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Since I'm in nutrition, I actually have studied obesity. It isn't as simple as calories in = calories out, as some of you think.  It also isn't always about personal choice.
 
If any of you actually care to educate yourselves, here are some good studies and other articles on the topic:
 
The epidemiology of overweight and obesity: public health crisis or moral panic?
 
2006 Canadian clinical practice guidelines on the management and prevention of obesity in adults and children
 
ECONOMIC CAUSES AND CONSEQUENCES OF OBESITY
 
Here are some great graphics that illustrate the many causes of obesity:
 
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h232/nutritionrunner/determinants_zps32a90d05.jpg
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h232/nutritionrunner/obesityfactors_zps9041a94e.png
 
Oh gee, look at all the factors that aren't under an individual's control!  Imagine that!
 
The following is the best illustration of all the many factors that affect obesity.  It is an incredibly complex problem:
http://www.shiftn.com/obesity/Full-Map.html
 
So please, educate yourself about the causes and treatment of obesity before you go assuming it is the individual's fault.  The research being done in this area indicates that there are many complex, interacting factors that affect obesity and obesity rates.  It isn't always a matter of eating too much and moving too little.  It is much, much more complex.  Energy balance is only part of the equation.

I downvoted you so that you could upvote yourself back to 0, as usual. 

There's one huge difference between alcoholism and obesity.  Nobody needs to drink alcohol to live.  Everyone needs to eat in order to live.  It may be through enteral or parenteral nutrition, but if you don't get food into your body, you are going to die.
 
If it were simply a matter of consuming fewer calories then we wouldn't have climbing rates of obesity in the developed world, and we wouldn't have the dual burden in the developing world (where on the one hand you have climbing rates of obesity in some segements of society, while still having undernutrition in other segments).
 
I don't have the references handy, but in multiple clinical nutrition courses I have learned the following.
 
Realistic amounts of weight loss are:
3-5% through diet and exercise
5-15% through medications
20-30% through bariatric surgery
 
If it were simply a matter of consuming fewer calories and exercising more, than the percentage weight loss for diet and exercise would be a lot higher than 3-5%.  Sure, there are some people who manage to lose more and keep it off, but they are the exception, rather than the rule.
 
For those interested, here are some other papers that address obesity:
Obesity is a sign – over-eating is a symptom: an aetiological framework for the assessment and management of obesity A POPULATION HEALTH APPROACH TO OBESITY IN CANADA Early-life determinants of overweight and obesity: a review of systematic reviews  

My husband and I have lived through several periods where our relationship was conducted at a distance.  Why did we do it?  Well, we had no choice.  The military doesn't exactly let me come with him when he's away on training for months at a time, nor when he is deployed overseas for months at a time.  They don't exactly let non-military spouses deploy on training, combat or peacekeeping missions with the military member.
 
It would be silly to end our relationship just because he has to go away on training or deploy.  He was in the military when I met him, and I knew exactly what that meant.  Our love is strong enough to deal with the separations when they occur.  It helps that we are best friends, that we completely trust one another, and that we are good at communicating with each other.
 
Long distance relationships can work if both parties are committed to it.  Both parties need to realize that there will probably be times when it is difficult being apart, and that having a strong relationship with open and honest communication will help them get through those difficult times.

There's one huge difference between alcoholism and obesity.  Nobody needs to drink alcohol to live.  Everyone needs to eat in order to live.  It may be through enteral or parenteral nutrition, but if you don't get food into your body, you are going to die.
 
If it were simply a matter of consuming fewer calories then we wouldn't have climbing rates of obesity in the developed world, and we wouldn't have the dual burden in the developing world (where on the one hand you have climbing rates of obesity in some segements of society, while still having undernutrition in other segments).
 
I don't have the references handy, but in multiple clinical nutrition courses I have learned the following.
 
Realistic amounts of weight loss are:
3-5% through diet and exercise
5-15% through medications
20-30% through bariatric surgery
 
If it were simply a matter of consuming fewer calories and exercising more, than the percentage weight loss for diet and exercise would be a lot higher than 3-5%.  Sure, there are some people who manage to lose more and keep it off, but they are the exception, rather than the rule.
 
