how to write sop for research project

BUILDING STELLAR PROFILES FOR DREAM ADMITS

Statement of purpose (SOP) done right! [with Samples]

Statement of Purpose (SOP) or Personal Statement forms a crucial element of the graduate school application process. For the uninitiated, a Statement of Purpose is an essay that introduces YOU to the Admissions Review Committee (AdCom). It contains your accomplishments, career plans, and reasoning of why you think a particular graduate program is the ‘right fit’ for you. 

Nearly every respectable graduate program in the world, be it a Master of Science, Engineering Management, MiM or MBA requires applicants to submit a Statement of Purpose while applying.

The AdComs put a lot of value on a candidate’s SOP, evaluating their ‘intent for applying to that program’ and whether it resonates with the University’s mission and objectives.

Jared Pierce, associate director of enrollment services at Northeastern University, says a strong statement of purpose can be the deciding factor in a graduate student’s admission.

“Your statement of purpose is where you tell your story about who you are and why you deserve to be a part of the [university’s] community. It gives the admissions committee the chance to get to know you and understand how you’ll add value to the classroom,” he says.

Clearly then, you will have to construct your statement of purpose which tells your “story” rather than list out your “achievements”

So, how do the applicants go about writing the SOP? Which experiences are viewed favorably by the AdCom, and what should be avoided. In this blogpost, I touch upon the effective strategies that if adopted, can transform your SOP into your story.

STEP – I: Decoding the types

Let’s start by clearing out a few things about the Statement of Purpose. They go by different names — Personal statement, letter of intent, letter of motivation, mission statement, elevator pitch, video sop…. The list is too long! Each of them serves a different purpose and should be written within the frameworks of the university guidelines.

Perhaps the first step you should do before you start writing your SOP is to prepare an outline and use it as a roadmap.

To be honest, this is not a very popular step with most of the students. They imagine that this “extra” step will add time and complicate their application process when in fact, creating an outline can not only help streamline one’s essay writing but can also go a long way in boosting the resulting essays’ effectiveness.

By organizing your thoughts in the form of short phrases and key terms, you will observe that your story unfolds more easily. Moreover, it also ensures that there are no gaps of information in what you are trying to convey. This translates to a more persuasive final SOP and, in most cases, fewer rounds of editing and revision.

Sample Outline A

• Passion for chess – coaching and playing
• Volunteer activities with Greenpeace 
• Love of Shah Rukh Khan films
• Managing literature conference at IIT, Mumbai
• Love of biking – Sunday bike rides with “team”
• Semester exchange in France 
• Travel to 21 countries – Iceland, Russia and Peru highlights
• Close relationship with grandma
• Budding love of cooking
• Love of Mumbai

Once a sample outline has been prepared, it is now easier to construct a structure for the statement of purpose.  

STEP – II: Break it down

Building upon the outline, each SOP needs to be structured so that it logically fits in the narrative.

Many clients that we have encountered confuse ‘structure’ with ‘chronology’. When asked to write a draft of the essay, they present their achievements in chronological order, thinking that this will give the essay a proper structure.

However, your experiences and how they have translated and shaped you into what you are today, may or may not be chronological. Thus, you have to start your essay with the most significant one and connect the dots from there.

The Admissions Review Committee is looking out for very specific things in your application. Unless you break it down, it will be an arduous task to explain them your story. And no one wants a confused AdCom guy in their life.

What is the Admission Committee looking for?

The simple answer would be – what makes you, YOU.

But if only things were so simple. What they are really looking for is how you fit into the overall scheme of things at the University.

Broadly, there are 5 factors they are trying to evaluate you on:

– Why have you applied for that particular program?

– What kind of skills do you have to succeed in that program?

– How do you want to leverage your university connections to network and contribute to the school community?

– How are your professional goals aligned with the program outcomes?

– Why are you the ‘best fit’ for the university?

Your statement of purpose or letter of motivation should talk in brief about all these points.

Even for the most practiced of writers, crafting a successful application essay can be an uphill task. So, trust us on this – Most of the SOPs that we read make us go….

Ideating and then organizing thoughts into outlines for essays will facilitate this process, as we illustrated in Part 1 of this guide, and now we will offer a few basic steps that will help you create and refine your drafts.

STEP- III: Tell your story

As we discussed it earlier, your statement of purpose is not merely an instrument to present facts from your life to the AdCom. Infact, it’s a platform to tell your story. Of who you are, and how has your experiences shaped you. You should therefore focus on narrative writing (which primarily describes) rather than expository writing (which primarily explains). In a narrative, the central facts about a situation are not just bluntly introduced, but are presented in a way that lets them speak for themselves and paint a rounded picture of an experience.

Consider the following examples:

My upbringing in a family full of entrepreneurs made me acquainted to data analytics early in life. When I supported my father’s organization, where they manually used to analyze data and predict delivery date & raw material ordering, I helped them develop an automated system with the use of pivot tables and slicers, that can be used together to visualize data and create easy to use dashboards.

Coming from a business background and having an undergrad degree in Information Technology, it was only natural for me to have a formidable combination of – entrepreneurial streak and technical expertise. My formative years were spent engaging in insightful dining table discussions with my father, pertaining to our business-related products and services. As a result, I was presented with several opportunities to understand the legal, commercial and technical aspects of our business. However, the opportunities that I loved most were the technically challenging ones that had the potential to impact our business positively. One such opportunity that I got was to review and remodel our existing data management system, which had severe limitations in terms of performance and scalability.

Which one of the above example do you think creates a more compelling image of the person you are reading about?

While example A is vague in terms of details, example B has a lot of specifics. It creates a holistic picture of the candidate and evokes imagery for the reader, which is more compelling. Thus, leaving out important details is detrimental to the health of the essay.

STEP – IV: Connect the dots

A good story is as good as its parts. Details, which are crucial to the development of the story, if left out does not reveal the entire picture and leaves the readers confused.

As you write your essay drafts, check each sentence to make sure that it includes a key part of the story you are telling. If you can remove a sentence and your essay still makes sense, that line is unnecessary and should remain deleted. However, if your narrative suddenly becomes unclear, that is your proof that the sentence in question is not superfluous and that you are on your way to creating a profoundly connected narrative.

Having a keen interest in operations research motivated me to work on my bachelor’s thesis: Efficient utilization of weight and volume capacity of a fleet of goods containers. The objective here is to build an algorithmic model for transportation of goods, cargoes, and shipments by utilizing the maximum load and volume capacity of the containers. The study is being carried out with a view to enabling the freight companies in reducing cost and enhancing operational efficiency. I have identified the constraints posed such as categorization of goods according to their suitability, shortest route according to the consignments, delivery of goods within the prescribed time, maximizing the profit and providing customer satisfaction, and successfully developed a mathematical model for the intercity transport, using shortest route and minimum cost per volume using traveling salesman and transportation concepts. Moreover, I am also trying to implement algorithm theory and computational complexity theory to solve the combinatorial problem considering the constraints faced.

Notice how the dots are getting connected.

1st sentence – Having a keen …. – Provides a justification to work on the bachelor’s thesis in Operations Research based on the interest of the applicant.

2nd sentence – The objective here is to build an algorithmic model…. – Clears the aim of the the project and gives idea to the AdCom about the scope of the project.

3rd sentence – The study is being carried out …. – End goal of the project is described.

4th sentence – I have identified the constraints… – talks about problem/constraint identification that the student is trying to resolve

… and successfully developed a mathematical model… -highlights the solution to the given constraints.

Leaving out any sentence written in this paragraph would be eliminating a key detail, and thus will confuse the reader about the project. In short, the story will be difficult to follow.

STEP – V: Create a ‘hook’ in the Introduction paragraph

Sometimes the most difficult part of writing a strong essay is determining the best way to start it. Even when you have a strong outline in hand, crafting those first few words or phrases can be challenging. To help you over this hurdle, we offer a few strategies for beginning your essays.

Maintaining a mystery

This is one of the best ways to grab the attention of the AdCom.

There are only a few rare moments in life, interspersed within our chaotic daily routines, during which we find our true calling. And those moments generally come like a blitzkrieg, inspiring us to make choices which define who we eventually become. I encountered one such moment, as a part of my internship with Bless Foundation, an NGO which strives to alleviate the sufferings of the underprivileged.

(Selected at University of South California, MS in Computer Science).

Do people shape cities or do cities shape people? Irrespective of the order of transformation, I am of the belief that city landscapes impact our daily lives in a significant way.

(Selected at TU Delft, MS in Architecture)

While watching the digitally remastered and coloured version of 1960 Bollywood classic ‘Mughal-e-Azam’, then shot in monochrome, I realised that I was less concerned about the cinematic brilliance but more about certain stats I read about the movie.

(Selected at Cornell University, MPS program in Applied Statistics)

The main stage was set while I enthusiastically waited in the crowd for Guns N’ Roses to surface from behind the spotlight. It was an absolute dream for me to witness the band live in concert, after having grown up and getting inspired by Slash and his musical eccentricities. As they emerged on stage and plucked the first strings, I was transported in a trance of hedonistic pleasure. Surprisingly, it was not the music that had the greatest influence that night.

(Selected at Stanford, MS in Computer Science)

In all of the above examples, the first few lines draw the reader into the essay and make him ask the question, what happens next? This approach is a sure shot way to indulge the AdCom into reading your application in full.

Strictly avoid: Clichés

Let’s be honest here. The AdCom knows when clichés are coming. And no one likes them. Consider this for example:

Being an ardent fan of the Marvel Universe, I believe that if we have the thirst for knowledge, ability to rectify the errors and better our skillset like Ironman and if we have grit, perseverance and will to do good for the mankind like Captain America, then we can win any battle and achieve something great. I tried to follow these ideologies while working on all my projects and technical papers.

My profound interest in mathematics, computers, and problem-solving became the basis for furthering a career in Computer science. In order to broaden my horizons of technical acumen, I joined Oracle after completing my undergrad. This allowed me to develop a clearer vision about pursuing a career in my field of Software Engineering.

It’s safe to say that introductions like these should be avoided at all costs as they have been read by the AdCom a million times. You don’t want to be the million plus one candidate.

Lead with your best

When you are pitching your application to the AdCom, it is highly recommended that you start your essays with your most compelling experience. Do not follow a template of chronological detailing of your academic records and professional achievements. Show your best foot forward. You do not always have to outline your history to create context for your narrative.

Example A (Student Version of her internship)

Due to these rewarding experiences and key learnings acquired from projects, I secured a position as a Developer at Barclays India, which has been exhilarating from the onset. In a span of four months, I underwent intensive training in several technologies like Java, JavaScript, Embedded JavaScript, Spring Framework, Servlets etc.

Example B (Gradsmiths version)

At Barcalays, internship not only meant exposition to multimillion-dollar client portfolio, but also getting intensive training in tools like Java, JavaScript, Embedded JavaScript, Spring Framework, and Servlets.

Example A exhibits significant backstory, but the most important parts that she learned new technologies was mentioned after the third line. In example B, this happens right in the second line, and is smartly packaged for the reader.

This introduction—just one sentence long, rather than four—introduces the reader to the individual’s high- level position right away and is therefore much more compelling and effective.

Step – VI: Don’t put extra information in your essays

Although it seems to be a no brainer, most students end up doing this. They provide irrelevant information in their essay, which makes it a boring read.

Consider this:

My final year project was ‘Analysis and Design of a high rise building with R.C Shear wall’. This project was done by 4 undergrads. In the initial phase, a 3-storied building is designed in ETABS software using Dead and Live load. In the next phase a 15-storied building with shear walls considering Earthquake and wind load is designed under G. A. Bhilare Consultants Pvt. Ltd., Pune. Seismic design parameters like story drift, lateral displacement was studied and shear forces, axial forces, bending moment were interpreted. This project increased my understanding of ETABS and improved my skills .

In the example above, there are too many details like the no. of storey of the building and name of the consultants, which are not required. It adds on to the word count and makes it a slow-developing paragraph.

Revised version

To gain more understanding of structures and the mechanics of forces at play, my final year project focused on the analysis and design of a high rise building with R.C Shear wall. In association with three other undergrads, we worked to design a 3-storied building, followed by its higher version in ETABS software using Dead and Live load. Carefully monitoring the shear walls considering Earthquake and wind load, we studied Seismic design parameters like story drift, lateral displacement. All this culminated under a sponsored industry project in collaboration with top architects of the city. This experience helped me to analyse complex structural models with loads, and design them in the most sustainable way, a skill which I am confident will prove beneficial during my graduate studies.

Step VII: Honour the word limit

Although we can assure you that no one will toss your application in the trash if your essays exceed the school’s stated word limits a little, in general, sticking as closely as possible to these limits is the best plan. Doing so indicates to the admissions committee not only that you pay attention to and can follow directions (which reflects positively on you as a potential student who will be required to follow numerous guidelines throughout the course of the MS program) but also that you are willing to put in the work required to convey your story effectively within the stated parameters. Also, you show respect for the school as well as for the admissions readers, who must sort through thousands of essays each week. A good rule of thumb is to not surpass the school’s requested word count by more than 5%, though of course, the fewer extra words you include, the better—and minimizing any risk of a negative impression resulting from exceeding the set word count is best.

Step VIII: Answer the question

This is our most obvious rule yet, but one that must be stated nonetheless: make sure that you answer the question the school is asking. Sometimes candidates possess a great story and really want to “spin” it for a particular essay prompt. Other times, applicants work and rework an essay so much that when they are done, they do not realize that they have changed their initial story entirely and the resulting essay no longer addresses the school’s question. Not answering the question is one of the admissions committees’ biggest peeves. In addition to indicating an ability to follow directions on your part (if not an outright attempt to withhold information), not answering the question asked means that you have not provided the information the admissions committee is specifically seeking and needs. So, regularly revisit the essay prompts as you revise your essays, ensuring that you are on track and providing a topical response.

Step IX: Customize your responses

It cannot be stressed enough how important it is to customize your essays for your choice of University. Many a times, we have seen that one SOP is sent to 5 different universities, with just a few line changes.

To us, this is a very easy and a lazy approach to essay drafting. Moreover, the AdCom through their years of experience of reading SOPs figure out whether you have followed a template or not.

Your short and long term goals should be aligned with the research areas and expertise of the University. AdCom loves to see how the university can help you realize your personal and professional milestones.

A common point of contention among students is whether or not to include the names of professors. In our opinion, you should go beyond name-dropping and identify key research areas where you would like to work. This creates a better representation of your academic interest and underlines your motivation to apply for the program.

