SOP Help : No Idea where to start

[akraz]

Hello Everyone.

I started to write my SOP but have no idea how to begin. What should the first sentence or paragraph be. Is there a good place for the sample SOPs.

Any help will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

[radcradick]

Honestly the key is revision. Just write, write, and re-write. The first intro paragraph I had was really just "a clearing of the throat." My actual first paragraph didn't come until about my 4th or 5th draft.

I've heard many times that writing becomes nicely polished by the 5th draft. You obviously don't have to rewrite the entire thing every time, but try out different ideas.

One of my profs gave me the advice to concentrate on *what you can do, *what you have done, and *what you want to do. And don't use any gimmicks or say "ever since I was little..."

I also did check out a book at the library just to get some ideas flowing: Graduate admissions essays : write your way into the graduate school of your choice / Donald Asher.

Another major point to remember is that an SOP is like an extended cover letter. It is NOT a personal, fluffy, storytelling device- it is not so much about who you are a person and what kind of character you have, etc. It is more about what you can and want to do; keep it professional but interesting- particularly for science and technology fields.

Good Luck!

[akraz]

Thanks for your input radcradick and specially for suggesting the book. I will check it out from the library.

[ScreamingHairyArmadillo]

Rewriting is key! I was on my second draft when I showed it to someone who suggested I totally scrap all but 1 paragraph, and then finalized by my 7th-ish draft.

Just write, set it down, rewrite, and don't be afraid to start over.

[lily_]

Radcradick gave you excellent advice. Write out something, the next day go back to it, edit, change things, edit some more. Once you think it's good, ask one of your professors (preferably an older professor who has served on admissions committees and knows what mistakes applicants make on the SOP, or what sounds hoakey, boring, generic, etc) and let them rip it to shreds. Then edit some more. I'm serious, it sounds redundant, but this is the most important part of your application because you have 100% control over what it says, and it can make or break your application.

[coyabean]

I agree with all of the above. One of these days I'll post my before and after SOP on my blog, perhaps. I identify as a writer and I can tell you that my first draft was horrific. LOL I didn't get to a clear point of any kind until the conclusion. But, that's still a win! You write until something jumps out at you. On your next draft that line, word, idea is where you begin; wash, rinse, repeat. Don't even worry about word counts or formatting or opening lines or closers; just start writing until you have that one sentence that impresses you. All of the stylistic stuff can be done after the meat is there.

[fuzzylogician]

Picking up on what everyone above me has said, writing the SOP is really a revise and repeat sort of task. Don't feel like you need to start with the introduction; I think the first sentence of my SOP is probably the last one I wrote, right after I decided how to conclude my essay. Those parts are very hard to write, but you should first concentrate on the contentful parts of the essay. Your essay should tell the reader who you are in terms of your interests and (to some extent) past training, and should have a clear emphasis on the present and future - what do you currently find most fascinating about your field? What aspects of those interests would you like to continue on pursuing in graduate school? How will the program you're applying to help you achieve your goals?

I found that in writing the "fit" paragraph(s) I was forced to reevaluate my choices of schools. Reading the websites more carefully, in some cases I found I was having a hard time coming up with convincing reasons for applying--which was a clear indication that I should not apply to those schools. Other schools had very exciting programs and I had an easier time writing for them. Before actually sitting down and writing, I found it useful to have a spreadsheet with all the strengths of each program listed in a way that made comparisons easy: how many POIs teach at a given school, what kind of work were they doing and how would it support my own work, what other resources were available, what collaborations/certificates/whatnot were possible. I later used that file both to reassess my school choices and as the basis for my fit paragraphs. If you're stuck with your writing, perhaps it would be useful to take a step back, do some research on the schools and regroup, which should help you write a more informed essay later on.

I should add that the process of reading up on schools also provides an important opportunity to rethink one's own goals and interests. When you read up on potential advisors and research programs you get an insight of sorts into how your life will look during your time in graduate school and beyond. You'll find that certain topics and methods are more appealing to you than others--even at the basic level of reading about them on a website. Embrace those intuitions and spend some time thinking about what they mean. It's very hard to introspect and define that thing which makes you tick. The more time you spend revising your SOP, the closer to that notion you get. There's really no way around that process, with all the hard work and time that it entails. But in the end, on the other side of writing the SOP, you'll have, in a way, a better understanding of yourself as a researcher which you will find useful when it's time to choose which program to attend.

Edited April 30, 2010 by fuzzylogician

[Jae B.]

Did your schools provide any guiding questions for your SOP? Mine did, so I used the "repeat the question in the answer" technique to get myself started. Once I had some thorough answers to their initial questions, I revised like a maniac. But it's a good way to make sure you specifically address their concerns first, and expand off them.

Also in my case, one of the schools had departmental SOP suggestions, but I also saw suggestions on the school's general grad admissions form, which I was to use. So I tried using both, and by then I had more than half a draft! I marked the general question parts, so I knew I could edit them more -- or remove them completely if I wanted to -- and worked from there.

Basically, anything that helps you get started on the right track is good. Don't worry so much about how you should begin yet. Later on, once you have most of your material written, you can decide what is an engaging way to start it off. Personally, I liked something to specifically let each school know I was talking about them and what they offer, and not just writing to any school I wanted to go to.

I have so many versions of my SOPs, I don't know which ones I used anymore. And some of them are totally different.

Have fun!