For those interested, here are some other papers that address obesity:
Obesity is a sign – over-eating is a symptom: an aetiological framework for the assessment and management of obesity A POPULATION HEALTH APPROACH TO OBESITY IN CANADA Early-life determinants of overweight and obesity: a review of systematic reviews  

There's one huge difference between alcoholism and obesity.  Nobody needs to drink alcohol to live.  Everyone needs to eat in order to live.  It may be through enteral or parenteral nutrition, but if you don't get food into your body, you are going to die.
 
If it were simply a matter of consuming fewer calories then we wouldn't have climbing rates of obesity in the developed world, and we wouldn't have the dual burden in the developing world (where on the one hand you have climbing rates of obesity in some segements of society, while still having undernutrition in other segments).
 
I don't have the references handy, but in multiple clinical nutrition courses I have learned the following.
 
Realistic amounts of weight loss are:
3-5% through diet and exercise
5-15% through medications
20-30% through bariatric surgery
 
If it were simply a matter of consuming fewer calories and exercising more, than the percentage weight loss for diet and exercise would be a lot higher than 3-5%.  Sure, there are some people who manage to lose more and keep it off, but they are the exception, rather than the rule.
 
For those interested, here are some other papers that address obesity:
Obesity is a sign – over-eating is a symptom: an aetiological framework for the assessment and management of obesity A POPULATION HEALTH APPROACH TO OBESITY IN CANADA Early-life determinants of overweight and obesity: a review of systematic reviews  

I am really disappointed to see some of the fat-shaming posts on Grad Cafe. If intelligent, scholarly people going to get graduate degrees still stigmatize obesity as sheer laziness, it's very hard to criticize the average person on the street, the media, etc. Smh. 

Since I'm in nutrition, I actually have studied obesity. It isn't as simple as calories in = calories out, as some of you think.  It also isn't always about personal choice.
 
If any of you actually care to educate yourselves, here are some good studies and other articles on the topic:
 
The epidemiology of overweight and obesity: public health crisis or moral panic?
 
2006 Canadian clinical practice guidelines on the management and prevention of obesity in adults and children
 
ECONOMIC CAUSES AND CONSEQUENCES OF OBESITY
 
Here are some great graphics that illustrate the many causes of obesity:
 
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h232/nutritionrunner/determinants_zps32a90d05.jpg
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h232/nutritionrunner/obesityfactors_zps9041a94e.png
 
Oh gee, look at all the factors that aren't under an individual's control!  Imagine that!
 
The following is the best illustration of all the many factors that affect obesity.  It is an incredibly complex problem:
http://www.shiftn.com/obesity/Full-Map.html
 
So please, educate yourself about the causes and treatment of obesity before you go assuming it is the individual's fault.  The research being done in this area indicates that there are many complex, interacting factors that affect obesity and obesity rates.  It isn't always a matter of eating too much and moving too little.  It is much, much more complex.  Energy balance is only part of the equation.

Since I'm in nutrition, I actually have studied obesity. It isn't as simple as calories in = calories out, as some of you think.  It also isn't always about personal choice.
 
If any of you actually care to educate yourselves, here are some good studies and other articles on the topic:
 
The epidemiology of overweight and obesity: public health crisis or moral panic?
 
2006 Canadian clinical practice guidelines on the management and prevention of obesity in adults and children
 
ECONOMIC CAUSES AND CONSEQUENCES OF OBESITY
 
Here are some great graphics that illustrate the many causes of obesity:
 
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h232/nutritionrunner/determinants_zps32a90d05.jpg
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h232/nutritionrunner/obesityfactors_zps9041a94e.png
 
Oh gee, look at all the factors that aren't under an individual's control!  Imagine that!
 
The following is the best illustration of all the many factors that affect obesity.  It is an incredibly complex problem:
http://www.shiftn.com/obesity/Full-Map.html
 
So please, educate yourself about the causes and treatment of obesity before you go assuming it is the individual's fault.  The research being done in this area indicates that there are many complex, interacting factors that affect obesity and obesity rates.  It isn't always a matter of eating too much and moving too little.  It is much, much more complex.  Energy balance is only part of the equation.

Since I'm in nutrition, I actually have studied obesity. It isn't as simple as calories in = calories out, as some of you think.  It also isn't always about personal choice.
 
If any of you actually care to educate yourselves, here are some good studies and other articles on the topic:
 
The epidemiology of overweight and obesity: public health crisis or moral panic?
 