It is important to understand that the AdCom is looking for unique and interesting candidates, who contribute to the campus and community. Thus, desire to work in student clubs, campus organizations, or community service is viewed positively. It shows that you have a multi-dimensional personality and go beyond your academic interests. Another quirky thing to add is why the location of the college is important to you and your goals. It can be the vibrant startup culture of the place, proximity to tech centers or Silicon Valley, or even the music vibe of the place.

Step X: Read, Re-read, Proofread. Repeat.

If you have followed all the steps above, and drafted your statement of purpose, great work done! Now will be a good time to send it to your friends, relatives, colleagues, and anywould who would care to read it.

You will amazed at how many grammatical errors get discovered. And we don’t even want to get started on the formatting bits.

Your goal, before sending out your statement of purpose should be to make it as error-proof as possible. This can be achieved by proofreading it multiple times to check for nasty little bits of flaws that hides furtively behind the pompous words and achievements.

The Statement of Purpose is perhaps the hardest thing you will encounter during your application stage.

The good news is that the process does not seem so overwhelming when you break it down into simple, actionable steps as described above.

At Gradsmiths, we have come across more than a thousand essays and SOPs, some brilliant while some total disasters. What really saddened us was that the same mistakes were being repeated in every other document, which motivated us to compile these steps that we follow into this post to draft an awesome statement of purpose.

Statement of Purpose (Samples and formats)

Statement of Purpose that got accepted to UPenn MS in Computer Science

Sample Statement of Purpose that got accepted to MS in Mechanical Engineering, Arizona State University

Statement of Purpose that got accepted to Cornell University’s Engineering Management program

Enjoyed the blog? Why not drop in your e-mail address below, and we send more such tips and strategies straight to your mailbox.

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If you have got the time, do check out our FREE E-book on ‘Biggest Mistakes you make in your resume’. It contains some super pointers on how to modify your resume and make it fit for a graduate school application.

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• v.10(11); 2016 Nov

The Art of Writing and Implementing Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for Laboratories in Low-Resource Settings: Review of Guidelines and Best Practices

Barbara barbé.

1 Institute of Tropical Medicine, Antwerp, Belgium

Kristien Verdonck

Deby mukendi.

2 Institut National de Recherche Biomédicale, Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo

Veerle Lejon

3 Institut de Recherche pour le Développement, Montpellier, France

Jean-Roger Lilo Kalo

Emilie alirol.

4 Geneva University Hospitals, Geneva, Switzerland

Philippe Gillet

Ninon horié, raffaella ravinetto.

5 Department of Pharmaceutical and Pharmacological Sciences, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium

Emmanuel Bottieau

Cedric yansouni.

6 JD MacLean Centre for Tropical Diseases, McGill University Health Centre, Montreal, Canada

Andrea S. Winkler

7 Department of Neurology, Technical University of Munich, Munich, Germany

8 Centre for Global Health, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway

Harry van Loen

Marleen boelaert, pascal lutumba.

9 Université de Kinshasa, Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo

10 Department of Microbiology and Immunology, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium

Associated Data

For a clinical study in the European research network on better diagnosis for neglected infectious diseases (NIDIAG) project (Better Diagnosis of Neglected Infectious Diseases: www.nidiag.org ), we developed Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), which we implemented in a basically equipped laboratory in a 380-bed rural hospital (“Hôpital Général de Référence Mosango”) in the Kwilu province in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). The study aimed to improve the early diagnosis of severe and treatable infections among patients with neurological disorders and took place over a 20-month period (14/09/2012–24/05/2014) (ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: {"type":"clinical-trial","attrs":{"text":"NCT01589289","term_id":"NCT01589289"}} NCT01589289 ). The set of 50 SOPs ( S1 Appendix ), all in French, include procedures related to the inclusion and clinical management of patients with neurological disorders (n = 4), diagnostic testing (n = 33), data collection and management (n = 5), and quality assurance (n = 8).

In this symposium paper, we (i) review current standards and guidelines about writing and implementing laboratory SOPs, (ii) discuss best practices for writing and implementing laboratory SOPs in low-resource settings, and (iii) share some lessons learned in the NIDIAG study in the DRC. This paper targets clinical investigators of Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs), but also laboratory managers involved in routine patient care and policy makers developing national laboratory regulations in low-resource settings.

Why are SOPs important?

SOPs are written step-by-step instructions on how to carry out procedures correctly. SOPs are meant to ensure consistency, accuracy, and quality of data [ 1 ]. SOPs harmonize laboratory practices, reduce user errors, and can be used as training tools. Moreover, they help ensure compliance to the study protocol, regulations, and international standards. SOPs are the main building blocks of a laboratory quality assurance framework and are, as such, embedded in the Quality Management System (QMS), which defines and rules the quality organization and management of a laboratory service.

By their nature and objective, SOPs connect to all other building blocks of the QMS, such as organization and personnel, equipment, procurement, process control, biosafety, and corrective and preventive actions. Within a laboratory QMS, SOPs (or procedures) are considered as documents together with policies, processes, and forms [ 2 ]. SOPs are subject to version control (e.g., version number and date), review and approval, distribution and implementation, update and revision, and archiving of superseded versions. Training of staff on SOPs (with competence assessment) is an essential QMS requirement and connects the SOPs to the “organization and personnel” building block [ 2 ].

How to write and implement SOPs?

We reviewed QMS documents (identified through an unstructured internet search) that address SOP development. We also searched for evidence about legibility, readability, and comprehensibility of other written documents (i.e., package leaflets of medicines and medical devices). S2 Appendix gives the scope and content of the assessed documents.

A well-conceived template of the SOP assures completeness and comprehension

QMS standards and guidance documents vary in scope and level of detail about SOP content, formatting, and version control ( Table 1 ). The Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI) QMS02-A6 guideline, the World Health Organization (WHO) Laboratory QMS handbook, and the Strengthening Laboratory Management Toward Accreditation (SLMTA) provide the most extensive information [ 1 – 3 ]. They highlight the importance of a logical and consistent structure and promote the use of a template in order to assure completeness and comprehension [ 1 – 2 ]. Table 2 describes the SOP template recommended by CLSI QMS02-A6. It comprises 17 sections and is, therefore, comprehensive but long. Of note, none of the SOP templates recommended by the assessed QMS documents include a separate section about waste management.

CLSI, Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute; ISO, International Organization for Standardization; JCI, Joint Commission International; (L)QMS, (Laboratory) Quality Management System; SLMTA, Strengthening Laboratory Management Toward Accreditation; SOP, Standard Operating Procedure; WHO, World Health Organization. Categories are “clinical” (in context of patient care) and “nonclinical” (laboratory work not related to patient care, clinical research). Document types are categorized according to Datema et al. [ 9 ]. S2 Appendix gives the scope and content of the documents and their organizations.

a “−” Not mentioned

b “+” Detailed

c “+/−” Mentioned but not detailed

d “++” Extensively detailed

CLSI, Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute; QMS, Quality Management System; SOP, Standard Operating Procedure.

The art of SOP writing: Legibility, readability, and comprehensibility

Apart from the QMS documents in Table 1 , we aggregated additional guidelines for clarity of writing, mostly about writing for patients and health care workers ( Table 3 ). Legibility is defined as the ease with which a reader can recognize the characters and words in a text. It is mainly determined by typography (e.g., font and point size). Readability measures the complexity of words and sentence structure (e.g., numbers of syllables in a word, difficulty of words, and sentence length). Comprehensibility (also referred to as “comprehension”) refers to whether or not a reader understands the intended meaning of a text and is able to draw the correct conclusions. [ 10 ]

FDA, United States Food and Drug Administration.

b “++” Extensively detailed

c “+” Detailed

The guidelines we assessed give different recommendations on legibility. There is no agreement on font types (with or without serifs) or font sizes: a minimum type size of nine points (font “Times New Roman,” not narrowed) with space between the lines of at least 3 mm (for package leaflets) versus type sizes of 10–14 points (for laboratory documents, user manuals, and medical device labeling) have been recommended [ 2 , 11 – 13 ]. As for design and layout, emphasis is put on the proper use of white space, headers and templates, and bulleted or numbered lists. Graphics are promoted if they are clear, simple, precise, and depicted at appropriate size and resolution. Drawings are preferred over pictures [ 12 , 14 ]. Box 1 lists the basic principles of SOP writing.

Box 1. Basic principles on the art of SOP writing

• Use a unique and meaningful title
• Write in simple language: simple words with a maximum three syllables, sentences with a maximum of 25 words, avoid formal language
• Choose legible font and font size (e.g., Arial, 11 point type)
• Use SOP templates
• Do not use more than two levels of headings
• Use active voice, use “you”
• Turn any list into a bulleted or numbered list
• Put instructions in a logical order
• Be precise, use concrete examples
• Put warnings/precautions before the action
• First put the instruction, then the reasoning
• Stress important information (capitals, bold, colour)
• Avoid abbreviations and acronyms
• Use drawings and place them next to corresponding text
• Drawings are preferred over pictures
• Think about resolution, color, and size
• Use job aids

Testing for readability

Readability can be assessed by formulas and is expressed as the grade level (years of formal education) needed to easily read the text [ 10 ]. Examples are the Simple Measure of Gobbledygook grading (McLaughlin 1969) and the Flesch–Kincaid grade level. Some readability formulas are part of text processing programs such as Microsoft Office Word 2010. Recommended grade levels are a maximum of 6th grade for patient education material [ 15 , 16 ]. The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) guidelines recommend 6th or 7th grade [ 12 ] up to a maximum of 8th grade level [ 13 ] to reach most of the population of the United States. It should be noted that these recommendations are meant for documents written for patients and that the audience targeted by laboratory SOPs is different. Most laboratory staff have a good education level and are trained in understanding technical documents. None of the QMS documents recommend readability testing of SOPs, and to our knowledge, it is rarely practiced for SOPs. Furthermore, the reading level of a text does not reflect its comprehensibility as reading formulas do not take into account the content or the organization of a text.

Assessing comprehensibility of SOPs through pretesting

To enhance its comprehensibility, each SOP should be pretested and adapted before finalization. Pretesting is the systematic and formal gathering of user reactions after reading a document and is a prerequisite to distribution, training, and implementation [ 11 – 13 ]. The European Commission guideline explains the concept of user testing, discusses the testing of multiple language versions, and describes a method for pretesting package leaflets [ 11 ]. The FDA guidelines discuss different methods for pretesting such as focus group interviews, individual in-depth interviews, questionnaire surveys, and operator performance studies [ 12 – 13 ]. Of note, none of the QMS documents cites nor recommends pretesting, except for CLSI guideline QMS02-A6. This guideline mentions document verification as part of the review process (see below), which can be considered as a form of pretesting [ 2 ].

Writing, review and approval of SOPs: Who does what?

An SOP should be written by a person who knows the procedure [ 2 ] and, if possible, by the staff that will follow the instructions. The review process should also involve people outside of the writing process, to ensure that the SOP can be used by persons that are not familiar with the topic. CLSI recommends several rounds of reviews by different laboratory staff, focusing on different aspects per review round. CLSI also recommends document verification to ensure that by following the procedure the correct end result is obtained. This can be done, for example, by asking the laboratory staff who were not involved in writing and reviewing to perform the procedure exactly as is written in the SOP [ 2 ]. Apart from the review process during the SOP development, revisions are required on a regular basis (e.g., annual or biannual review), while updates may occur at any time, when needed.

Finally, the SOP is approved by the laboratory management, e.g., by circulating a signature page together with the SOP or by an electronic sign-off. SOP approval ensures that the content of the SOP is known to the managers and that they approve the use of the SOP by the staff. SOP approval also allows coordinated and timely implementation of the SOP on-site. An approval procedure should be established, specifying the individuals involved (by their positions or functions) and the order in which approvals are given. [ 2 ]

SOP management

A controlled document master list should be kept by a dedicated document manager, specifying the SOP names and identification numbers, the versions in use, and the effective dates and locations of controlled copies. Copies of SOPs need to be clearly labelled as approved and current versions, while out-of-date versions must be removed from site. The SOP master file contains the current and previous versions of the SOP and serves as the source for generating working copies of current SOPs as well as a historic record, which is useful for audit and inspection purposes. Obsolete versions should be clearly labeled as such, e.g., by means of a notation or stamp. All SOPs need to be stored in a manner that prevents loss, damage, or unauthorized access and should promote easy retrieval. The retention duration of SOPs is defined by regulations, accreditation requirements, study protocol requirements, and the sponsor’s quality system [ 2 ].

Training of involved laboratory staff

Training takes place after approval and before distribution and implementation of the SOP. Group training can be effective, if it allows time for discussion, questions, and answers. Individual hands-on training is recommended for more challenging or unfamiliar techniques and for new laboratory staff. Training records (e.g., sign-in sheets) must be kept either in the SOP master file or a group training file, but also in the individual’s training file [ 2 ].

On-site accessibility and visibility of SOPs and job aids

SOPs must be available where used [ 2 ]. For swift retrieval, consulting, and use, SOPs related to laboratory work must be visible and accessible close to the bench rather than in a cupboard in the quality manager’s office. A controlled copy of the original SOPs can be displayed (marked as “copy”).

As to accessibility and visibility, so-called job aids are a valuable adjunct. Job aids are instructions, lists, or quick reference materials derived from the main document and are used when the full procedure is not needed at the time the task is performed [ 2 ]. They are designed for direct use at the testing site and are meant to supplement but not replace SOPs [ 1 ]. Clear job aids improved health workers’ performance during malaria rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs) [ 17 – 19 ]. Job aids are also subject to document control and can be included or referred to in the “related documents” section of the SOP template [ 2 ]. Job aids should be posted in a place that is clearly visible from the work space [ 1 ] (e.g., on the wall or on a dedicated display system/document holder).

What are best practices for writing and implementing laboratory SOPs in low-resource settings?

In low-resource settings, specific factors that may interfere with writing and understanding of SOPs should be anticipated and addressed.

Language and terminology

Most laboratory staff in low-resource settings are not native English (or French) speakers and are often not expert in the particular domain of care or research; therefore, their literacy level may be lower than anticipated. This language barrier is often not overcome by simple translation into the local language, as words in different languages are not always identical in meaning and function [ 20 ]. In addition, producing a high-quality translation is labor intensive [ 21 ]. Web-based translation machines may be inaccurate: as an example, Google Translate only had an accuracy of 57.7% for the translation of common medical statements to 26 languages [ 22 ]. Apart from interlanguage differences, there is also the issue of terminology. For instance, the “buffer” used for RDTs is also called “blood lysis buffer,” “clearing buffer,” “assay (or sample) diluent,” or “reagent,” and the “specimen transfer device” may be named “tube,” “straw,” or “pipette” [ 23 – 24 ].

