Statement of Purpose (SOP) Format

Statement of Purpose is an essay that states your reason for applying to a specific course or university. Students who want to study in Canada need to provide an SOP seeking a student visa to study in Canada. It is an essay written by applicants to highlight their academic and professional excellence, as well as why they are the best choice for admission to the programme of their choice.

SOP Format for MS

We wrote this article to familiarize students with the statement of purpose format in order to assist them in writing a perfect SOP for masters. Please keep in mind the following critical elements to include in your SOP:

Introduction

• Mention about how you became interested in this field. Because this is your personal statement, you should only discuss your relationship with the subject.
• To back up your claims, use anecdotal evidence. For example, in this case, you could say that your professor’s lecture stirred something in you and served as a great inspirational pull for you.

Background

• Discuss how your Bachelors experience shaped your intelligence in the field. Showcase your academic and practical knowledge of the subject.
• Use anecdotal evidence once more.

Why This Course

Why masters, why now, and how will it help you achieve your short and long term goals?

• First, thoroughly discuss your short and long-term objectives.
• Discuss how it will benefit your skill set.
• Be specific once more.

Why This Specific University

You can conduct research on the following topics while answering this question:

• Identify two university professors whose research/work you admire and indicate that you follow them.
• Give the names of a few studies, as well as what you liked about them and how studying them would benefit you.
• The curriculum and programmes offered by the university.
• Any alumni from the university who you follow.

Conclusion

Discuss how this university will assist you in achieving your long and short term goals. Also, how will you contribute to the school’s success?

• Keep in mind that the university is looking for people who can add value and diversity to their institution.
• You can also discuss a program/extracurricular activity that you want to pursue at that school, something that you are particularly skilled at, and how this will help you demonstrate your value to the university.

Long-term and Short-term Objectives

Always remember to be specific when discussing your short and long term goals. What company do you see yourself working for, and what role do you want to play?

• Remember that your short-term goals should be things you want to do after 3-5 years of having an MS, and your long-term goals should be things you want to do after 10 years.
• While discussing your objectives, write about how getting an MS will help you.
• Be specific in everything you write.

SOP Format for Canada Student Visa

SOP for Canada study visa is an essay in which the candidate explains why he chose Canada as a study destination, his academic outline, post-study plans, and why he chose a specific course and university. If you want visa officers to choose your SOP, you must concentrate on the following key points:

Introduction

• Talk about your educational background.
• Include details such as your class 10th and 12th marks; how did you develop interest in this subject/specialization; what possibilities will be available for you in the future by gaining more knowledge about this subject?
• Specify the program that you’re applying for and in which university

Family Background

• Talk about your personal/family background.
• Include details such as your parents’ names and occupations. If they will be your sponsors, then mention their annual income

Academic Background

• Start by discussing where you studied (school’s name), your marks (CGPA) class 9th onwards, and specify the board (CBSE/ICSE etc).
• Discuss the core subjects that you studied in class 10th to 12th and what key concepts were you most fascinated by
• Specify any academic awards/achievements that make your candidature stronger (participation or securing top positions in debates, seminars, quizzes etc.)
• Talk about any additional courses that you underwent apart from your school courses – they could be elective or online courses – how did your knowledge grow through them?

Extracurricular Activities

• This is an important feature, hence, make sure you include all major ECA’s and talk about how they impacted your growth in detail.
• Discuss extracurricular activities that you were a part of during school.
• Mention the names of any clubs that you were a part of and the nature of your participation.
• Talk about any experience with leadership that you’ve had as part of your extracurricular activities.
• You may also include any community services that you’ve been a part of via school or through volunteer work.

Why This Course

• Provide reasons as to why you have chosen this course in the chosen university and why not a similar course in other universities?
• What do you expect to learn through this course?
• Elaborate upon your understanding of the course that you’ve applied to.
• What kind of subjects will you be studying the duration of 4 years?
• Talk about the electives that you intend to take up
• What is the grading system? How would your overall performance be graded?

Reasons for Choosing Canada

• Talk about the educational policies, living conditions, crime rate etc. that makes Canada an ideal destination for you.
• Discuss the reasons you’ve chosen the particular province/city in Canada.
• You can merge this part with the previous section (reasons for not choosing India other countries for further studies).

Reasons for not Choosing India and Other Countries for Further Studies

• Make a comparison of the Canadian education system with the Indian education system.
• You need to advocate why you have decided not to pursue the same course in India.
• Talk about the options that India offers you in terms of the course you’ve decided to pursue and why studying it in Canada would be better for your future.
• Make sure you do not draw extreme negative comparisons.
• Along with this, draw comparisons with the same courses offered in other countries such as the US and the UK. Discuss why you’ve chosen Canada over these countries.
• Remember to keep your focus towards why not the specific countries rather than why Canada. Talk in terms of how these countries do not match up to your projected expectations, exposure, learning etc.

Why This University

• Talk about the options you had with Canadian universities and why you chose this particular university.
• Discuss in terms of Ranking System, location, community, course delivery etc.

Future Plans

• What are your career plans? Where do you see yourself in the future?
• What kind of possibilities would you like to explore?
• Name a few of the companies where you would like to take up a position?
• You can also talk about any intentions of pursuing a Master’s degree.

Incentive to Return to India

• Talk about why you want to ultimately come back and settle in India? Provide personal reasons. For instance, you would want to support your family; any valid reason for which you need to come back to India after studies.
• This is a crucial detail; you need to establish a valid incentive to return back to your homeland. You can merge this with the previous section (future plans) as well.

Tips for Writing a Statement of Purpose

There are a few things you should keep in mind when writing a SOP to avoid making it look messy and unreadable:

• Use the ‘Times New Roman’ font with a font size of 12.
• To keep the SOP neat, leave at least a 1-inch margin on all sides.
• To keep plenty of space between lines and paragraphs, set the line spacing to 1.5.
• Look for grammatical and spelling mistakes.
• When writing a SOP, try to avoid using repetitive language.
• Maintain a formal, clear, and positive tone in your language.