2006 Canadian clinical practice guidelines on the management and prevention of obesity in adults and children
 
ECONOMIC CAUSES AND CONSEQUENCES OF OBESITY
 
Here are some great graphics that illustrate the many causes of obesity:
 
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h232/nutritionrunner/determinants_zps32a90d05.jpg
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h232/nutritionrunner/obesityfactors_zps9041a94e.png
 
Oh gee, look at all the factors that aren't under an individual's control!  Imagine that!
 
The following is the best illustration of all the many factors that affect obesity.  It is an incredibly complex problem:
http://www.shiftn.com/obesity/Full-Map.html
 
So please, educate yourself about the causes and treatment of obesity before you go assuming it is the individual's fault.  The research being done in this area indicates that there are many complex, interacting factors that affect obesity and obesity rates.  It isn't always a matter of eating too much and moving too little.  It is much, much more complex.  Energy balance is only part of the equation.

Since I'm in nutrition, I actually have studied obesity. It isn't as simple as calories in = calories out, as some of you think.  It also isn't always about personal choice.
 
If any of you actually care to educate yourselves, here are some good studies and other articles on the topic:
 
The epidemiology of overweight and obesity: public health crisis or moral panic?
 
2006 Canadian clinical practice guidelines on the management and prevention of obesity in adults and children
 
ECONOMIC CAUSES AND CONSEQUENCES OF OBESITY
 
Here are some great graphics that illustrate the many causes of obesity:
 
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h232/nutritionrunner/determinants_zps32a90d05.jpg
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h232/nutritionrunner/obesityfactors_zps9041a94e.png
 
Oh gee, look at all the factors that aren't under an individual's control!  Imagine that!
 
The following is the best illustration of all the many factors that affect obesity.  It is an incredibly complex problem:
http://www.shiftn.com/obesity/Full-Map.html
 
So please, educate yourself about the causes and treatment of obesity before you go assuming it is the individual's fault.  The research being done in this area indicates that there are many complex, interacting factors that affect obesity and obesity rates.  It isn't always a matter of eating too much and moving too little.  It is much, much more complex.  Energy balance is only part of the equation.

Since I'm in nutrition, I actually have studied obesity. It isn't as simple as calories in = calories out, as some of you think.  It also isn't always about personal choice.
 
If any of you actually care to educate yourselves, here are some good studies and other articles on the topic:
 
The epidemiology of overweight and obesity: public health crisis or moral panic?
 
2006 Canadian clinical practice guidelines on the management and prevention of obesity in adults and children
 
ECONOMIC CAUSES AND CONSEQUENCES OF OBESITY
 
Here are some great graphics that illustrate the many causes of obesity:
 
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h232/nutritionrunner/determinants_zps32a90d05.jpg
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h232/nutritionrunner/obesityfactors_zps9041a94e.png
 
Oh gee, look at all the factors that aren't under an individual's control!  Imagine that!
 
The following is the best illustration of all the many factors that affect obesity.  It is an incredibly complex problem:
http://www.shiftn.com/obesity/Full-Map.html
 
So please, educate yourself about the causes and treatment of obesity before you go assuming it is the individual's fault.  The research being done in this area indicates that there are many complex, interacting factors that affect obesity and obesity rates.  It isn't always a matter of eating too much and moving too little.  It is much, much more complex.  Energy balance is only part of the equation.

Yeah, ultimately it's all fuzzy anyway. You can't tell whether a person is just not trying hard enough or actually can't do it. But then what does "actually can't do it" mean, right? In a way you're right, but on the other hand, due to there not being a clear dividing line in matters like these, we can explain away any (and I mean any) behavior with saying it was the psychological factors that caused it (because ultimately, that's true). I just drew an arbitrary line, and you can choose to draw it elsewhere. That's fine with me.
 
I'm not sure what you're saying here, though: "obviously if a person does not eat, they would gain less weight than if they did eat, no matter what other circumstances are at play". They wouldn't gain less weight. They would lose weight.
 
What's your opinion on stuff like crime, though? Only focusing on the choice and not the consequences, can a murderer prevented himself from not killing a person? Or perhaps a slightly different question, was it his fault he didn't?