In this context, extra care should be taken to adhere to the aforementioned requirements of legibility, readability, and comprehensibility of the SOP and to consistently use simple terms and words. Graphics should be used to simplify the overall message, with preference for drawings [ 12 , 14 ].

Cultural background

Concepts and symbols can be interpreted differently in different cultures [ 20 , 25 ]. A person’s perception of a symbol varies across cultures [ 25 ] but also depends on training, educational level, and professional experience [ 26 ]. Furthermore, even if quality systems have become a dominant feature in industrial societies, this is not always the case elsewhere. In particular, a QMS cannot hinge solely on written instructions in an environment with a strong oral culture.

Barriers to correct use and application of SOPs

Barriers to the correct application of SOPs include misunderstandings because of language or jargon that’s too technical, lack of familiarity with written guidelines, lack of belief that SOPs will improve practice, and lack of motivation to change practice [ 27 ]. The number, length, and complexity of SOPs can also be a barrier to writing and implementation, as well as the language issues. In addition, presbyopia (i.e., loss of eye lens accommodation that results in an inability to focus at near distances) tends to occur frequently and at an early age in Africa [ 28 ]; it may pass unnoticed and may affect reading, particularly in low light conditions.

To overcome these barriers, ownership by and dialogue with local users is crucial in SOP development and during periodic reviews. Moreover, it is the ethical principle of “collaborative partnership” to engage local researchers and to share the responsibilities within a study [ 29 ]. SOPs should be developed on-site to produce best practices in accordance with the available resources [ 27 ]. Adequate budget and staff should be allocated to pretest the draft SOPs and to implement them once finalized. A training period should be foreseen [ 2 ], and continuous support should be available. Regular exchange with the local users and supportive site visits are indispensable for guaranteeing correct use of SOPs.

What did we learn about SOP writing and implementation during the NIDIAG study on neurological disorders?

Outlines and examples of sop writing.

All SOPs were prepared in compliance with a “SOP-on-SOP” and were based on the NIDIAG SOP template. Examples of NIDIAG SOPs are given as supporting information ( S1 Appendix , S1 and S2 Figs). The NIDIAG SOP template includes a standardized header, title box, and five section headings: (i) Scope and application, (ii) Responsibilities, (iii) Procedures, (iv) Records and archives, and (v) Document history. For clarity and simplicity, we opted for these five sections only, rather than for the full list of 17 sections recommended by CLSI ( Table 2 ); we also considered that these five sections were the most relevant at the time for all concerned SOPs (also for those SOPs outside the laboratory domain). Of note, we explicitly added “safety precautions” (at the beginning of the procedure and before each step whenever appropriate) and “waste management” as separate headings.

Training and implementation

During the prestudy phase, the feedback of the study site team helped to refine and adapt the SOPs to the local setting. Once finalized, the SOPs were used for on-the-job training of all staff involved during the on-site pilot of the study. The compilation and version management of the SOPs were handled by the NIDIAG Good Clinical Practice (GCP) focal point, who ensured availability of the most recent versions on the NIDIAG website, allowing for timely distribution to all concerned individuals.

Feedback from the study site: Challenges and opportunities

With hindsight, setting up and using this extensive SOP system in the NIDIAG project required more time and effort than anticipated. This is in line with the observations on QMS implementation in low-resource settings recently compiled by Luman and coworkers [ 30 ]. The large number of SOPs proved to be impractical, and it was difficult to comply with every single one of them. By contrast, job aids were perceived to be very useful in day-to-day research practice. They were provided as a supplement to a number of SOPs and were displayed on the walls in plastic covers ( S3 Fig ).

Timely review of SOPs proved to be challenging in our study because of unforeseen events (e.g., changed kit contents that had an effect on test procedures). Due to the difficult internet and telephone communication with the remote site, some procedural changes could pass unnoticed. Because of the high number of SOPs, small errors slipped in, causing a series of (minor) revisions, which complicated document control and on-site SOP management. Also, on-site implementation of SOPs did not always happen in time.

Most QMS documents (e.g., CLIA regulations 2011 and CLSI guideline QMS01-A4 2011 [ 31 , 8 ]) have been developed for high-resource settings, hence anticipating fast-track documentation and distribution systems (e.g., by using specific software systems). As these are not available in low-resource settings, one could reconsider some of the QMS requirements. For instance, it could be allowed to adapt SOPs on-site, after discussion with the study quality manager and the sponsor, and the site quality manager’s sign-off. The compilation of small changes could then be adapted at once during the planned periodic revisions of SOPs, resulting in official new versions only at specific time points, thereby facilitating distribution and implementation of these new versions. The key learning points about SOP writing and implementation during the NIDIAG study are summarized in Box 2 .

Box 2. Key learning points

• Layout: use a template with standardized sections, with a maximum of two levels of headings, and bulleted or numbered lists (the latter for chronological steps)
• Legibility and readability: use a clear font and font size, simple words, simple sentences, add drawings
• Comprehensibility: pretest SOPs before finalization
• Use job aids and display them on/near the bench
• Engage local staff to develop the SOPs
• Think about the language of the SOP (English, French, local language)
• Take extra care in adhering to requirements of legibility, readability, and comprehensibility
• Take cultural differences into account: different meaning of words, terms, and symbols, the use of written documents in a setting with a strong oral culture
• Think about possible impaired vision of the user and low light conditions (e.g., use larger print)
• Make sure SOPs are distributed in a timely fashion and are accessible to all staff involved
• Provide training on SOPs for all users and other implicated staff
• Plan periodic revisions and updating of SOPs in use
• Provide continuous support and regular site visits

The development of a set of SOPs is essential for the good conduct of a clinical study, such as the NIDIAG study on neurological disorders. SOPs should be based on a template and kept simple and short, while still including the minimal essential information to perform the task correctly. Efforts should be made to ensure their legibility, readability, and comprehensibility. Graphics (preferably drawings) should be added to aid comprehension. When relevant, safety precautions and waste management should be included as separate sections. The use of job aids is recommended (e.g., displayed on the wall), as they are often more practical than fully detailed SOPs.

The users should be involved in SOP writing, and local development of SOPs—together with the site team—is encouraged. The language barrier, differences in terminology, and the user’s cultural background have to be taken into account. Pretesting of SOPs and staff training need to take place before distribution and implementation of SOPs. Continuous support of local staff and regular site visits are needed to ensure SOP compliance and to allow timely revisions and implementation of SOPs.

Supporting Information

S1 appendix.

Set of 50 SOPs used for the NIDIAG study on neurological disorders.

S2 Appendix

Clear drawings, a flowchart, and a decision table are used. The SOP is based on the generic WHO job aid of a malaria RDT ( http://www.who.int/malaria/areas/diagnosis/rapid-diagnostic-tests/generic_PfPan_training_manual_web.pdf ).

This job aid represents a table summarizing the NIDIAG study specimen numbering information extracted from SOP-WP6-DOC-02-V02.1-18Sep2012, and was put as its annex five. The job aid has a clear title linking it to an approved SOP, thus making it subject to document control. Font type Calibri, and type sizes of 18 and 24 points were used for table text and headers, respectively, allowing the text to be easily read when printed out and posted on a wall. The “bold” font style was appropriately used to highlight the column titles and abbreviations.

Funding Statement

This work is part of the NIDIAG European research network (Collaborative Project) supported by the European Union’s Seventh Framework Programme for research, technological development and demonstration under grant agreement no 260260. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.

All Lab Experiments

How to Write a Statement of Purpose – SOP (with Example)

“Statement of Purpose” sometimes called as “Statement of Interest” is a very prior requirement for applying in various institutes for the post of Project Fellow, Internship/Training or Research Scholar.

Writing an SOP or SOI is sometimes confusing because it is not always easy for a fresher to collect all work in a single document. A well crafted SOP establishing smooth connections between all previous projects can increase the chances of approval.

So, here I present a step-by-step guide on how to write a “Statement of Purpose”. I have taken an example of my own work but overall you can look at the writing pattern, and edit it with your details.

Note: Font should be TIMES NEW ROMAN with size 12.

Firstly, tell them about your current and past affiliations of educational qualifications.

“I, Martina Saran have completed post-graduate studies in Physics from Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi in 2012 & graduate in physical science from Delhi University in 2010. I am applying for the Research Project in your department and following serves as my Statement of interest (SOI).”

Introduce your work which you might have done in your B.Sc. or M.Sc. levels as part of project or dissertation.

“I always got fascinated about the world, which we cannot see from our naked eyes, the world which, constitute a nano, micro dimensions. So, I chose my M.Sc. final dissertation on “Synthesis and Characterization of Cobalt Nanoparticles” under the supervision of prof. Neeraj Khare. The motive of my work was to explore the change in different physical and magnetic properties in the nano-dimensional regime. I followed Chemical route to synthesize cobalt nanoparticles using a thermal decomposition method. We also studied the effect of surfactants on the growth of cobalt nanoparticles.”

Tell them about the characterizations which you have hands-on during your lab work.

In the characterization part, physical and magnetic properties are studied. In physical properties, X-ray diffraction and HRTEM analysis are done to know the crystal structure and morphology of cobalt nanoparticles. Magnetic analysis of nanoparticles is done by SQUID.

Close your introduction part by concluding remark.

“Currently, nanotechnology and nanomaterials have attracted several researchers from different fields, especially from the field of luminescence. It has been found that the physical properties of individual nanoparticles can be very different from those of their bulk counterparts. Recent studies on different luminescent nanomaterials have shown that they have a potential application in dosimetry of ionizing radiations for the measurements of high doses using the TL technique, where the conventional microcrystalline phosphors saturate.”

Try to write a brief note about your experimental or theoretical work. Professors are mostly interested in this part only. So write this part carefully and memorize your steps because they will surely be going to ask you several questions out of it.

Blah Blah Blah. This may seem uninteresting to you because this is the work dedicated to my field so just focus on the pattern rather than the scientific details.

“The cobalt nanoparticles are synthesized by injecting the organometallic precursor into the surfactant mixture of TPP and oleic acid at 200 °C and keeping the growth temperature at 185 °C under an inert environment provided by the nitrogen gas supply. octa-carbonyl dicobalt, TPP, oleic acid, dichlorobenzene and heptane are used to synthesize 16–18 nm Co nanoparticles, a three-necked flask with 40 ml of dichlorobenzene is heated to 220 °C under N2 and stirred to eliminate the dissolved ambient air. Then 2.0 mmol of oleic acid and 2.0 mmol of TPP are added. In a separate reaction vessel, 2.0 mmol of Co2CO8 is combined with 3 ml of dry dichlorobenzene, warmed briefly to nearly 60 °C under N2 until it is fully dissolved and finally injected rapidly into the flask. The solution turns black quickly and forms as Co2CO8 decomposes, nucleating Co nanoparticles and releasing gas.

The black solution refluxed at 185°C for 20 min with vigorous stirring. Then the black solution is cooled down to room temperature and a black precipitate appears by adding ethanol to the dispersion. The black precipitate is collected. It is washed with ethanol several times to remove excessive surfactant. Black precipitate forms, filter it with toluene to get narrow size distribution of CNP. Dry it at room temperature in a vacuum oven for 24 hours.”

Summarize your results and discussions, what you have obtained so far and your future perspectives.

To exploit magnetic nanoparticles for applications, understanding and ability to manipulate the synthesis process, verified by structural and magnetic characterization, is of utmost importance. Magnetic nanoparticles have the potential for many applications including data storage, nanoelectronics, bio-medical, and military. Being able to control their geometric and magnetic properties will allow custom tailoring to satisfy the different requirements of potential applications. Cobalt nanoparticles were synthesized by thermal decomposition method and found it to be a convenient. Although the agglomeration is a drawback of this technique, yet the size distribution is fairly good.

In characterization, we presented how the magnetic behaviour of a system changes when constituents are in nano dimensions. Thermal decomposition seems the best method developed to date for size and morphology control of NPs. Also, the yield of production is high and scalable. A sudden flipping from superparamagnetic to ferromagnetic with the increase in field makes it useful property in memory devices. However, one of the major disadvantages of this method is the production of organic soluble NPs which limit the extent of application uses of them in biological fields besides surface treatment is needed after synthesis.

In addition, thermal decomposition methods usually lead to complicated processes or require relatively high temperatures. Studying the effect of different surfactants and concentration values relative to reagents has been suggested as a strong method to control size and size distributions. Utilizing X-ray diffraction (XRD) and a transmission electron microscope (TEM), size, shape, and crystal structure can be evaluated and the effects of the synthesis process manipulation can be observed.

End your proposal by ensuring your bonafidity and interest in the field by telling a slight perspective of your choice of work and field.

“I wish to do my higher studies in Physics with the intention to obtain a PhD and later to engage in research and teaching as a career. Having obtained the advice from my professors, seniors and friends about my choice of Universities, I have applied to Delhi University as it is reputed for research facilities and resources and I had a dream to pursue research and a part of teaching faculty from my Zakir Husain college graduation days. The department website also revealed a very strong faculty involved in extensive research in the area of Physics, especially in “Nanoscience and Material Physics”. This has strengthened my resolve to study at Delhi University. Thereby I believe that I will have an opportunity to serve and support my nation by paying back through researching in such a frontier area of research topic which I hope given to me.”

In this way, you can structure a Statement of Purpose or Statement of Interest. Hope, this will help you in writing one of your SOP. Kindly modify accordingly and keep in mind that direct cut/paste options can cause issues during the interview. Let me tell you that I got selected for this project by this SOP only. All the Best and Have a good day 🙂

Author – Martina Saran

Ms. Martina Saran is currently a Research Scholar and doing Ph.D. from the Department of Physics & Astrophysics, University of Delhi, in Material Science/radiation physics. She has done 3 year IUAC project on the topic “Ion Beam dosimetry”. She has done masters in Physics from IIT Delhi and bachelors in Physical Sciences from Zakir Husain college, University of Delhi. Her work has been published in the field of Lyoluminescence and Thermoluminescence for high-energy gamma radiation dosimetry.

As a human being she is nature lover especially plants and birds. Besides her research, she takes growing plants and serving birds as her hobby.

5 thoughts on “How to Write a Statement of Purpose – SOP (with Example)”

Hello Mam, I have to write the SOP under 250 words which part I have to skip and which part I have to elaborate … Please help me regarding this. Thank you

In case of word limit, you can shrink all parts proportionally but keep in mind that the portion highlighting your own past research experience or projects should remain dominant and must acquire 100 – 150 words.

