Statement of Purpose: Guidelines and Examples

Education plays a crucial role in our lives. It gives information on the world, society and changes us. Being a student, you constantly learn how to apply knowledge and achieve all of the goals, succeeding in professional and personal life.

Although there are multiple academic levels, which greatly differ, there is a thing, which unites all of them. To take it to the next level, you will need to provide the admission committee with a whole set of papers, including a statement of purpose. Go on reading to find out what the assignment is about and how to get noticed by the admission board.

Definition

To impress the admission board, your statement of purpose should be completely outstanding. You not only need to follow a required format and rules but also to make it free from any mistakes and meet the required academic level. Unfortunately, editing a statement of purpose (further SoP) is a very challenging task, and you need to possess solid skills to find mistakes in your own paper.

Students always doubt whether they did everything properly. That is why they feel pressure and prefer entrusting the assignment to professionals. If you also don’t want to leave anything to the chance, turn to us and get writing, editing and proofreading assistance in no time!

Statement of Purpose types

Every college or university has specific requirements when it comes to applications. That is why your SoP must follow all the guidelines if you want it to be accepted with the committee.

Of course, you should start with a proper word count and appropriate formatting style, but it is also crucial to understand what type of Statement of Purpose you are asked to deliver.

The SoP can be divided into various categories, depending on the goal of conducting such an assignment and the program you are willing to enter.

Statement of Interest for the Graduate School

Writing personal statements for a graduate level is completely different from writing essays for college. Students still lack experience and grades, because they are just starting college. That is why their essay mainly concentrates on personal attitude and vision of the surrounding world.

This is what makes graduate school essays so complicated. When writing such a paper, a student needs to explain why he or she is willing to enter the chosen program and how he or she is prepared for the study. Students should also write about their career plans, interests and other background information, which will help the board to evaluate whether the applicant is a right fit for the program.

Letter/Statement of Intent

Statement of intent is the assignment, which covers a particular subject. For example, MA in Chemistry or Ph.D. in Philosophy. Some students think that statement of intent is just another personal statement, but in reality it is a mixture of your career aspirations and ideas for future research.

Through such a paper you explain what your interest is and why you need the chosen program for your research.

Personal statement can be quite similar because it helps the board to understand why the candidate is a perfect fit for the program by reading about his or her personal values.

PhD SoP

Statement of purpose for a Ph.D. level must contain multiple details and information: your academic experience, an explanation why you are willing to conduct research and of course your background. PhD is the highest academic level, so once you reach it, you have all the necessary skills to make your SoP bright, interesting and catchy.

PhD SoP is quite similar to the one of Graduate School but should contain more information on your projects and explain why your future research is important.

Writing Grad School Statement of Purpose

You probably know how important it is to make a good first impression and you SoP is the first step you make towards the admission board. We know how scared students become thinking about the importance of such assignment. However, the tips below will surely help you.

• Stay away from irrelevant information and unnecessary details of your personal life;
• When you enumerate facts, don’t place them in a row and dilute with a story, interesting description or a joke. Help the board see how intelligent you are;
• Instead of simply writing about your achievements, quantify them. This will save the board’s time and give them a clearer picture of the results you have reached;
• Always avoid watery texts and stick to the point of the statement;
• Your tone should be formal and professional but still contain conversational elements;
• Remain who you are even if you are tempted to exaggerate any details;
• Highlight your strong sides;
• Make a list of the things you want to include and stick to that plan;
• Try to write a new statement every time you want to apply;
• Never explain why you failed to achieve something;
• Don’t use words you can’t understand;
• Explain why you are a proper fit for the program instead of pleading the board to accept you;
• Show how your skills and personality grew though educational stages and explain how you are planning to achieve new heights;
• Always revise and proofread your statement, even if it seems flawless at first.

What a Statement of Purpose should contain

• Your personal motivation to become a part of the chosen program;
• Experience, which influenced your interests and career in a chosen field;
• Internship, research, volunteer work and other activities, which can relate to the chosen program;
• Information on the course you have taken to improve your skills and knowledge;
• Description of your short-term and long-term goals;
• Explaining how the chosen program can help you with achieving academic or career aspirations.