EmperorRyker, I understand what you are getting at in the earlier part of your post (obviously if a person does not eat, they would gain less weight than if they did eat, no matter what other circumstances are at play). But let's move beyond that because I think this sentence:
 
 
is actually incorrect. Psychological factors don't simply "make it harder" for someone to do (or not do) something. I feel that statements like this imply that people suffering from mental health issues are "weak" because they are not able to overcome the "extra difficulty" that the psychological factors add. I think this is both incorrect and insensitive. It also implies that if you are facing psychological issues and you cannot overcome it, then it is your fault. That is not true. I think saying something like that would be equivalent to saying that it is my fault that my arm bones were not strong enough to not break when I fell off my bike!

It actually is. The motivation behind why someone overindulges and the reasons why certain people have a more thrifty metabolism can of course differ, so there is a component that will affect just how much you can eat to stay at a healthy weight. But it does boil down to thermodynamics in the end. And a lot of those issues impacting the metabolism can a) be treated or mitigated, or only "decrease" the metabolism by, say, 20 - 30%, which I think is still alright as far as being able to eat reasonably normally. In any case, it's clear that Mordekaiser was exaggerating and that people can still eat and lose weight. Brains and other organs still require a certain minimum amount of energy to keep working. So saying people have no control is an excuse. I understand psychological factors might make it hard to do so, but ultimately they can control their weight.

Well, there you go.  Someone has FINALLY stepped up and CURED the obesity problem in the US.  You can just STOP EATING!
 
Seriously though, the misinformation from people on this thread is appalling.  Yes, there is a large percentage of the population who would lose quite a bit of weight if they walked more or ate less.  Unfortunately, there are also those who have absolutely no control due to thyroid issues, stress, genetics, etc.  Obesity is a hot topic so there is A LOT of research out there.  It turns out that weight loss and gain isn't just a matter of eat or don't eat.  So if you wanna yell at the 350 lb guy who's driving down the road with no hands on the wheel because they're both stuffed into a KFC bucket of chicken (true story), feel free.  I have!  But making a blanket statement like that shows your ignorance. 

What? Why would I feel bad?

Do you feel bad for people who smoke cigarettes and get cancer? Do you feel bad for people who are alcoholics and get liver failure? Do you feel bad for people who have no self control and eat? Do you feel bad for people too lazy to exercise atleast a few hours per week? 
 
Its their fault for getting fat. And don't kid me about healthy food being expensive. People just refuse to eat healthy food since it "tastes bad", not because they can't afford it. Things liked canned beans, chicken breast, large bags of frozen vegetables, etc. are really cheap if you buy in bulk. I am not being harsh - just realistic. If you feel bad for people who are fat because they are too lazy to change, might as well feel bad for people who are smoking and have health problems.

Dude that is like a small percentage of people.
The number of people who are fat because of them selves is much higher. Fat people can't blame anyone else - they need to take responsibility. When they become so big they can't fit in a seat or walk a couple miles, they need to re-evaluate their life. I dont even understand how people get so fat without feeling ashamed or looking at their health.
 
People like your wife makeup a small portion, and I bet her being fat can still be controlled. There is something called Thermodynamics. She won't be randomly becoming fat if she isn't eating anything.

I'll buy you a Dr. Phil shirt to sport with your fancy mangina.

Some great posts here from future researchers in the life sciences that not only ignore research in body weight and obesity, but show an astounding lack of empathy. I am so excited for the future of medicine and related fields.

This forum has a terrifying lack of empathy, and understanding of BASIC concepts regarding food politics, body politics, disabilities and general human decency. 
 
Seriously I'm beginning to think they should require a basic sociology class, something that covers poverty, disability, race -- certainly maybe some of you can try looking up "food deserts". 
 
Or....basic economics: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=128621057
 
It doesn't even matter if the OP is serious or not, and what the cause of their weight is. Personally I'd rather be around someone who "chose" to be fat than a bunch of people who choose to be assholes. 