You can modify according to which post you are applying!! If its internship/training elaborate your affiliation collaboration mostly… But if its PHD or project then your working experiences, hands on techniques information required. which give committee members to understand your knowledge and choice of field. I hope this will help…

Hello ma’am. I want to pursue PhD in Nanotechnology, for application process i have to write SOP. Considering my master’s project should I write SOP?

Yes!! Surely, you need to include the work experience as well as hands on expertise associated with sample preparation and characterization techniques you have through out your bachelors & Master’s project/dissertation… Hope you got my point .. Good Luck 🤞

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Research Standard Operating Procedures

Download the Clinical Research SOP Manual (DWP)

• Glossary of Terms for Standard Operating Procedures
• Tip Sheet: How to Download Individual SOPs

What are Standard Operating Procedures (SOP)?

“Detailed, written instructions to achieve uniformity of the performance of a specific function.” ( ICH GCP 1.55 )

In simple terms an SOP is a written process and a way for the clinical site to perform a task the same way each time it is completed.

SOPs are used to:

• Identify the responsible person for each task;
• Describe what is to be completed;
• Train staff; and
• Monitor site performance.

What are the benefits of using SOPs?

• SOPs ensure that sites follow Federal Regulations, International Conference on Harmonization Good Clinical Practice Guidelines, and UH Institutional Policies to protect the rights and welfare of human study participants.
• They improve quality of data collected and improves research,
• Provide a reference and guideline for conducting research, and
• Act as a training tool for new employees and/or trainees.

Tips for writing SOPs

• Determine a single task to focus on.
• List all the steps currently used to complete that task.
• Take each step in the task and make it more efficient and easier to follow.
• Following the template, fill in each step.
• Use clear, concise language.
• Use the active voice when writing.
• Avoid names; use job functions instead.

Things to Remember

• The Principal Investigator should approve all SOPs and designate an effective date.
• SOPs should be reviewed on a regular basis (usually annually) to ensure policy based regulations are up-to-date.
• Previous versions of SOPs should be retained.
• All staff should have SOP training (document this training)
• SOPs should be accessible to staff
• SOPs are an integral part of good research practice!

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Statement of Purpose | Format with Samples, Examples & templates(2023 Update)

The statement of purpose (SoP) is a short admission essay written as a part of your graduate school application. A well-written SoP increases your chances of admission to the program you desire. Simply, an SoP is a showcase of your qualities telling the admission committee why you deserve to get the admission.

The typical length of a Statement of Purpose is 1.5 pages and this aims to provides you the best opportunity to distinguish yourself from other applicants. The universities abroad often ask for an SOP to understand the student in all aspects.

The statement of purpose, on the other hand, is an opportunity for you to – 

Describe or talk about your general story, your narrative, why you’re here today, what choices did you have to make and in that way, set yourself apart from other applicants.

You have to make sure that your statement of purpose includes why you’re choosing this particular course or specialization and how your background or education, your internships, projects or experience backs up or further validates your case to specialize in this particular field.

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You also have to talk about what you plan to do once you get this Master’s from the University of your choice to what you want to do in your career afterward and how you plan on applying your knowledge and experience to further your career.

This is a gist of what you’re expected to talk about.

It’s also an opportunity for you to briefly explain any unique or weird looking stuff in your profile. For example, if your GPA is low, then you might want to explain that in your statement of purpose.

How do you do this?

You can do this by saying that you are the kind of person who can focus and work very well on topics that you’re passionate about, and it’s hard for you to focus on something that you aren’t fundamentally committed to.

You can explain that your GPA is low but in all the subjects related to your target area of specialization, you’ve done extremely well and that’s the kind of person you are.

So whatever exam you might have given i.e., GRE or TOEFL or IELTS , your Statement of purpose will make you stand out from other applicants.

Difference between Statement of Purpose for Masters and Ph.D:

Generally, the main difference in writing a statement of purpose for MS and Ph.D. is in the way you present yourself especially with regards to research.

In an SOP for a Ph.D application, you need to talk more about your research, your research group and your contribution to the group. Here you can talk about the professor who inspired you and your experience with him. The reader of your statement of purpose will be more interested to know about the analytical skills you acquired which are critical for research in Ph.D programs. Talk about your thesis and the work that went into it.

Whereas in the statement of purpose for a Masters, your focus is on developing your skills through said Master’s program, not necessarily in creating new things/developing new knowledge through research. Talk about situations that highlight your good leadership and communication skills. Focus on writing about your goals, programs that will help in your career while writing an SOP for Masters.

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What is the importance of statement of purpose.

The statement of purpose is the only essay where you get the chance to write about yourself and make a difference from other applicants. The admission counselling can get an analysis of your background and how passionate you are to get an admit to the university. With a well-written statement of purpose, you can underplay your weaknesses and convince the committee to get the admission. This becomes easier when you understand the audience of your statement of purpose (admissions committee). An SOP is also a place where you can highlight your strengths and skills necessary for your academic and career excellence. It is very important for you to put your heart and passion for the program while writing a statement of purpose.

Components of a successful SOP

What are the contents of a successful Statement of Purpose for Graduate School?

Let’s look at it in a little more detail. For somebody who is in their undergrad, when you’re applying to universities, this is a template that we might recommend for you.

We’re not necessarily saying that everybody should stick to this template but unless you have very specific reasons or a strong narrative that you want to weave indifferently, this is a good tried and tested statement of purpose template to follow.

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First, you give a brief introduction of yourself and talk about your high school and undergraduate work and how they prepared you .

Next, the middle paragraph is important and this is where we’ll discuss your specialization and then you can further describe any other projects that you did in the specialization that you would like to target.

Finally, you talk about why you chose this particular university and why this particular program in that university and what you plan to do after you graduate from there.

This is a good, safe way to organize your statement of purpose.

Keep in mind to keep it tight as you will realize writing these things down takes time because it requires you to think deeply and to introspect so we recommend starting early.

Don’t wait until the last minute and start writing your statement of purpose in November.

Start well in advance so you have a first draft, a second draft, and additional edits if needed. These are the things you want to start thinking about right away.

The Introduction Paragraph

How To Write A Statement Of Purpose for Grad School?

Starting with the introduction, you have to be clear and state what specialization you want to pursue. Make sure that you tell the truth, do not makeup stories, and avoid being sentimental.

Get ideas on how to write an SOP with the following statement of purpose format outlined below.

Let us take a look at a bad introduction paragraph next so you know what we’re talking about and what to avoid.

Sample SOP -Bad Introduction Paragraph

Statement of purpose sample for a bad introduction paragraph.

Look the following statement of purpose format for the introduction paragraph and continue with suggestions mentioned below for writing a better introduction.

“Growing up, I always loved math and sciences. I was that weird kid that liked calculus and algebra, and I thought that chemistry was fun. And because I excelled in those things, my parents always told me: “Anita, the best way to use those interests and apply them to a career is to become an engineer.” After three years of undergraduate Computer Science Engineering, I realized that my parents were wrong in shaping my calling. Suddenly one day after seeing blue cabbage turning red in lemon sauce, I realized that it was Chemistry rather than Coding that was my calling and life-long desire.”

“Growing up, I always loved math and sciences” – fine, fair enough. “I was that weird kid that liked calculus and algebra” – the usage of the words “weird kid” makes this  unnecessarily sentimental.

It goes on to say “because I excelled in those things, my parents always told me: “Anita, the best way to use those interests and apply them to a career, is to become an engineer.”  

Well, this sounds like a made-up anecdote, even if it’s true, it might very well be true. But it’s unnecessarily sentimental in the statement of purpose and it also shows that you’re influenced by what your parents say  that you haven’t really thought about how to use these interests.

This person then goes on to say, “After three years of undergraduate Computer Science Engineering, I realized that my parents were wrong in shaping my calling.”

This is also unnecessary because it seems like you’re dissing your parents. It’s important to just be professional and talk about yourself, your decisions to make a perfect statement of purpose.

Moving further, we see this reads “ Suddenly one day after seeing blue cabbage turning red in lemon sauce, I realized that it was Chemistry rather than Coding that was my calling and life-long desire.”

The issue with this is it just doesn’t sound believable – it might actually be true. But that this one moment just changed your life seems a little hard to believe. You would have had  multiple opportunities in chemistry lab in high school to see compounds change color & producing colorful spangles – how come your passion for chemistry wasn’t kick-started then?

It just doesn’t sound believable – you want to make sure that what you write sounds credible, that it sounds professional and that is how you know your writing is going to be believed. Put yourself in their shoes, imagine you are reading this – what will you think about the person who’s writing this?

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We hope this gives you some concrete ideas about what to do and what to avoid so make sure that you’re honest. Are the professors likely to believe in this sudden serendipitous moment?

You want to talk about your wishes in your career, how your decisions were shaped because once you do your Master’s, it’s all about you.

It’s nice to respect your parents but professors want to know what you are going to because you’re the one who’s going to sit there, take the classes with them and answer the tests – not your parents.  

A good reference for a personal statement we think is called “Matters of Form” – they talk about how to begin a nice introductory paragraph for those of you that are interested.

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Sop sample : the middle paragraph.

Let’s move on to the middle part of your statement of purpose – you have to talk about how you evolved as an undergraduate student, what courses you took, which ones you really liked, based on that which electives you decided to take.

You can further strengthen your knowledge in that direction. Your project work, your thesis, any paper presentations you may have done, what research you did etc and how you would like to extend this work in the future.

Make sure that you are writing not for a lay-person. You’re writing it for a technical audience, somebody who’s already an expert in this field. So you can use technical terms in your personal statement but don’t drop them unnecessarily. Identify and use them in relevant places.

Sample SOP -Good Middle Paragraph

Statement of purpose example for a good middle paragraph.

Let’s now see an SOP format with a good ‘middle paragraph’ – this is from a mechanical engineering undergrad student who also wants to specialize in mechanical engineering, particularly in energy.

You can see it’s very clear that the student understands what the project is and why they chose this. “G iven the growing realization of the need for low-emission power sources and alternatives for fossil fuels.”

It’s clear that the person who’s writing this cares about the environment, they care about renewable energy and that’s why they have chosen a project that is relevant.

“In lieu of a formal introduction of my academic interests, I would like to offer a summary of the design project I did for the award of my Bachelor’s degree in Engineering.”

Note  how beautifully the student has weaved in the fact that their project was chosen as an award-winning project in design in their class.

They then move on to talk more about the project – “Often brushed aside as an obsolete model, the Stirling engine is an external combustion engine that saw little application after the advent of high-efficiency Internal Combustion engines. However, considering the advances in material sciences that has led to significant weight reduction in machines, and the prospect of exploiting abundantly available energy sources, I found that there were several benefits to be reaped by revisiting this apparently outdated technology.”

So the student is explaining certain recent advances as well as the importance of exploiting whatever energy sources that you have a good way in the statement of purpose. The student is saying, ‘let me revisit this apparently outdated technology’.

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Sahil secured his dream admit @ eth zurich. know how he crafted his perfect sop..

The student is also giving the reader an inside look into their thought process. Do they just go by what people say or do they put two and two together and say ‘I think this is worth revisiting’? The student here also demonstrated that they believe in taking risks.

They’re saying ‘look, I know it was considered obsolete but things have changed in a couple of areas and I do think it’s worth revisiting so I’m going to put my time and energy into this’.

They’re not just diving in, it’s a carefully weighted risk, they’ve explained their rationale and thought process so you can already get a feel for how this person thinks, what they’re passionate about and how they will take decisions.

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This is the kind of information that somebody will glean after reading a paragraph like this.

Continuing, “While not as efficient as the Internal Combustion engine, the LTD Stirling engines nevertheless have a potential to be used in auxiliary small-scale applications that can derive input energy from the heat that is otherwise unused”

You can see that this person is clearly writing for a technical  expert on and also demonstrating knowledge of this product . So yes, ‘I know the pros and cons but I am going to limit my work within its scope and I know I think that there can be some value to be gained from exploring more in this area.’

“This project not only shed light on a less explored area of design, but also taught me valuable lessons on high-efficiency, compact designing and the nuances in material selection, keeping in mind the value of the end product. It also earned me an internship at the R&D section of Ashok Leyland Automobile Company, Bengaluru, where I had an opportunity to witness the extensive research done in emission control.”

You can see how the narrative he’s laying out takes you on a journey from step one to two step to step three and it’s building that sequence so he can drive his story in.

Let’s read further – ‘Having developed an interest in renewable energy sources very early in my academic career, I would like to continue exploring avenues for further research following the positive results I gained from my project, focusing on improving the efficiency of the engine and expanding its scope of application’.

So the student is very clear about their interests, they’re saying ‘hey look I’m interested in renewable energy sources and would like to continue exploring this for further research, this is what I want to work on to go about about improving its efficiency, expanding its scope of application.

Like we mentioned earlier today, talking about the next steps that you would like to take is important and that’s what he has done here. That’s also addressed here.

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“I would also like to extend my research to other viable options of low-emission, green energy-driven engines that can provide a solution to the problems currently faced on a global level.”

So again the story is driving home the point that they are keen on a particular area of research, that this is the problem they would like to further research and solve and these are the reasons why.

It’s so important for you to be clear about what it is that you want to do, what motivates you, what are you passionate about and weave it with all of the actual practical decisions you have taken – your projects, your lessons, your internships. That’s what a really good statement of purpose is all about. Choose the ideal statement of interest sample that fits with your situation, but do not duplicate it. Take it as a reference and write your own.

Work experience/ Internship Paragraph

You have to talk about the internships that you did, being very clear and specific about them. The exact responsibilities you were given need to be laid out clearly , especially for those of you who are working professionals.

It’s very important that you abstract out the actual lessons that you’ve learned. How your work experience has made you a better applicant. Talk about any unique skills that might have picked up. during your internships, especially for those of you still studying.

So you have to really think about and answer this question. These answers won’t just come to you out of the blue, they don’t come on a platter.

You can also see how all of these will be very different from one individual to another, making a statement of purpose, a very unique write-up.

This is how and where you can distinguish yourself from others. Every single applicant’s statement of purpose is going to be different because their life journey has been different.

Their decisions are different, what they have learned, what they picked up, what they’ve chosen to do, what they’re passionate about. All of those are going to change and that’s how you can bring out the best in you.

Get the help to craft your professional Statement of Purpose Now!!

There are some differences in writing an SoP for UG, MS, and Ph.D. For a UG application, a student is required to write about their childhood, interests and hobbies in their SOP, whereas in a Master’s SOP you should concentrate on passion, the field of interest and goals.

While writing a statement of purpose for Ph.D. you need to talk more about the area of research and your knowledge of it.

Let us now look at an SOP example of a bad internship paragraph.

