guidelines to write a good sop

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Student X, Statement of Purpose Page 1 of N Ideally, SOP should have N =1. In that case, no header needed. If it spill s onto multiple pages, put a header like the above on each page except pg. 1 Statenent of Purpose Student X What is your purpose? Present Perfect tense Conquer the Universe etc Why do you want to do it? Present or Past tense Past tense What qualifies you to do it? What gives you the confidence to do it? pointers and highlights of research projects details of projects must go in CV Notes on typography: All text must be 12 pt, Times New Roman If a sentence flows over two lines, it's too long! Restrict yourself to short sentences. Avoid use of conjunctions: While......long story...., I also.....long story... Use active, possesive style: example – “In this project on Supersonic Warpdrive, I worked on ..a little bit of specifics... (details go into CV). This made me realize that I really wanted to be a space pilot.” and not: “In this project on Supersonic Warpdrive, ...such and such things were done...” (who did them?) This section should mostly emphasize assertions like the one underlined above – why do you want to fulfill the purpose stated in this document? Each paragraph should have the following structure: 1 st sentence (exactly one line, no more) – introduces what this paragraph is about. Middle – about 3-5 lines, the content of the paragraph. Last sentence – summarizing the paragraph, and logically connecting it to next para. Conclusion: Future tense I feel confident that with my research experience and interests, I would fit well into [Prof. XYZ]'s group working on [ABC] and be able to contribute positively to the research program. University [PQR] with it's vibrant academic environment would be a great venue to take my first steps into the academic research world.

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Page 1: Guidelines to write a good SOP

Student X, Statement of Purpose Page 1 of N Ideally, SOP should have N =1. In that case, no header needed. If it spill s onto multiple pages, put a header like the above on each page except pg. 1

Statenent of Purpose Student X

What is your purpose? Present Perfect tenseConquer the Universe etc

Why do you want to do it? Present or Past tense

Past tenseWhat qualifies you to do it?What gives you the confidence to do it?

– pointers and highlights of research projects – details of projects must go in CV

Notes on typography:

All text must be 12 pt, Times New Roman

If a sentence flows over two lines, it's too long! Restrict yourself to short sentences.Avoid use of conjunctions: While......long story...., I also.....long story...Use active, possesive style: example – “In this project on Supersonic Warpdrive, I worked on ..a little bit of specifics... (detailsgo into CV). This made me realize that I really wanted to be a space pilot.”and not:“In this project on Supersonic Warpdrive, ...such and such things were done...” (who didthem?)This section should mostly emphasize assertions like the one underlined above – why doyou want to fulfill the purpose stated in this document?

Each paragraph should have the following structure:1st sentence (exactly one line, no more) – introduces what this paragraph is about.Middle – about 3-5 lines, the content of the paragraph.Last sentence – summarizing the paragraph, and logically connecting it to next para.

Conclusion: Future tenseI feel confident that with my research experience and interests, I would fit well into [Prof. XYZ]'s group working on [ABC] and be able to contribute positively to the research program. University [PQR] with it's vibrant academic environment would be a great venue to take my first steps into the academic research world.