Haha nice you like to make fun of someone who might suffer from depression. You aren't going to shame me for possibly having depression or having to take an anti depressant, I came on the forum and talked about it so obviously there is no shame here. It is a shame you would make a joke out of such a serious issue though. Very sad, shame on you. To answer your question, nope. I haven't gotten them as of yet.
As far as friends, no too concerned. We all know the only friend I am looking for!! As for the other kinds, no don't need those much. My actual friends annoy me enough right now don't need more. Anyways at least I wished this person luck.. That was pretty nice

First, my credentials. Well. I can spell my own name, though I don't usually know exactly how old I am. I'm within a year or two, but I'm usually wrong until I've done some subtraction. I teach composition and like to write calculus equations on the board when I take classes in poetry writing. But, here's my real credentials: consider what is written herein in conjunction with what the various instructions on SOPs that you've read have said, with the requirements the program you are applying to has put forth, and with your own experience as a writer. Do you think I know what I'm talking about? Should you pay any attention to it? Is any of it useful?
 
Second, I'm not going to give you a formula for what the standard SOP is like, or a list of things the various thousands of admissions committees will be looking for. There are plenty of prescriptions on the internet, many of them written by professors who have presumably gotten sick of badly written SOPs.
 
Third, I'm not promising that SOP writing be easier after this. It'll be harder, actually. I'm not promising that you'll get in to any place you desire, or that there is any one best thing to put in the SOP to get noticed. That would be totally impossible. Each discipline has its own needs and values, as does each university, each department, and each faculty member on the admissions committee (adcomm). There is no one size and it doesn't fit most, let alone all. There are conventions (use Standard English, for one), but other than include your research interests, I won't advocate that any one thing is strictly necessary. I leave that up to the more knowledgeable.
 
The advice:
 
First thing is to deeply understand that you should write an SOP for each program. Most people take this to mean write one master SOP and then tweak as necessary to make the one SOP applicable to each university (U of A becomes U of B, Professor X becomes Professor Y). You can do that. You can be very successful doing that. You most likely, really shouldn't do it.
 
The next thing to understand is the SOP's purpose. Why do the adcomms want to see SOPs? Shouldn't transcripts, letters of recommendation, and a writing sample do it? After all, transcripts and samples show the actual scholarship and the letters verify it. The SOP isn't for showing scholarship off, or to act like a resume, or anything. So why do the adcomms want an SOP? Why are the SOPs one of those make-it-or-fail things? What is the SOP's purpose? In job hunting terms, the SOP is like a cover letter. The cover letter is to make clear connections between the resume and the job ad. For you, its primary purpose is to make the adcomm offer you admission with full funding. For the adcomm, its primary purpose is to help them see how you would fit into their program (make connections between their program and you). By fit, I mean do they have faculty (or enough faculty) in your area of research interest that can advise, mentor, supervise, and/or committee you through the program to get your degree? Do you have the kind of understanding of the discipline, your research interests, and their program that would make you successful? Do they have something to teach you? Offer you? What can you offer them? They want to brag on you as much as you want to brag about them. If they offer you admission, will you be a good scholar? A good student? Here is the most basic question the SOP should answer: What is it about you that makes you a better prospect than everyone else who's applying?
 
Understanding the SOP's purpose, in practical terms, means that you will know what to put into it and what to leave out of it. And how to phrase it.
 
So, with the purpose in mind, there comes the question: what should you put into it and leave out of it? What format should you use? (MLA? APA? Is footnoting okay?! What about citation?!) Should I stick in a personal story that everyone seems to recommend, except for the half that don't? My research interests? The story about why I got on F in that one, very important class? I'm not going to answer those questions because I can't. Every discipline and department is different. I will give you an answer you won't like: research. Find out the requirements each program you're interested in has for the SOP, think of the SOP's purpose: and now research.
 