SOP Sample -Internship Paragraph

“I consider my in-plant training at the Central Electrical Repair Shop of Neyveli Lignite Corporation Limited to have been of significant value to my growth as a student. It was there that I understood the construction, winding and working of motors and transformers.”  

At the very outset, we need to point out that implant training lasts typically for a very short period – two to three weeks and it’s very observational in nature.

It doesn’t typically give you a lot of opportunity to work directly with relevant stuff and that’s something that you want to look for in good internships.

Moving further, “Considering that the plant was located in a remote area, I was forced to live in relative squalor, away from home. The experience served as an eye-opener as to the role science played in my life and taught me that work was uplifting and enervating, irrespective of environment.”

The issue here again is this person is becoming unnecessarily sentimental – the fact that you lived in relative squalor away from home has no relevance in a technical statement of purpose.

If you are exploring a Masters in philosophy or something like that where you want to experience how other people live or are talking about a Master’s in social work then, sure you can talk about how you were forced to live in relative squalor.

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But for somebody who wants to do a Masters in engineering, it is absolutely irrelevant. It’s not even that you started in impoverished circumstances and somehow made the right decisions and are now working hard – you’re actually very comfortable and well to do but for your internship you had to live in relative squalor – it doesn’t speak well at all for you.

Your Statement of Purpose for Masters is to be personalized in a way that it connects with the Admission Committee members.

Reading further, “ The experience served as an eye-opener as to the role science played in my life and taught me that work was uplifting and enervating, irrespective of environment.”

Again this is not needed for a Master’s in engineering, remember to focus on your work, only on the technical stuff. That is what you want to talk about. So that was an example of passages you don’t want to emulate.

Concluding Paragraph of SOP

Coming to the final paragraph – why this particular university . Focus on the kind of research there, make sure you’ve  shortlisted professors, read some articles and that you can demonstrate knowledge of current research at this department.

Questions to ask before shortlisting universities

When writing the final paragraph, here are a few questions that you want to answer: 

• Which part of subfield X particularly interests you?
• What fresh perspectives do you have to offer on ongoing research conversations?
• What line of enquiry do you wish to pursue, and why?
• How does this fit the ongoing research concerns of the faculty?
• Why should the department care about you?

You have to demonstrate confidence in your ability, in your passion for following this area of interest and confidence that this particular university has the infrastructure, the labs and so on to support you in this area of research.

You want to make clear that you will add value as well. That is what you’re hoping to convey in the final paragraph.

Do's and don'ts of a Statement of Purpose

To summarize a few ‘do’s and don’ts of a grad school Statement of Purpose:

• Start early , statement of purpose writing calls for self- introspection which takes time. You have to answer questions about yourself, questions you may not have thought about earlier.
• Clearly state what field and specialization you intend to pursue.
• Be honest. Only offer information that’s relevant to your field.
• Use formal English. Make sure you proofread your statement of purpose. Follow any specific instructions the university gives about word-count or questions.
• Do not make up an anecdote
• Avoid sentimentality
• Avoid controversial statements as it relates to politics or religion
• It’s not a must to include quotes in the statement of purpose
• Do not sound too critical about your country

Start writing your statement of interest with the tips provided and make you dream come true. Read more to know How to Shortlist Universities and get the ultimate guide to Letters of Recommendation.

Common Mistakes to Avoid in SOP

• The length of the SoP does not determine its success. Even a 500 word well-written to the point SoP will be a better submission than a 3-page laborious essay. This is very true for undergraduate and graduate school SoPs.  ( PS- Some Ph.D. applications/ MS with Research programs may expect more content and accordingly, students who apply to such programs will have sufficient prior work that requires a lengthier SoP. ) 
• It is very important to ensure the SoP must not be a chronological retelling of the resume/CV . Repeating each and every point of the resume in the SoP would make it dull and repetitive. The SoP should display the main highlights of your profile and connect them to your readiness for undertaking a master’s/undergraduate program.
• Refined vocabulary will make the SoP standout. Such an essay would make an interesting and enlightening read. But at the same time, the essay must not be filled to its brim with every alternate word needing a doubletake and a thesaurus. Such an SoP would be tedious to read. 
• The SoP can include information on the applicant’s extracurricular interests and preferences. Extracurricular involvement can accentuate the applicant’s leadership, team working, communication adroitness. But the SoP must not delve extensively on that, thereby wasting a lot of ink on the same leaving little space for other vital information. 
• The student must not forget to customize the SoP to each university he/she might be targeting. A university-specific SoP will go the extra mile and include information on prospective coursework the applicant wishes to take at the university, including allied content on professors whose classes and research work the applicant is eager to be a part of.  

Key Notes for Drafting a Scholarship SOP

• An SoP targeting scholarships must start with a focus on the applicant’s previous academic achievements . Bring out the highlights of the student’s scholarly achievements in their undergraduate study and school. This includes information on awards/ recognition/ appreciation for distinguished academic performance and acing national/international level talent examinations. 
• A scholarship SoP will consider all the points in the scholarship program checklist and elucidate how the applicant fulfills the criteria. Many scholarships/fellowships will have a wide set of conditions not just academic, but also social/extracurricular thereby expecting a well-rounded experience from the candidates. 
• The scholarship SoP must emphasize the exceptional abilities in the student’s work and tie it to valid reasons for the applicant’s suitability for the said grant. A scholarship will attract quite a number of applications, hence to compete the scholarship SoP must bring out the positives and holistic aptness of the student.
• Moreover, the scholarships SoP must stress the applicant’s prior research work or industry exposure in the said subject-matter. This will show the student’s proclivity to the domain and why such a scholarship will benefit him. The specialized academic interest of the applicant will depict to the scholarship committee the student’s prospects in the said industry. 
• Most importantly, the future career objectives the student hopes to achieve with the help of the scholarship should be highlighted. Any SoP will talk about the future plans of the candidate. But the scholarships SoP should spotlight how receiving the scholarship will make a remarkable difference in empowering this deserving applicant to accomplish his goals and make a difference in his field, thereby contributing to the greater good. 

Galvanize Your SoP : How we formulate the SoPs at Galvanize

Through a well-researched and thoroughly-formulated questionnaire, student’s will be expected to put in their inputs.

• Sop full form : Statement of purpose
• Statement of purpose is an admission essay written to showcase your qualities convincing the admission committee why you deserve to get admissions
• Length of SOP : Typically 1.5 pages
• Content of SOP : Talk about your story, narrative, the difficult life choices, your future plans, explain bad GPAs if any, why you chose this university and program specifically
• SOP let’s you stand out of the crowd. 
• SOP for PHD : Talk about the research, research group, the thesis, and the situations where you displayed analytical, communication n leadership skills
• Start writing the SOP well in advance with 2-3 drafts and with additional edits! 
• Avoid being sentimental in writing your SOPs
• Don’t drop technical terms unnecessarily
• Introduction para : Introduce yourself, Talk about high school n UG work and how they prepared you : State specialization you want. 
• Middle para : specialization, courses and other projects : How all these evolved you and how you’d like to continue that work
• Work experience/Internship para : Be specific and clear about the roles you played there and how it prepared you for the course. 
• Final para : Reason behind choosing university n program specifically and what are your plans after graduation 
• SOP for UG : Talk about childhood, interests and hobbies
• SOP for PG : concentrate on passion, interests and goals

Frequently Asked Questions:

What is the typical length of an sop.

Statement of purpose typically is around 1.5 pages

Do I need to sign my statement of purpose (SOP)?

No, you need not sign your statement of purpose since it’s an online essay and doesn’t require any sort of signatures

How important is Statement of Purpose (SOP)?

Statement of purpose is one of the most important step of your admission process as they get to dig into your story, the whole narrative behind the applicant. A property crafted SOP can secure your admission in your dream college

now it's your turn

I'd like to hear from you.

Which strategy from today’s guide do you think will work best for you?

Are you going to work on your SoP right away?

Or maybe you’re ready to start introspecting.

Either way, leave a comment below right now.

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Research Project SOP Template

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Research projects require careful planning and execution to ensure accurate and reliable results. But with so many moving parts, it's easy to get overwhelmed. That's where ClickUp's Research Project SOP Template comes in handy!

This template is specifically designed to streamline your research process, allowing you to:

• Create a standardized operating procedure for your research project
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Whether you're conducting scientific experiments, analyzing data, or conducting market research, ClickUp's Research Project SOP Template will help you stay organized and achieve your research goals efficiently. Get started today and take your research projects to the next level!

Benefits of Research Project SOP Template

When it comes to research projects, having a standard operating procedure (SOP) template can be a game-changer. Here are some of the benefits of using the Research Project SOP Template:

• Streamline your research process by providing a step-by-step guide for each stage of the project
• Ensure consistency and accuracy in data collection, analysis, and reporting
• Improve collaboration and communication among team members by providing a centralized resource for project guidelines
• Save time and effort by eliminating the need to create SOPs from scratch for each new research project

Main Elements of Research Project SOP Template

ClickUp's Research Project SOP Template is designed to help you streamline and standardize your research project processes.

This Doc template contains all the necessary sections and guidelines for creating a comprehensive Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for your research projects. It also includes ClickUp features such as:

• Custom Statuses: Customize the statuses to reflect the different stages of your research project, such as Planning, Data Collection, Analysis, and Reporting.
• Custom Fields: Add custom fields to categorize and track important information related to your research projects, such as Research Methodology, Sample Size, and Key Findings.
• Custom Views: Utilize different views like List, Board, or Calendar to visualize and manage your research project tasks and timelines.
• Project Management: Enhance your research project management with features like Dependencies, Tags, Priorities, and Multiple Assignees to ensure smooth collaboration and efficient execution.

How to Use SOP for Research Project

If you're embarking on a research project, using a standard operating procedure (SOP) template can help you stay organized and streamline your workflow. Follow these five steps to effectively use the Research Project SOP Template in ClickUp:

1. Define your research objectives

Before you begin your project, clearly define your research objectives. What do you hope to achieve or discover through your research? By setting specific goals, you'll be able to structure your SOP and guide your research process more effectively.

Use Goals in ClickUp to set clear objectives for your research project.

2. Outline your research methodology

Next, outline your research methodology in your SOP. This should include the specific steps and procedures you'll follow to collect data, analyze findings, and draw conclusions. Be as detailed as possible to ensure consistency and accuracy throughout your research.

Utilize the Board view in ClickUp to create cards for each step of your research methodology.

3. Assign roles and responsibilities

Determine the roles and responsibilities of each team member involved in the research project. Who will be responsible for data collection? Who will analyze the data? Assigning clear roles will help ensure that everyone knows their responsibilities and can collaborate effectively.

Use Automations in ClickUp to assign tasks and notify team members of their roles and responsibilities.

4. Create a timeline

To keep your research project on track, create a timeline that outlines key milestones and deadlines. Break down your project into smaller, manageable tasks and assign realistic timeframes for each. This will help you stay organized and ensure that you're making progress towards your research objectives.

Visualize your timeline using the Gantt chart in ClickUp to easily track and manage your project's progress.

5. Document and communicate your findings

Once your research is complete, document and communicate your findings in a clear and concise manner. Use the SOP template to create a final report that includes your research methodology, data analysis, and conclusions. This will ensure that your research is easily accessible and can be shared with stakeholders or team members.

Store and share your research findings using the Docs feature in ClickUp for easy access and collaboration.

By following these five steps and utilizing the Research Project SOP Template in ClickUp, you'll be able to conduct your research project efficiently and effectively. Happy researching!

Get Started with ClickUp's Research Project SOP Template

Research teams can use this Research Project SOP Template to streamline their processes and ensure consistency in their work.

First, hit “Add Template” to sign up for ClickUp and add the template to your Workspace. Make sure you designate which Space or location in your Workspace you’d like this template applied.

Next, invite relevant members or guests to your Workspace to start collaborating.

Now you can take advantage of the full potential of this template to manage your research project:

• Create Docs to outline the standard operating procedures for each phase of the research project
• Assign tasks to team members and set due dates for each step of the process
• Utilize Checklists to ensure all necessary steps are completed within each phase
• Attach relevant documents and resources to each task for easy reference
• Use the Gantt chart view to visualize the project timeline and dependencies
• Set up recurring tasks for regular project updates and progress reports
• Collaborate using Comments for seamless communication and feedback
• Monitor and analyze tasks using the Table view to track progress and identify bottlenecks
• Create Dashboards to gain a comprehensive overview of the project status and key metrics
• Utilize the Calendar view to schedule important milestones and deadlines
• Take advantage of Automations to automate repetitive tasks and save time
• Integrate with other tools and platforms to streamline data collection and analysis
• Use the Workload view to ensure a balanced distribution of tasks among team members

With this Research Project SOP Template, your team can conduct research projects efficiently and effectively, ensuring high-quality results.

Related Templates

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How to Write Standard Operating Procedures: Experts Provide Tips and Free Templates

By Kate Eby | July 17, 2019 (updated February 1, 2024)

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This article presents step-by-step instructions and expert tips on how to write standard operating procedures (SOPs). We provide free, easy-to-use Word and PowerPoint SOP templates, along with a checklist to prepare for and write SOPs.

Included on this page, you will find steps on how to write a standard operating procedure , detailed SOP templates , information on SOP formats , and and many more tips and best practices.

What Is a Standard Operating Procedure?

A standard operating procedure , or SOP, is a step-by-step set of instructions to guide team members to perform tasks in a consistent manner. SOPs are particularly important for complex tasks that must conform to regulatory standards. SOPs are also critical to ensuring efficient effort with little variation and high quality in output. 

Giles Johnston is a Chartered Engineer who consults with businesses to improve their operational processes and is the author of Effective SOPs . He defines SOPs as “the best agreed way of documenting the carrying out of a task.” 

To Charles Cox, a Principal at Firefly Consulting , a boutique consulting firm that specializes in innovation and operational excellence, and a featured contributor to the book Innovating Lean Six Sigma , “SOPs are fundamental to a company’s success.”

SOPs describe how employees can complete processes in the exact same way every time so that organizational functions and outputs remain consistent, accurate, and safe. “SOPs don’t exist in a vacuum. They come from somewhere, and it’s essential that their place in the system be identified. To a large extent, SOPs are the foundation of a company’s operations: If you have no SOPs or inadequate SOPs, your company’s processes are impaired; impaired processes lead to the inadequate execution of policies and so on,” says Cox.

In any organization, all departments — from production to business operations to marketing to sales to legal to customer service — should have SOPs. Defined procedures apply in almost all fields, including agriculture, manufacturing, insurance, finance, and more. 