Starting a SoP

Often writing the first line is the hardest step, so many students postpone the process. However, once you get started, it becomes much easier to complete the assignment. Here are the tips, which will help you to start:

• You should have a clear understanding of your future education and career. Before getting started you must understand what you are willing to achieve with the help of a chosen program. Without a clear goal you won’t be able to write an impressive application;
• Make a list of the reasons why you are applying for the program. Just take a paper and write down all of the reasons and motivation why you are willing to become a part of the selected program. Think why it can help you in achieving your academic goals. It is important to write everything down to always remember your aspirations. Once you have defined all of your goals, you can proceed with the research;
• Research is a great tool for generating new ideas and for writing a highly-academic paper. You can research the university, the chosen program, field of studies, professors and much more;
• Start the writing process. It may be a piece of paper or a MC Word document. Don’t pay too much attention to the structure of your sentences and formatting. Simply write down anything, which enters your mind. Once the first draft is ready, reread it and edit in order to make it meet all of the requirements;
• Write a strong introduction to catch and hold the attention of the reader.

Size of a SoP

The length of your Statement of Purpose greatly depends on the college or university you are planning to enter. Usually, your SoP should be 500–1000 words. To be on a safe side, you need to get familiar with the guidelines in order to know what formatting style to use and what font size to apply. It is crucial to follow all of the recommendations and check whether the word count of your statement meets the requirements.

Examples of SoP

Certain institutions provide applicants with specific questions, which you need to answer in your SoP instead of having the freedom to discuss any topic you want. For some students a necessity of choosing the topic on their own is additional stress, so assigning a topic becomes pure salvation.

Examples of SoP for Grad School

• Why do you want to continue education at Grad School?
• Why did you decide to choose this particular program?
• Why did you decide to choose this college?
• Do you have any experience in the chosen field?
• How you are planning to use your degree in the future?
• What do you expect from the program and the college?

Letter of Interest

• What are you planning to do with the degree in a professional field?
• Why are you willing to enter this program?
• Do you have enough experience and skills for the program?

Statement of Intent

• Goals of your future research;
• Goals for your future career;
• How can the program assist you in achieving professional goals?
• Describe your previous projects and their influence on the choice of a particular program;
• How can the chosen program help you in solving the problems you have faced in your previous projects?

Statement of Purpose: example

I became interested in branding many years ago and such interest bloomed due to all of my college studies, experience and love to travel. People assume that brand can only be applied to companies, while it is a broader term, which can express a personality, a message and any other issue.

I have examined the importance of brands in multiple companies and seen how the same brand has a completely different impact depending on the culture and location. Brands are more than companies’ strategies to sell their goods and services. Brand is about giving a name to everything, to be noticed and to have a positive impact on the surrounding.

Unfortunately, branding is treated wrongly and I want to examine every part of it, which is possible with your outstanding program. I want to become a part of it because of my passion for branding and management, which can impact the lives and success of many individuals and companies.

I have experience working in marketing and brand development fields, which gave me an outstanding foundation for better understanding of the market and buyers’ psychology.

I decided to apply to this program because of many reasons. First of all, it is one of the best schools in the country with the latest achievements and teaching approaches. Your school is well-known for helping graduates with entering the business world with solid knowledge and achievements.

Another reason is that your program is constantly improved and helps students to challenge themselves, thinking outside the box and pushing the limits. I am ready for any challenges of joining your course.

I have worked at a college and have also been an Assistant Manager in one of the biggest companies in New York. My main responsibilities were tracking how good the employees were in meeting the company’s requirements, checking how optimal their marketing strategy was and completing reports on a weekly basis.

The environment was vibrant and fast moving, filled with multiple challenges and new experience. It helped me to become independent, gain new skills and knowledge, follow the latest marketing trends and meet people, who were also passionate about marketing.

Our world is moving so fast that it is crucial to learn quickly and always follow the market. I think that marketing is the same as branding. I want to enter this field because I am a creative person and willing to work hard to achieve my goals.

Once I complete a master’s degree, I want to use all the gained experience to help various brands with being recognized on the market. I also want to help people in achieving all of their goals by reinventing themselves.

Assistance with writing a Statement of Purpose

If you want to impress the admission committee, you need to make sure that your SoP is flawless and stands out from the rest. You should not only follow the required formatting rules and the number of words but also to make sure there are no mistakes in the text.

Editing is a very challenging task and even the most experienced students often fail to complete it, because it is difficult to give the paper a fresh eye if you have been working on it for weeks.

Statement of Purpose is a very important stage in your academic and professional career, so it is better to entrust the assignment to professionals. We are a company you can rely on. Our excellent writers, proofreaders and editors are there for you to work on every line of your Statement of Purpose any time of the day.

Here are only some of the benefits you get, when working with us:

• Outstanding quality of the paper, meeting the required academic level;
• Your SoP will meet all of the requirements of the college or university you are applying to;
• Round the clock assistance, which will help you to control the process on every stage;
• Flawless grammar and absence of typos;
• Unlimited revisions if you have some comments.