of Purpose (SOP) is a personal statement required by the universities to get a clear perspective of individuals who are willing to pursue higher education in Australia or any other country. It includes the candidate’s personal interests, goals, academic progress and motivations for the chosen career path.

There is a lot of competition for higher education in today’s time. Colleges and universities receive the application from students with impressive resumes, high GPAs and test scores. In such a situation, the colleges and universities go a little beyond what you directly say. They want to know your personality, caliber, and behavior. And SOP is the best way for colleges and universities to know about these qualities of you. This is the reason why admissions committees of most universities and colleges in Australia put a high emphasis upon SOP.

A well-written Statement of Purpose is extremely critical to get admission in the desired college or university as it is the only chance to assure admission committees why you should be accepted to pursue an education in abroad and how you stand out from a multitude of similar applicants.

Also Read: Top 10 Highest Paying College Majors

So, you need to be concerned about writing your SOP if you want to stand out. However, a large number of candidates fail to put enough efforts into making their SOP strong. In most cases, candidates copy the purposes from their seniors or the Internet, making it sound inappropriate and generic to their applications.

In some cases, the student fails to understand what they really should be mentioned in their SOPs. Some other times the SOPs become just a monotonous and unnatural piece of writing. Here are some tips for you to avoid writing a monotonous piece of writing:

Show, don’t tell!

Stories are more engaging and convincing those statements. If you try explaining your abilities, goals, or anything similar in your SOP with reference to a real-life story or event of yours, you can be more appealing. Just using adjectives and statements to describe you cannot give a complete picture of you to the admissions committee.

How often do you end-up leaving detailed and factual articles in newspapers halfway? Have you ever wondered why? Since they are hard to read or appear boring to us. However, it’s not the same with stories. When we start reading a novel, we get emotionally connected with the beautifully written piece of literature. When you present stories, you are making yourself more credible since in stories you are not just claiming something, rather you are proving your claim.

The admissions committee could be going through thousands of SOPs like yours at the same time. Make sure you write a short and creative storyline that makes the reader understand your purpose in no time.

Be precise on your points

The second most important rule to write a unique SOP is to be reflective. Admission officers do not want you to just show off your academic achievements. Nor they want to read prolonged literary fiction. Avoid being figurative as much as possible. Have your say in a way that can be easily understood. Always assume that the readers might not understand complex things. Hence, make sure you write in a way that communicates your message effectively and efficiently.

Honesty is the best policy

Being honest is an important part. If you are dishonest in any part of your SOP, there are high chances of you getting caught. Lies are often not coherent. If you are lying, you will fail in one place or another in connecting facts or reasons. SOP can be a great opportunity for you to tell about what problems you have faced in life and how you tackled them. If you have had any problems in your academic career or had any work-related problems, you can show in your SOP to reassure the members of the admission. However, make sure, to be honest, and provide the actual reasons that led you to the problems. In the end, don’t forget to highlight the way you dealt with all the problems and what you learned from the experience.

Little details make a big difference

Your research on the college or university you are applying to matters. You need to be informed about details about programs, facilities, environment, departments, and faculty of the university that you have chosen. You should let the admission committee know what exactly you like about their university and how badly you want to be a part of it.

Also Read: Extracurricular Activities for College Application

The only kind of writing is rewriting

Once you are completed with the draft, it’s time to turn your attention to the details, Go on proofreading until you feel like you’ve written the best possible Statement of Purpose. You need to make it a priority to avoid using too many complex words, misplaced commas or semicolons, and typos. You can also ask your family and friends to rate your written SOP for accuracy.

Your Statement of Purpose is the first impression in front of the college admission committee. If you don’t want to take a chance to get admission in the university of your choice, hiring a migration expert is one of the best ways to ensure instant success.