Research is one of the basic keys to writing an SOP. It's no different than the writing sample you'll be including in your application packet. For each program you apply to, do some research. How much research you need to do depends on a lot of things, the least of which is your personality. More research does not automatically mean a better SOP. Less research doesn't automatically mean a better one, either. What makes the right amount of research? The ability to craft an SOP that is specific for the program that you're getting into. Here's some ideas (not an exhaustive, inclusive list of what to do) on what to research:
The program itself. Look at the recent graduates and, if possible, read their theses and/or dissertations, at least in part. The acknowledgements can give you an idea about the program's culture. The introduction can give you an idea about what kind of scholarship the program produces and expects. It will also, and this is very important, give you an idea as to how the program uses language. If you speak to them in their own language, that helps your case. You've likely done this, if not, seriously, you should have done this. Look at the program's website and read it all. What kind of classes are offered for both undergrad and grad. Who are the faculty, the tenured, the assistant, the visiting, the emeritus, and the graduate students. What kind of ties to the community (both academic and their local town) do they like to talk about? Do they talk about how their graduate students are working with community partners? Do they host conferences? What happened at the last one? This gives you a taste of the program's culture. The faculty. All of them that might be on the adcomm and the ones that are relevant or somewhat relevant to your interests. Crack open JSTOR etc. and search for recent faculty publications. If you're basing your interest on a faculty member on the interests they've got listed on the site and a reference to them in an article from a decade ago, or worse, only their reputation, you don't have a strong basis to establish clear reasons why they have anything to offer you. Read their recent publications, see who they name drop in terms of theory, other faculty, and so on. Make a list of what each faculty member can offer you in terms of research, not just the ones that are directly related to it. If you're into studying apples, but Dr. V works with oranges, think about how Dr. V's work might help you out. Take notes when you research. Each program has a bunch of people, and you're likely applying to multiple programs. It's easier to refer to notes than to go back and look it up all over again. What's happening in the field with your current research interests, if necessary. This is so you can situate your research interests in the discipline, and then situation your research interests in the program. You can just tell them what you're research interests are and leave the situating to them, but you can lose that chance to sell yourself as the best amongst the rest. Research you. Yup. You. Scribble out some lists or paragraphs or whatever that inventories you. Who are your influences? Who are the theorists you keep coming back to? Who are the theorists you loathe, mock, and/or ridicule? What are your research interests in general and specifically and anywhere in between? Some SOPs will need to be more general, some will need to be more specific. Length restrictions, what you found out about the program, the faculty, the state of the discipline, and so on, can alter this for you. What kind of scholar are you? Student? What's the difference? How do you manage your time? Stress? Health? Do you expect to bring your dog? Do you have health issues? Do you have any academic things that are a negative? If you do, how negative are they? It's easy to see that as an either it's entirely bad, or it's somewhere in the huge good category, but some things are negatives that need to be addressed for certain programs, while other negatives can be ignored, or you should discuss with the one relevant letter writer so they can address it. While Sam ultimately received a C in the Research Methods course, the grade doesn't reflect the actual scholarship as Sam fell ill during the mid-term and consequently failed it; my course policies do not permit re-taking the test. What are the good things about you? Not just the grades, awards, publications, and presentations, but also the character traits. What are you weaknesses? Don't do the job interview baloney, my greatest weakness is my perfectionism. Of course, the important, probably ought to be on the SOP questions: why grad school? What will you do with the degree you want? Why are into the research you're into? Why that particular school? Why are you worth admission and funding?
 
Research the assistanceships. Some SOPs will want you to write a bit about teaching or research with assistanceships in mind. So, do a bit of research on what these entail in the programs you're looking at. What do they do and how do they get it? Have you done assistanceships in the past? If so, what were they like? Do you have a teaching philosophy? If not, make one. Have you done anything that can be discussed in terms of the assistanceship? I taught kung-fu to white belt children, so I have teaching experience. I was part of the state herpetological society and went out to help them with their field counts twice a year. I learned that licking petrie dishes is always a bad idea, no matter how much they resemble pistachio ice cream.
 
Research SOPs. You're doing that, right? Go on to forums (like this one) and read the SOPs people have posted and then read the responses. Look particularly at SOPs in your discipline or related disciplines. Psychology might look at other social sciences. Physics might tell the joke about the Higgs Boson and Sunday mass. Bear in mind that the people responding to and/or criticizing the posted SOPs are likely not on an adcomm. Some have been  or will be, but it's not likely they'll be on the adcomm you're hoping will like you best. However, you can start to get a sense of what SOPs are like. What format is it in? Does yours look like everyone else's? Do you have the exact same opening sentence as half of the people hoping to get into a program in your discipline? I've always wanted to be a librarian since those wonderful, summer days I spent in my (relative of choice)'s home library. 
 
So, to take stock. First, understand the purpose. Second, research. A lot. Let the purpose of the SOP guide your research efforts.
 
Next, get the specific requirements for the SOP from each program. Make a list of similarities. If they all ask for a statement of your research interest, score! One sentence fits most! Most of them will be of different lengths and will have different ideas of what specific information they want. Most won't tell you enough, aside from length and one or two "should have" things. They mostly won't tell you if you should use APA or if you should footnote, or how to format it. Single space? Double space? They will tell you whether it should be on paper or what kind of file format to use. I have only one suggestion: consistency. Okay, two suggestions: unless otherwise specified, don't include anything other than the SOP. No bibliography or footnotes. If you quote or paraphrase someone, cite them in the text the way they do it in the average newspaper article. As Scooby says, "Ruh-roh!"
 