SOPs may be required by regulatory agencies like the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Department of Transport (DOT), and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), as well as government legislation like the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX). Standard operating procedures often fulfill voluntary best practices of standards like OSHA Voluntary Protection Programs (VPP), Information Technology Infrastructure Library ( ITIL ), Six Sigma , International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), GAAP (Generally Accepted Accounting Practices), and ISO 9001 .

Why Do We Need Standard Operating Procedures?

Standard operating procedures, including procedures, workflows, and work instructions, enable good communication and promote consistency in processes and output. SOPs help team members work toward common goals. Managers, team members, and consultants can come together to build processes and document those processes. SOPs, in conjunction with regular training and feedback, guide teams to success. 

SOPs are important in clinical research and practice, such as in pharmaceutical processing. In these and other areas, SOPs bolster processes that require triage, segregation of origins, or tracking of cause and effects. In clinical settings, well-prepared SOPs can save an organization from FDA warnings and Form 483 sanctions. The international quality standard ISO 9001 requires companies to document manufacturing processes that can affect the quality of output. 

Standard Operating Procedures Remind You and Protect You

Cox explains, “Training requires consistency. We should not be training new employees based on our own idiosyncrasies.” According to Cox, machine-focused enterprises have less variation than human-focused tasks, such as in the insurance or banking industry, where processes center on manual effort, customer service, and human interaction. SOPs can help companies create consistency within procedures. 

Furthermore, SOPs provide reminders for people. “When people do things infrequently, they do not recall or do them well,” Cox explains. “For tasks you perform on a daily basis, you may not need a detailed SOP. But the things that are tricky and that you do infrequently may require work instructions. For things that you do infrequently, you may have to retrain every six months or so. When deciding what to add to an SOP, think about how often you do something, how difficult is it, how critical is it, and whether skipping this step leaves you open to problems,” says Cox.

Johnston thinks many people don’t understand the value of SOPs: “I think a lot of people see an SOP as simply a box that you check off to say that you’ve documented a process. They don’t understand that SOPs can be used to audit the process, to look at standards as training tools that ensure recruits are working in the correct way, or even just to guarantee uniformity in the way they conduct business.” 

Johnston continues, “People don’t compute that you write these things and actually use them in your business. People think an SOP is something you write and store on a shelf. Then they act surprised when they make mistakes.”

As an example, Johnston describes a client that he helped with instituting an in-person customer feedback process. “My client’s name is above the door of his company,” explains Johnston. “One time, I accompanied my client on a visit to his client. And it was really awkward. The woman giving feedback was embarrassed. She had red ears, a red throat. But she did a great job of giving feedback,” he says. 

Afterward, as Johnston and his client consoled themselves, Johnston fetched the company SOPs and showed his client that every learning point from the meeting had already been documented in their quality management system. “I said, ‘When are you guys going to use this document? And live and breathe it?’ My client thought and said, ‘It’s really straightforward, isn’t it?’ I said, ‘Yeah, because you wrote this thing five years ago.’”

How Do You Write a Standard Operating Procedure?

Your task may be to update existing SOPs or to write new documents from scratch. In either case, creating SOPs involves more than just sitting down to write instructions. To write a useful SOP, it helps to have at least a basic understanding of the topic. However, you will also want to get input from others on the processes and on your written drafts. Here’s a step-by-step method to develop standard operating procedures.

• Make a list of business processes that need documentation . If you are a manager, you may consider with your employees what processes need documentation, then compare lists with other managers to prioritize work.
• Choose an SOP format and template . Chuck Cox emphasizes that the needs of the organization must inform the format and there’s no one formatting solution for all enterprises. Consider whether you require a formal package with metadata, such as approval signatures and references, or whether a simple checklist will suffice. A workflow diagram may be an excellent way to provide an overview of detailed processes. You may also find workflow sketches helpful while you capture the information. If necessary, create a template before writing begins or download one of our free, customizable standard operating procedures templates .
• Understand why you need an SOP . Are you documenting a new process or updating and improving upon an existing SOP and process? Whether you’re creating new SOPs or updating existing documents, Cox suggests that you need to confront both de facto and formal SOPs. De facto processes and documentation include what people have always done, along with what they have never analyzed and formally documented. “Whether management likes it or not, there’s a bunch of de facto SOPs floating around, and the insidious thing is that these docs aren’t organized. Someone could be working based on one SOP during the day shift and another during the night shift. If you formalize and get everyone to agree on the best way to do the job, you cut down on sources of variability in ways of doing things,” Cox explains. He says that often teams have never discussed their processes and metrics of output: “Surface and standardize those SOPs according to a format that everyone is amenable to. Make this a team job — you can’t force process on people.”
• Assemble a brain trust to participate in creating documents . Although you may be tasked to write SOPs, you likely won’t have detailed knowledge and experience with every process. Instead, consult the people who perform the processes every day. Documentation that you can use as foundation material may already exist, but SMEs and frontline employees are usually your best sources of content. When you include employees, you also empower them by helping them contribute to the processes and documentation used by the entire organization. In addition, as a manager, think twice about tasking external consultants with writing SOPs. Some pundits suggest that SOPs written in-house by colleagues garner more respect than instructions written by outsiders. Plus, working to create documentation can foster the team spirit that is vital for any endeavor. 
• Consider how you will publish and share your SOPs . Documenting your processes is always advisable, but documents help no one if they are hidden or lost. Determine how you will store the documents for easy access by the people who need them every day. Printed sheets in binders may be a good option, or you can choose a digital document management system that everyone can easily access and read, whether onsite or offsite.
• Limit the scope of your documentation . Decide for whom or what you are creating documentation (i.e., tasks, departments, teams, or roles). In addition, determine the limits of the processes you will document. 
• Determine your audience and characteristics . Consider the background of your SOP users. A short procedure may work for those who know the process well; others may need detailed work instructions. Also take into account your audience's language abilities — employees with limited English skills may be better served with graphics and photographs. 
• Use your template as an outline . Whatever template you choose, think of it as an outline; as you research procedures, you can add details without worrying about the structure of your document. For ideas, see the format and template sections in this article. 
• Test your SOPs against the processes . Ask people who perform the tasks daily, those with different levels of knowledge, and those with no knowledge of the tasks to follow your procedures while performing those tasks. The amount of testing you conduct depends on the time and employees you can spare, as well as on the criticality of the process. Ensure that your documents make sense. “I’ve written numerous things in the past as a younger engineer, and I’ve gone back to my instructions and even I can’t follow them!” laughs Johnston.
• Define measures for the success of your SOPs . To understand whether your SOPs serve their purpose, define metrics for them. As Cox says, “If you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it.” Build metrics into the procedures. For example, as an instruction, “Heat water” is vague. But when you say, “Heat water until thermometer reads 150 degrees,” the instruction is measurable.
• Get the opinion of a seasoned outside r. If you have the option, ask an outsider with knowledge of your business and processes to review your SOPs. Large organizations, especially those that operate under regulatory or other standards, may require official approval and signoff for SOPs. Document reviews may include the quality assurance team and senior staff. 
• Plan for updates and an annual document review . Some standards, such as ISO 9001, require regular internal audits. Even if you don’t follow formal standards, now is the time to establish a review and update your schedule for processes and documentation to ensure that your SOPs adhere to the latest regulatory and internal practice regimens. Organizations should review documents at least once a year. Determine now who has oversight responsibilities for the SOPs. 
• Assess the risks in the processes . With your formal SOPs in place, look at what could go wrong. “Look at where you are at risk. Which processes have the greatest chance of producing defects? Which production process for an item or service is most likely to injure the end customer and involve the organization in a lawsuit? Work on minimizing those risks. Next, work on the ones that will have a financial impact,” says Cox. “Now, with your formalized processes, you may see risks you couldn’t conceive of,” he adds. 
• Finalize and implement the SOPs . To keep track of changes and the location of your documents, decide on a document control process. A version control program can help with tracking document revisions and archiving old versions. Before you share the new or updated SOPs, reflect on your purpose for creating the documents: If you are attempting to standardize behavior or if process updates will result from improvements or regulatory changes, employees probably need training to reinforce the new procedures.

What Is SOP Format?

SOP format refers to the way you structure your standard operating procedure documents. When selecting an SOP format, consider why you are creating the documents: Are they for regulatory compliance or strictly for internal use? There’s no right or wrong SOP format. Use what suits your documentation needs.

For greater ease as you research and write, create or find a template to work with. Your organization may already have SOP templates, or you can find templates online that match your purpose and industry. (To download free, customizable SOP template examples, see the link above to “Free Standard Operating Procedures Templates.”)

4 Structural Approaches to Writing an SOP

The length and format of an SOP depend on how much detail the document requires to clearly explain instructions and purpose. For example, packing instructions for workers in a book warehouse probably differ from those used by an FDA-compliant snack producer. It is crucial to clearly distinguish and label sections to help readers find what they need when they need it. After all, they may most want instructions when they are most agitated by a problem. There are four structural approaches to creating an SOP format:

Checklists:    

A simple checklist looks like a to-do list, with precise, numbered steps that you can check off as you finish them. You can print a task list, store it online, or publish it in any format that is repeatable, reusable, or otherwise serves the team. Checklists are particularly powerful when they include measurable results. A simple checklist is a quick way to capture a process without taking on the burden of creating a full manual, especially if you are experimenting with processes that are not yet entrenched. Checklists may be good for small teams and for procedures with few or no decision points. They are also powerful documents for those who are unfamiliar with processes or for processes that require precise adherence to instructions. When a process includes more decision points, a detailed hierarchical checklist works well. Hierarchical checklists record main processes and the details of subprocesses. For formal documents in which processes may be audited, consider adding distinct, high-level steps that explain the process. As necessary, break high-level steps into individuals tasks that include separate sections for notes on equipment or other information. This way, you can avoid adding information that may obfuscate the processes.  

Organization Chart: For complex procedures or the standard operating procedure manual, an organization chart can help users understand the hierarchy of responsibility for processes.

Process Flow Chart: Flow charts provide a visual overview of entire processes and show how different processes relate to one another. Flow charts also supply context for detailed steps in a procedure. Flow charts are well suited to processes with many decision points. More complex versions include swimlane diagrams, referred to as SIPOC (or COPIS) diagrams. Use these for suppliers, inputs, processes, outputs, and customers.  

Steps: Common formats for procedures include numbered simple sequential steps or hierarchical steps . Simple sequential steps are ordered, numbered step-by-step instructions for simple tasks that have a limited number of possible outcomes.

Hierarchical steps describe procedures that consist of more than 10 actions, including branches at decision points.  

Document Structure

Although documents can be either elaborate or simple, depending on your organization’s needs, most SOPs use at least some of the structural elements listed below:

• A short title or document ID number
• A revision number and date
• The page number, often in the format “# of #.” Page numbers usually appear in the upper-right corner. Some designs include page numbers and other meta information in the footer.
• Title Page: Frequently, the title page of an SOP includes not just identification information, but also approval signatures and version information. 
• Table of Contents: A table of contents helps readers find the sections of the document they need. For PDFs or online documents, hyperlinked tables of contents are essential for taking users directly to the desired information. 
• Purpose: Very briefly describe your goal in assembling the document. 
• Scope: Scope delineates who is responsible for the procedure or what activities the procedure describes. It can also be helpful to describe what is out of scope for the document. 
• Terminology, Glossary, Definitions: Define words, phrases, acronyms, abbreviations, and activities that could have ambiguous meanings or that might not be understood by the document’s audience.
• Calibration information
• Cautions to prevent equipment breakage
• Equipment and supplies lists
• Inspection and audit procedures, which are separate from the process SOP
• Methodology
• Records management
• Safety or health warnings
• Reference and Related Documents: This can include other SOPs. List full titles and document numbers, as applicable. 
• Roles and Responsibilities: Specify what roles are responsible for performing these activities. 
• Appendices: Include any supporting documentation that may not fit within the flow of the procedures. You may add workflow diagrams here. 
• Revision History: This often appears in a dedicated block on the cover or on one of the first few pages of the document.
• Approval Signatures: Your organization may require an authorizing officer to sign off on SOPs. This signature block often appears on the cover or on one of the first few pages of the document. For more details on signature blocks, see the link above to “Free Standard Operating Procedures Templates.”

Standard Operating Procedure Templates

With templates, it’s easier to write SOPs because you can concentrate on content without worrying about formatting. The following free, downloadable templates are also customizable for your organization’s needs.

Pictorial Standard Operating Procedure Template

This PowerPoint work instruction template from Giles Johnston emphasizes the use of pictures and short bullet points for instructions. The template includes spaces for two images and a short paragraph or a few bullets for each slide in the deck. You’ll also find additional spaces for author name, date, slide number, and slide title.

Download Pictorial Standard Operating Procedure Template

PDF | PowerPoint

Simple Standard Operating Procedure Template

Johnston also offers this basic work instruction template. In addition to the meta information, such as author, SOP title, date, SOP number, and issue, this template provides a small space to describe the context of the procedure and a large space to fill with steps. As Johnston says of both templates, “They look pretty basic — until they’re populated!”

Download Simple Standard Operating Procedure Template

Document Control Standard Operating Procedure Template

When collecting work-related documents, you likely have to standardize a system for formatting, naming, storing, and archiving. This document control SOP template helps you decide what documents to control, as well as how to format, name, number, store, and archive them. This template includes space for discussing who is responsible for document control and for updating the document control SOP.

Download Document Control Standard Operating Procedure Template

Word | PDF | Smartsheet

Long Standard Operating Procedure Template

This template for a long SOP includes what many people think of as the SOP itself. In addition to identifying the SOP and describing its purpose, this template provides space to list reference documents, necessary supplies and equipment, troubleshooting information, quality control details, and an SOP distribution list. 

Download Long Standard Operating Procedure Template

How to Write Standard Operating Procedures

Charles Cox sums up the SOP writing process this way: “Take the de facto SOPs, come up with a standard, and write everything the exact same way every time. That way, people can get trained and refer to the documents with consistent expectations. Reduce text and increase pictures and graphic; add videos, if necessary. Whatever it takes to move from the world of de facto SOPs or de facto work instructions, do it.” 

Giles Johnston sees the need for visual support from another perspective: “A lot of people don’t enjoy writing these.” College graduates may feel more comfortable with writing duties, but most of the workforce does not have the same educational background. 

“Not everyone has the ability to translate activities into the written word. If people could get away from worrying about the style of writing and incorporate a few more images, rather than adding endless sentences, we’d probably get a lot more SOPs, written a lot more quickly,” Johnston emphasizes. 

Your focus should be on conveying as much information as possible in a small space; the PowerPoint slides and bullet points from the pictorial standard operating procedure template above are a good example of this kind of economical communication. “Short can be effective,” says Johnston.

