What Should a GRE SOP be Like?
The primary reason for taking the GRE is to get admission in a premier college of the USA. In order to do so, you will have to fare well in the examination and score well in the test. However, along with the score, you will have to provide a statement of purpose or theSOP. The SOP is also a tool with which the college authorities will try to analyze your interest in pursuing a successful college career. To help you write a good Statement of Purpose (SOP) the various aspects of the write-up have been discussed in the following section of the article.
Writing a Good Statement of Purpose
The statement of purpose is an insight into your character. It is an essential part of your admissions portfolio. It is studied by the admissions authorities to understand why you want to pursue a college career. The various things that you should consider while writing theSOP are as follows:
- Write with Moderation: One of the most annoying factors of a statement of purpose is if it is too long. The essay should not be more than 500 to 600 words. It should be concise and coherent. However, do not fill it with so much information that makes the essay like an article listing your qualities. It should be a well-balanced essay which states your strengths and also mentions your weaknesses.
- Support your Claims: A statement of purpose should provide information about your GRE scores, your GPA and any other similar scores. If you are making any claims regarding your academic career, ensure that the scores support them. If your scores are not good enough, then ensure that you have provided plausible reasons for that. The authorities reading them should be able to gain an insight into your character. Moreover, the claims you make should also be substantiated by your overall academic performance. It should also portray your enthusiasm and seriousness about pursuing a college career.
- Causes for your Motivation: While writing the essay do not dwell too much in the past. Although, you should provide examples from your past to substantiate your claims of future, yet it should also mention your motivation for future. Thus, your essay should be an indication regarding what motivated you to pursue the particular subject you wish to major in college. It should also state what you ultimately aim to achieve by studying the particular subject. Ensure that all these reasons are stated in theSOP that you are writing.
Your Statement of Purpose should be an engaging one, so that it urges the reader to continue reading. How you can do so, has been discussed in the following section of the article.
Develop the Interest of the Reader
Like any other essays, the SOP that you write should capture the interest of the reader. It should be written in an engaging manner, but should not undermine the importance of the statement of purpose. For example, you could begin it with a statement or quotation so that it draws the attention of the reader. Moreover, you should write the essay in such a manner that the reader enjoys reading it. Thus, not only the beginning, but the entire essay for that matter should be written in an interesting manner.
Links to Websites Containing Sample SOPs
The above-mentioned list sections the various features of a good SOP. It also provides some tips to help you write the statement of purpose efficiently. To help you understand the format of it further, some links to websites of sample SOPs are as follows:
The SOP is the only method by which the admissions authorities can analyze you. Thus, you should not embellish anything. You should write it truthfully, but in such a manner that it enhances your strengths. Often candidates get admission if they have a well written statement of purpose, even if they have not scored very well in the GRE. So give a lot of thought to your statement of purpose and then write it, so that you can write a good essay.