Now, start writing. Create something of a master SOP, or a set of master sentences for the SOPs. Some things should be in every one of them, like what your research interests are. Because length requirements are different for each program, you should work out more than one sentence or set of sentences for each thing you plan to put into more than one SOP. Have a more detailed explanation of your research interests and a more concise one. Even though this might be central and, perhaps, most important to the SOP, you don't want most of a short SOP taken up by one thing. Make these sentences do extra duties. If they can explain not only why you're into what you're into, but also why it's significant to the discipline/program, and how the program factors into it, bonus! The more functions one sentence can serve, with clear, readable logic, the more room you have in the length requirements to bring in other things. Think of this master SOP as more of a set of sentences you can hang on the individual SOP's unique structure. A flesh and skeleton metaphor can work here. You can order all SOPs at this point, you'll probably want to put research interests in the middle or toward the end, rather than in the first sentence, but the key here is that the skeleton of the individual SOP and most of its flesh will come from the needs of the program you're writing it for, not from some predetermined formula. No generically applicable, master SOP that has a few tweaks here and there.
 
Here's the thing. The SOP is one of the most important documents you'll write in your life. It's not something that should be done in a few hours, after looking at the program website and spending some time on the net searching for a how-to-write-an-SOP-guide. It takes work backed by research. The readers can tell quite easily how much research you've done on them by the way you structure and write your SOP. They can tell if you're sending out a generic SOP to several programs because it will be too general. You can't change faculty names in and out, along with a detail or two that makes it seem tailored to the program. The individual SOP should be tailored from the beginning. Some sentences won't change much, so you can pre-write them. But how they fit into each SOP, the reasoning you'll use to try to convince the adcomm that you're the best applicant, and the perspective you'll take all the way to the words you use should be done with the program in mind. It shouldn't be generic. Even if it doesn't seem noticeably generic to you, that doesn't mean that the adcomm won't notice it. They read many, many SOPs every year. People who read SOPs develop a sense about the generic, the cut and paste work.
 
How to name drop gracefully, or bring up the theory and histories and whatnot you're working with when there's only a teeny amount of space for everything? That's a bit easier than it might seem. It's not in the explanation; it's in the usage. If you can use the relevant theories and people and methodologies correctly in a sentence, you don't have to show the adcomm that you know how to use them, or how they're related, by explaining it. Trust them to have enough education to make a few connections for themselves when it comes to the discipline. Example: Novels such as Twilight exemplify how Marxist alienation can be applied to childbirth. My research interest lies in the alienation of women from the product of delivery in Modernist American fiction, such as Faulkner's Sound and the Fury. (Huh, I wonder if that would really work?) Two sentences and I've referenced theory, period, history, relevance for today, and some methodology (it's literature, not science). Use it, don't explain it.
 
If possible, have a professor you know read the SOP to your preferred school and give you some advice. They know more than most other groups of people. If not possible, your current university's writing center can help, or other people who are familiar with the field, or with writing. Your high school English teacher or your English major buddy can probably say something about your grammar, but might not be as helpful as expected. Example, in English, the convention is to speak of historical people in present tense. Shakespeare writes, "To be or not to be," because he thinks it is the question. History has kittens. Shakespeare has been dead for centuries, he can't write! Past tense! Shakespeare wrote, "To be or not to be," because thought it was the question. Someone in the field is preferable!
 
Finally, a word about my real credentials. The adcomm is going to do to your application what you've just done with this post. They are going to judge your credentials (your ethos, trustworthiness, veracity, credibility, knowledge, and so on) based on the impressions they get of you from what you've written. So, be knowledgeable about you, your field, and the program, and use that knowledge well.

Well that's part of the whole point of why I mentioned this.. You're going to run into very well educated people who might not share your beleifs, or rather, become very offended when you offhandedly remark about something that is not your area of expertise.
 
Same SOP in front of a literature prof.. probably ok.. if it passes the theater history or script analysis professor (who are often recruited to read applications of the english dept, btw) you're going to royally piss them off.