And make sure that you include all necessary details. “That’s one of the things I see time and time again; people don’t include all the steps,” laments Johnston. “They rush it out, and no one can follow it.” He advises writers to prepare for the “nitty gritty” of step-by-step instructions.

Johnston continues, “I joke with my clients that you have step one, then some magic happens, and you have step two. In reality, there may be 15 steps across a process that you need to capture. People glibly move past them, so it’s crucial to understand all the steps in a process. 

“Before step one, maybe there’s a whole loading operation, and before that, maybe there’s a calibration and a maintenance check. You need to capture all that,” Johnston says. 

What else should you know to write SOPs with confidence? Here are some important elements to keep in mind: 

• Who does what?
• How do they do it? What steps do they follow? What tools do they use? How often do they perform the steps? 
• What is the result? 
• An Example of a Poorly Written Step: Be sure that you use your hand trowel to create a furrow in the soil before you start planting pea seeds.
• An Improvement on the Step Above: Create a furrow before planting pea seeds.
• Use Goal-Oriented Language for Procedures: For example, “Plant beets and onions” is vague, but “Plant 50 beet and 75 onion seeds” provides a measurable goal.
• Designing Procedures: Some pundits say that anything you do three or more times requires a procedure, yet only certain processes need procedures. If the process is simple, routine, and well-known, don’t create a procedure. If the process is a complex one that you perform twice a year, you need a procedure. One caveat is to avoid creating a procedure if you know the process will soon change. SOPs need enough detail (and no more) to ensure consistent performance.
• Graphics and Charts: Good pictures can convey 1,000 words, communicating information in a glance that might take a paragraph to describe. In addition, flow charts, graphs, photos, drawings, and even video can break up long blocks of text. Work instructions may consist mainly of graphics. However, remember to balance visuals with the need to describe methodologies, required tools, and health and safety warnings. Images alone may not be enough. 
• May, Must, Should: “May” implies that one has permission to do something. "Must" means that one is required to do something. "Should" means that an act is conditional.
• Pan and Scan: Make documents scannable. Use lists and bullets. Break up long chunks of text with graphics, charts, or pictures that contribute to the user’s understanding of the process. 
• Publishing and Storing SOPs: Whether you publish your SOPs in print or online, be sure that they are accessible by managers and employees wherever they work; in this day and age, that includes remote workers and those in the field. People will adhere to processes when documents are easy to find and read. 
• Use Correct Notation: Large companies or departments that work with other large enterprises frequently use a common language for documenting workflows. For further information on this topic, see this article on business process modeling and notation (BPMN) . Companies often adapt this notation system to their own needs, but if you’re a small shop, BPMN may be more horsepower than you require. 
• Write from a User's Perspective: Consider the user’s training and experience level and whether they are native or non-native speakers. Your approach to writing and formatting a document that complies with regulatory requirements likely differs from your plan for a document used by employees on a packaging line.

The Trouble with Classic Standard Operating Procedures

Sometimes, employees avoid SOPs because the documents contain difficult jargon and uninspiring layouts. Thick manuals full of obscure terminology were once staples of engineering and manufacturing environments. Although formal layouts may be necessary for certain standards, such as the FDA, that doesn’t mean procedures and work instructions can’t feature simple language and user-friendly design.

How Do You Write a Procedure?

After you understand the larger process and workflow, it’s time to document the individual procedures. Whether you are an enthusiastic or reluctant procedure writer, do not underestimate the amount of time you need to document procedures. Follow these steps for clear and effective writing:

• Write concise, clear, step-by-step instructions, with details in the order they occur. 
• 1. Take kettle to tap. 
• 2. Add water. 
• 3. Set kettle switch to On .
• Use as many words as you need (but no more) to clearly describe steps.
• Where possible, avoid jargon and long or technical words.
• Write in the third person.
• Use active voice — for example, use “Empty the beaker” rather than “The beaker should be emptied.” Also, consider starting each step with an action verb.
• Clearly articulate decision points.
• Create SOPs in the language, style, and format best suited to your organization.

How to Develop Standard Operating Procedure Manuals, aka Quality Manuals

A standard operating procedure manual , known in ISO 9001 as the quality manual in a quality management system, provides a method for collecting your organization’s many procedures in one place. A manual can be as simple as a collection of Microsoft Word documents that you organize into a master document or a traditional binder with pages. “The operations manual provides a handbook for how the business operates day to day,” explains Johnston. 

For Charles Cox, “In a very real sense, the information contained in the operating company’s documents impacts the ability of the personnel to meet and exceed expectations. If the documents are not well executed, the information will be difficult to access or understand. Then people will start making up their own approaches, which leads to needless increases in variability and a decline in quality.” Some fields, such as ITIL, have special names for their SOP manual. In ITIL, they refer to the SOP manual as a run book . 

Cox says that an SOP manual can stand on its own, but is usually included in a quality manual, together with policies, processes, procedures, and work Instructions. “How a company splits up these four elements is at the discretion of management,” he explains. “Sometimes, only a few policies that directly impact operations are included in the quality manual, and the remaining policies or all policies go into a policy manual that only upper-middle and senior leadership can access,” he adds.

Alternatively, the quality manual may include only SOPs, inspection procedures, and work instructions. “There are many ways of arranging the documents; the arrangement must fit the requirements of the people who need access to the information. You need a clear understanding of the operating environment before designing the documents system,” Cox emphasizes.

Johnston describes what one of his clients created for their franchises:

• The client mapped out how the system worked as a whole and documented that process in the manual.
• The manual triggered the processes, which were high-level descriptions of what should happen.
• The processes triggered the SOPs. 
• The skills matrices referred back to the SOPs for training. 

An operations or SOP manual can work well as a repository for procedures, but you must be sure to link everything therein. Johnston cautions against orphans (i.e., pages and procedures that lack linkage to the rest of the document system). Users can stumble across content by accident. “Good linkage is like having a compass. Anywhere you’re dropped, you can find your way back,” he says. 

Johnston warns, however, “If it’s hard to find a procedure and you’re busy, you don’t look for it; you just carry on as normal and run the risk of working in an incorrect manner.”

The Hierarchy of Standard Operating Procedure Documents

Procedures form a part of a management system by defining established or prescribed methods and processes. We build procedures from steps, which are the aspect of processes where individuals can introduce variation. SOPs provide the overall framework, while work instructions can change more often. "Procedures provide a description of who does what and when. An SOP characterizes relationships and control measures," says Johnston. Documentation is never a substitute for training. 

The following is a hierarchy of SOP documents: 

• Procedures: Procedures in SOPs describe processes. You update processes and procedures less easily and, therefore, less frequently than other documents. In the construction industry in many parts of the world, a work method statement appears as a procedure that describes the safest way to perform a task or use equipment. A safe work procedure details processes where a severe problem may occur if users do not follow strict procedures. 
• Work Instructions and Checklists: Work instructions and checklists are the detailed how-to documents for new employees or infrequently performed or critical procedures. In addition to word descriptions, pictures of the state of controls (such as switches, screens, and dials) convey information quickly. When writing work instructions and checklists, be sure to include labels and annotations that explain pictures.
• Process Maps: You can first render complicated procedures in a process map. If your SOPs are numbered or labeled, you can refer to the appropriate SOP in the map. For example, if a piece of equipment requires a calibration procedure, you can refer to the procedure in your map, together with any related SOPs. A map may work instead of or in tandem with a large manual that includes all SOPs. Online documentation makes it easy to link maps and diverse documents.
• Skills Matrix: A skills matrix is a grid or table that clearly and visibly illustrates the abilities and competencies held by individuals within a team. Alternatively, a skills matrix can correlate skills and competencies with the SOPs that describe how to complete that process or task. The primary aim is to help in the understanding, development, deployment, and tracking of people and their skills. 

According to Cox, the human resource department stores various skills matrices, but for optimum efficiency, managers on the shop floor should keep this information. That way, when technical questions arise, the manager will know who is the in-house expert. In addition, if a team member calls in sick or goes on holiday, the manager will be able to identify capable individuals to perform specific tasks. 

“One of the things I find fascinating is that we bring people into a company, sort of train them, and then hope for the best,” laments Giles Johnston. “If we’ve written SOPs, then it makes sense to have skills matrices that refer directly to those SOPs. That way, when someone starts, they can learn the correct way to do things and be judged against that standard; they can know who to ask questions, and we can have effective members of staff that we can track,” he recommends.

What Is the Purpose of Standard Operating Procedures?

SOPs describe your unique business processes and the steps you require to finish those processes in accordance with industry, legal, in-house, and competitive standards. Procedures are step-by-step descriptions, whether predominantly text or graphics.

Standard operating procedures should form the basis of regular training and provide a structure of metrics for performance reviews. SOPs also help you achieve the following: 

• Adding value to businesses when they are sold
• Boosting efficiencies and profitability
• Building employee confidence in the safety, efficiency, and regulatory conformity of processes
• Creating a healthy and safe work environment
• Enforcing best practices
• Enforcing schedules, thus saving time and money
• Ensuring regulatory and standards compliance
• Holding employees accountable
• Improving communication (with SOPs, everyone is on the same page)
• Making processes repeatable and ensuring that everyone completes processes in the same way
• Making processes scalable
• Onboarding employees
• Preventing adverse effects on the natural environment
• Preventing process failures
• Protecting employers from potential liability for financial and personnel difficulties
• Providing consistency of process and output for customers and stakeholders
• Providing controls and improvements for known risks that may lead to health and safety problems or nonconformities 
• Putting the focus on problem-solving during internal and external disagreements
• Reducing errors and corrective actions
• Unifying a company’s vision and goals

Despite potentially providing rich sources of information, SOPs are often consigned to shelves or hidden in the labyrinth of a file share system. Giles Johnston encourages people to build references to SOPs into business activities: “Learn to tie SOPs to your meetings, not necessarily to training. Usually, some element of an SOP pertains to your meeting and should be reflected particularly in your process meetings to guide people’s thinking. Instead of the SOP being separate from and adjacent to what you’re doing, it’s actually synonymous with what you’re doing.” 

Johnston describes a company that included an SOP show-and-tell in its meetings. Senior managers were each given a separate SOP and four minutes to present a precis on how the SOP applied to the meeting. “It was fascinating what people brought back to the table, what they either hadn’t realized or had forgotten,” says Johnston.

He also gives an example of a company in which it previously took a new hire three months to become fully effective at their job. After the company updated its SOPs with enough imagery and clearer articulation and added a skills matrix, new employees became effective in about four hours.

What Is a Procedure Example?

A procedure lists the necessary steps to complete a task, particularly those in a process or cycle. You usually assign sequential numbers to the steps in a procedure (which may also contain substeps). In general, instructional procedures should contain no more than seven steps. Below, we use the example of a procedure for washing dishes in an industrial dishwasher:

• Place a dish rack between the dishwasher and the sink.
• Rinse the dirty dishes and cutlery to remove all traces of food. Scrub resistant particles with the steel wool located in the upper-right corner of the sink. 
• Arrange the dishes in the dish rack. Place bowls and cups face down.
• When one dish rack is full, heat the dishwasher water. Press Start and Fill simultaneously. When the water starts running, remove your finger from the Start button, but continue to press Fill until the thermometer needle sits in the middle of the yellow zone. 
• Add the dish rack to the dishwasher and close both doors. 
• Press Start . If the dishwasher makes a grating noise, press Fill to add more water. The dishwasher stops automatically when done. Use caution when opening the doors, as steam may escape and dishes may be hot.

What Is an SOP in Business?

SOPs detail procedures that you use in your organization to perform activities according to industry and statutory standards, as well as your internal specifications. Procedures include any documents that describe how to perform an action, whether in words or pictures, in print or online.

Why Do We Have Standard Operating Procedures?

SOPs are an important part of a quality management system. Standard operating procedures describe the recurring tasks in a quality operation. Written SOPs reduce errors by detailing the required manner for performing a task. When you update processes and training plans, you should also update the SOPs. When you follow this method, SOPs become a means for notifying employees of process changes. SOPs may be essential for processes that are critical to quality (CTQ).

Storing and Disseminating Standard Operating Procedures and Tools to Help

You need not only to format your SOPs, but also to store them, so everyone can easily access them. Software can help. Business process management software, for example, allows you to store procedures online and track usage from one view. The following are some of the different products you can use to create, review, update, and publish your documents:

• Process Street
• SweetProcess

Historical Grounds for Standard Operating Procedures

Standardization and SOPs are the outcomes of industrialization, specifically the effort to prevent major accidents. The 1856 train disaster in Pennsylvania occurred when railway engineers in two trains approaching an intersection acted on conflicting interpretations of the rules of the road. The public remonstrations led to the standardization of procedures and what we now know as SOPs. The dramatic example set by the accident showed that unconsidered processes and informal communication cause problems. The example also illustrated how step-by-step procedures clarify processes.

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SOP (Statement of Purpose): Format, Samples, and Tips

• Updated on  
• Feb 17, 2024

To aesthetically present a movie on the screen, great actors are the requisites. Similar is the case when one is carving their own career path. From choosing the right course to getting into your dream university, you need to take each step carefully. As a crucial part of the eligibility criteria, the universities often demand LOR s, SOPs or entrance test scores to assess the candidates and their suitability for the chosen course. A Statement of Purpose (SOP) is one such element that beholds great value in the admission process of those aspiring to study abroad. Creating an alluring SOP is essential to help the assessment committee understand your willingness for the program you have applied for. This blog aims to provide a comprehensive step-by-step guide on drafting a statement of purpose that can help you sail smoothly through the assessment process and get entry into your dream academic institution.

This Blog Includes:

What is a statement of purpose (sop), why is sop important, sop format, 2. formulate, 3. revise and modify, what do colleges look for in an sop, how to write a perfect statement of purpose (sop / admissions essay), introduction, academic background and professional experience, career goals, why this course, why this university, how long should an sop be, what to include in an sop, what not to include in an sop, 10 tips to write a successful statement of purpose, sop sample for business analytics, sample statement of purpose for mba , sample statement of purpose for masters, sop formats for usa, canada, uk, and australia, top 5 mistakes to avoid while writing an sop, how can you reduce your chances of rejection from your chosen university, can sops help with scholarships, sop vs letter of motivation, sop vs personal statement.

A Statement of Purpose can be referred to as an informative document, containing personal statements, and is essentially required as part of the admission procedure of study abroad programs. Also referred to as an application essay, it comprises the basic details of a candidate along with their professional and personal interests, academic highlights as well as future aspirations. An SOP plays an integral role in the application process of a study abroad program as it provides the admission board with the key information about the candidate and why they want to study a particular course at their institution. It not only describes who you are as an individual but also gives an idea about your writing skills and proficiency in the English language.   

