Mistakes To Avoid While Writing SOPs
What is SOP?
SOP stands for Statement of Purpose and is one of the most important documents required by the universities and colleges during admissions. SOP is written by the candidate and gives enough information about the student, the motivational factor behind choosing the course and college, what are his academic and professional learnings and achievements and his future goals. SOP is required at every level of study by the college and university.
A good SOP mainly states about you, your achievements, your aspirations and your expectation from the college towards your goal. All these aspects should be written in cohesion with each other and thus SOP is a deciding factor for the admission committee on your candidature. A well-written SOP is your golden ticket to your dream college.
But many times, students fail to write a unique and good SOP. There are a lot many reasons behind the same. In order to help you to write an effective SOP, we are listing down some of the common mistakes to be avoided while writing your SOP.
Lack of planning
Do not write your SOP at the eleventh hour rather plan it days before the submission deadline. Writing SOP is a time taking the process which takes good 405 weeks time as it requires a lot of thinking. Once you write a draft, it will never be a perfect one. So, to give some scope for revision and editing, plan it before.
Copying from other sources
Keep the content of your SOP original and individual that should speak about you. Do not copy paste the content of other SOPs available on other sites or sources as this leads to plagiarism which is a serious offence. Take help from your teachers and experts to enhance your writing quality and ensure that your SOP is unique and error free.
Fancy and flashy language
The language used should be kept formal and simple without using very heavy and flowery words. Since SOP is a formal document hence one should take care of not using slangs and short forms. You should avoid colloquial expressions and casual representation of things stated in SOP. Take care of fonts used which means that avoid using italics, bold or fancy fonts. Use a simple font and write in black colour only making your SOP look clean and clutter-free. Also, don’t cite common phrases and examples in order to make it unique and different from other candidates.
Exceeding the word limit
Your SOP should be short and should not exceed given word limit. Most of the times, the word limit is defined by the university or college but if in case it is not given then limit your SOP to the word limit of 500 – 1000 words. Remember that the admission committee goes through the number of application and they don’t have enough for a lengthy content. They always look out for a crisp and short.
Don’t boast about your achievements
Although your SOP tells about your achievements but doesn’t brag about it with the loudest horn. Be humble and polite about your achievements. Present your learning while stating your qualification. Be honest towards your SOP and mention only the facts that you have done or achieved.
Dwelling on your failures and weaknesses
Everyone faces failures and has weaknesses but dwelling on them is a big no-no in your SOP. Present your failures as positive aspects as in what learning your have received from them. You can represent your failure as your ability to overcome hurdles and obstacles in life and this will help you to present yourself as a stronger person.
Inconsistent Content
Your SOP should contain all your information in a proper order of flow to leave a lasting impression on the admission officer. You should always start with your introduction, your reason for choosing the course, motivational factor behind choosing this course and your academic journey followed by your project work and internship if any. Also, mention about your extracurricular activities and any special skills that you possess. Mention about your goals and why you would be a potential candidate for the university.
Mentioning irrelevant information
The SOP is a statement about you and your goals, so don’t include anything about your background or financial circumstances unless and until it is required to mention.
Not getting your SOP reviewed and proofread
Once you have written the first draft of your SOP, then get it reviewed by your parents, teachers or friends. Don’t hesitate to take their help as they will not only review your SOP but give valuable suggestions. Ask for their opinion, work on the given advise and polish your draft accordingly. Once you have finalized your draft, proofread your SOP to avoid any kind of spelling mistakes, grammatical or punctuation errors, repetitive points and inconsistent flow of content.
Hope, this article is helpful enough for writing an SOP effective. Try to avoid mistakes and excel in writing your SOP. All the best!
If you have any suggestion to contribute here, please mention in the comment box below.
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