How to Start a SOP

[ginagirl]

Because at the end of the day, what do you think is a more appealing introduction to a professor?

 

A random anecdote hook, or clearly defined and interesting research questions? I would say the latter.

Well that makes me feel like i made the wrong decision :X oh well haha

[ahlatsiawa]

Well I applied for MS Aero but the funny thing is I got into engineering only because I couldn't make it into flight school because of my extremely high myopia and other medical complications. So I used the hook and started like this: "While I was growing up I firmly believed that my future lied at thirty-five thousand feet....". I think it's good to use the hook but then immediately cleverly transition to where you are now. Using a whole paragraph to describe your childhood passions is a big no-no.

[victorydance]

Well that makes me feel like i made the wrong decision :X oh well haha

 

There really is no 'right way' of writing an SOP. In fact, that's what kind of makes the whole process fickle and frustrating.

Edited April 8, 2014 by HopefulComparativist

[WriterTyger]

I began with a mind map.  Put the program/school in the center than branched out from there.  I covered everything I could think of.  When that was done I had something solid to work from to create an outline. From the outline I wrote the paper.  Even though I began with a first word to a first paragraph, it wasn't my opining paragraph.  I answered the questions asked in the essay prompts, filled in the necessary details, and then wrote the first paragraph last as it was really a summery of what was to come in the rest of the essay that followed.  

 

I really didn't use a hook.  

 

 

I don't know why I haven't used a mind map as a starting place before. I'm facing reapplying next season and I think this will help me reformulate my SOP into something a bit clearer and more coherent. Thanks for the idea!