A well-written SOP is an extremely significant element during your admission process. While the academic record and other exam scorecards, academic transcripts and backlog certificates are essentially objective in nature, an SOP is the only truly subjective aspect of your application. It is the only document in your application that allows you to prove that you have something unique which makes you stand out from the crowd. As such, it is the document of your application docket that can hugely determine your admission.

Also Read: Statement of Purpose vs Personal Statement

As such, there is no particular or proper format for writing a statement of purpose or an SOP. Students have to write an SOP just like an elaborative and descriptive English essay dividing the whole context into different paragraphs. Each paragraph must be having distinctive features describing different scenarios, features or characteristics about yourself. You can take the help of the below-provided structure and get started with writing an SOP for the university you want to study in. 

How to Write a Statement of Purpose?

As a pivotal document for any study abroad application, an SOP needs to be precisely well-written. To help you understand the different elements of this document, we have curated a step-by-step procedure that you can follow to curate an impressive statement of purpose.

The first step of the process of drafting a statement of purpose is to think about the varied aspects of your candidature that you should mention in it. The mandatory inclusions of an SOP are academic achievements (especially at the undergraduate level), prior work exposure or volunteering experiences. Start with framing an outline for the document and ask yourself the following questions:

• Which field of study excites me the most?
• Why do I want to pursue this degree?
• What are my expectations from this degree?
• What outgrowth can this degree offer me?
• Where can this degree take me, personally and professionally? 
• Through my pre-requisites, what values can I add to this program?

Once you have made key pointers for most of the questions mentioned above, you can begin jotting them down in a thorough and comprehensive manner.

Now that you know what you want to mention in your SOP, it’s time to curate a rough outline for the document. Here is a list of some essential tips you need to keep in mind while formulating your statement of purpose:

• Since the admission committee strives to understand your candidature through the SOP, you need to be honest in describing your career aspirations and objectives. Focus centrally on maintaining the authenticity of your mentioned details. Duly elaborate on your advantageous perception of the chosen course.
• Creatively cite your personal and professional interests. Mention what you are passionate about and what excites you. Then, sensibly connect it with your chosen program and how it will assist you in grooming your skills. For instance, you can state that you are aspiring to gain experiential learning or training in your desired industry through the course.
• What brought you here should be a sure-shot mention in your SOP. You can begin with stating those features of your chosen course that convinced you to opt for it. Then, write down the objectives you want to fulfil by studying the program. It can be personal growth or professional upliftment or even both. Try to be unique and precise when listing your reasons. 

Once you have jotted down your SOP as per the above-mentioned necessary tips, the final and concluding step is to revise and make changes accordingly. Go through the list that you created in the beginning and ensure that you have added all of them.

• The word limit for a statement of purpose is between 500-1000. 
• Do not miss out the predefined sizes for spacing, margins and font size.
• Try getting a second opinion but getting your SOP read from a friend or an experienced professional.

Many foreign and even national universities ask for a Statement of Purpose (SOP) from candidates wanting to enrol in suitable courses that the university has to offer. They ask for the SOP from candidates in order to check and look at the following things:

• The writing capabilities of the writer or the candidate 
• The X factor that makes their writing stand out from the crowd
• Choice of thoughts and ideas that has been explained in the SOP
• The unique personality of the candidate 
• Candidate’s talent, previous experiences, interests and potential
• How and what can the candidate contribute to the department of the college/university
• Candidate’s motivation or inspiration to study a selected course must be evident and justified
• The reason behind to choose a particular university/college and a particular course of study
• Academic and extracurricular achievements and recognitions (if any)
• Originality and clarity of the SOP as a whole. 

To know more, read our blog on – How to Write an SOP?

Check out the video on the same below!

How to Write a Powerful and Convincing SOP?

Whether applying for undergraduate, graduate, or post-graduate programmes, the strategy of writing a powerful statement of purpose should be sound focused throughout. Starting from your academic and professional background to your career aspirations, you need to carefully connect all the dots between reaching your goals through your choice of school and course. The essay should always go in a flow covering your past experience, present involvements, and future plans. An important point to remember while writing your SOP would be to divide it into paragraphs that cover all the pointers. Here is a look at how you may write the SOP presenting your profile strongly:

This paragraph is often confused with self-introduction. It should not introduce you but should discuss what you are about to discuss in your SOP. There are multiple approaches you may adopt to go about this paragraph:

• Discuss your long-term goal and connect it with your idea of pursuing the course you are applying to
• Present your understanding of the chosen field and write how you want to contribute to that field
• Explain your background in 2-3 lines and connect it with your future goals
• Write about an anecdote that helped you realise your professional interest in the chosen field

This comprises of your academic background: what you have done so far, what you are currently pursuing, your academic strengths and projects, and the industrial exposure you have attained.

This is the most important paragraph, where you should discuss your short and long-term goals. Your immediate goal would be where you would want to work right after completing this course. You should be able to name some companies within India along with the designation you see yourself working at. This should explain the kind of job profile you would be working on.

Then comes your long-term goal, wherein you should mention where you see yourself from 10-12 or 15 years down the line. This may include your desire of working at the CEO/CFO/CTO level or maybe establish a firm that you own. It may also include your dream of expanding your existing family business overseas. You may also be interested in further studies like a PhD which can be included here.

More in this section may include your desire of becoming a professor or researcher. In any case, it is suggested that you discuss your business aim, principles, and core values or how you would influence the young aspirants of this industry. You should be able to portray ‘how you wish to make a difference in the industry keeping in mind the current industrial scenarios and emerging trends.

In this paragraph, you should discuss why you want to join a course and what modules would you tap during this course. It should also cover the skills you would acquire in this duration along with the exposure that would help in developing the skills desired to realise your goals.

This is a specific paragraph wherein you can convince a university as in how they are suitable for your profile and you are an ideal candidate for their university. You should discuss the course curriculum, research work, faculty names, as well as the university-specific activities that would help you in enhancing your profile.

Also Read: How to Write a Best Statement of Purpose?

Ideally, if considering an internationally renowned university, then the statement of purpose should be at least 1-2 pages long. In terms of word count, then the same should be around 1000 words. Having said that, the word limit and the length may also sometimes depend on the university that the candidate is targeting and also on the level of degree. Like for example, a candidate who is writing an SOP for an undergraduate program may not exceed 800 to 1000 words whereas a candidate who is writing an SOP for a PhD or M.Phil degree course has to write it in around 1200 words and sometimes even more. Some universities even have a fixed length and word count which is uniform for all the programs and courses. 

There are many elements to an SOP. Universities could ask question-based essays or simply a general statement of purpose. Until and unless categorically asked, an SOP must include your goals and the career path you have taken up so far as well as your academic progress. Other elements that are further important to the SOP are also the personal motivations that lead you to choose the university/course you have applied to as well as how you intend to use that experience to achieve that goal.

Following are a few things that you must do in order to make your SOP application strong:

• Your Statement of Purpose should have a unique and engaging beginning as well as an end. It must be original, a reflection of you. 
• Explain your academic background, present and future aspirations. Through this, you must justify your choice of a particular course for masters or doctorate courses.
• Upon reading your SOP, the admission officer should be able to understand how you can contribute to the university in terms of research and further scope in your chosen area. 
• Always write your SOP in an active voice and ensure you provide information in a manner that is a reflection of your passion and optimism. If you have any statements or references, try quoting them with relevant examples rather than being direct.

Often universities come across a lengthy statement of purpose and yet they reject it. Even when you cannot find one grammatical error, the seemingly excellent SOP would be rejected. And the primary reason is – too much unnecessary information. For instance, just because you might want to talk about your family, does not mean you go on and on to talk about only your family. While your SOP should be a brag sheet, it should be a brag sheet with a substance. You need to pick and choose what to include. Pick a theme and mention the accomplishments that make the most sense to your candidacy.

• Weave your career path into a story, not statements.
• Do not write what you think should be written. Personalise the SOP and make it your own.
• Do not stress over it. Although it is an important part of your application, the SOP should be a direct reflection of you.
• Find the deeper meaning behind the events of your life and pen them down.
• Give a strong reason as to why you chose the particular school and course.
• Be specific in the timeline of events.
• Use a formal but conversational tone.
• Accept your mistakes and explain how you are willing to act on improving. Use action items.
• Give yourself enough time to write the SOP and edit it constantly. 
• Proofread, edit, re-edit and then edit it again! There is always room for improvement, remember that.

Also Read: SOP for Scholarship

Statement of Purpose Samples

Here are some good examples of well structured SOPs that you can refer to while writing your own.

“ A successful career in Business Management requires adequate knowledge to utilise the strengths and weaknesses of an individual. In my undergraduate degree, I majored in economics and psychology because I believe that understanding these two fields is important for leading a successful business. I want to increase my experiences and knowledge further by pursuing an Executive MBA, which will equip me with advanced skills that are necessary to achieve my career goals.

As I have carried out various leadership positions, I have learned how to efficiently work in teams and pursue the specified goals. In my previous company, ABC, I successfully implemented the strength-cum-weakness finder software which helped us assign projects to the groups based on the mapped data. As employees got allotted tasks as per their efficiency, it resulted in a 30% net gain for the company over the following year. I believe that a successful business leader understands the importance of strategically utilizing a company’s resources to ensure the maximum potential and development of the company. Further, the pivotal thing I learned about myself by taking up leadership roles is that teamwork is a crucial element of successfully achieving an organisation’s objectives. An Executive MBA will help me furnish my leadership skills imparting me with the knowledge of hierarchical structures and how to work with other leaders of different domains in an effective manner.

Studying for an Executive MBA, I plan to take charge of multiple team projects throughout the duration of the degree so that I can polish my teamwork skills. I aspire to work under industry leaders and attain global exposure. Pursuing this degree from your institution, I aim to gain professional as well as personal skills that can help me soar through my career journey. ”

I had a keen interest in Biology since childhood. I was eager to learn about the living organisms around my surroundings and how they function. I took this interest forward and decided to pursue my higher education in biology. When I was first introduced to the field of biotechnology, I was mesmerized by what technology can do to improve the life of any living organism. This inspired me to look at various research programmes in biotechnology and how we are moving towards a phase where technology can alter even the basic fragments of any living organism and change the course of life an organism goes through. I observed the various research patterns that have been taking place in the agricultural industry with the advent of GMO (Genetically Modified Organisms) giving birth to the Green Revolution. This was only one potential achievement in the extensive list of achievements that biotechnology was progressing towards. I worked with a reputed biotech firm which gave me an insight into how fast-paced the research in biotechnology is. The firm gave me the necessary exposure leading me to decide that I want to pursue MS in Biotechnology. My ambition to work in this field lies essentially in bringing changes in the lifestyle of people in a way that I can research and extensively study the required positive steps towards climate change. My goal is to achieve a sustainable lifestyle for every individual. The exposure that your esteemed institution will give me in the field of research will help me achieve this goal by working at a reputed platform

• Sample SOP for Australian Student Visa
• SOP for MIM
• SOP Samples for MS
• SOP for MS in Data Science
• SOP for Business Analytics
• Sample SOP for MS in CS
• SOP for PG Diploma in Canada
• SOP for MBA: Essentials to Mention & Samples
• SOP for Australia

Here is the basic format for USA, Canada, UK and Australia:

If you are planning to study abroad and want to write a good and outstanding statement of purpose for the university that you are targeting, then here are some of the common mistakes that you can avoid from the very beginning while writing an SOP:

• Writing the SOP at the last moment without any plan of action or a roadmap
• Writing a weak and vague introduction and conclusion 
• Using informal language, slangs, short forms in your SOP
• Exceeding the word limit and not reaching the correct word limit at all
• Making your SOP excessively flashy and flattery

If you are eligible for any college-specific scholarships, then during the application process you will be required to write a separate essay/SOP. Either you will be given an essay prompt/question along with a word limit or they would simply ask for an SOP stating the reasons why you think you deserve this scholarship and/or what makes you unique from the rest of the candidates? Thus, a generic SOP is different from a scholarship SOP.

Must Read: LOR: Types, Format, Sample and Tip s

A Letter of Motivation is a letter directly addressed to the admission committee/department faculty explaining your objectives, motivation and goals related to the course. The SOP is not addressed to any specific person or department, it is drafted in an essay format, whereas, the motivational letter is always addressed to a professor or department under whose guidance you will be studying.

Also Read: How to Write a Motivation Letter?

Very much similar to an SOP, Personal Statements are an on-page essay where you write about your motivation, inspiration, goals, and achievements. Personal Statements usually have a more intimate tone than SOP as it talks about the highlighted incidents of your life. Another crucial difference between an SOP and a Personal Statement is that an SOP is addressed to no one in particular, while a Personal Statement is addressed to a professor or department under who you choose to study.

Relevant Reads:

Only your LORs need to be attested by your college or company. An SOP need not be attested/self-attested until and unless specified by the university. If you take a LOR from your college professor/school teacher or a Principal/Dean, then that LOR needs to be signed by the recommender along with the college/school stamp and letterhead. Similarly, for professional LORs, they need to be signed by their respective recommenders on the company’s letterhead and company stamp.

Once you have finalised your SOP draft, give it a double-check for grammatical and formatting mistakes. Your next step should be to analyse and critique your essay. Look at your SOP through the eyes of the Adcom and see what you find lacking. For more effective inputs, you can show your drafts to your friends and family and see how they react to them. Accordingly, you can make some changes but do not overdo it or deviate from the format. Lastly, check for spacing errors and save the final SOP which you will be using for the application process.

You should avoid mentioning any low marks or shortcomings about yourself in any of the application documents, including SOP. There are very few universities that ask you about your gap year. For them, you can mention the reason for the gap between your studies. Generally, no university asks about low grades during your study period as your selection depends on various criteria like exam scores, student profile, financials, and so on. Thus, it is advised against mentioning any flaws or low marks.

Hence, we hope that now you are geared up with all the quintessential tips to start carving out your SOP. If you still have doubts or need further professional guidance, you can always reach out to our Leverage Edu experts and we’ll assist you throughout the admission process, be it selecting a suitable course and university or drafting impressive SOPs and LORs. Call us immediately at 1800 57 2000 for a free 30-minute counselling session. Further, also follow us on  Instagram ,  Youtube ,  LinkedIn ,  Quora   and  Facebook   for more educational content.

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I was really impressed and happy with the informations I was able to get reading through your well documented page.

I am really impressed reading through your sample and guides in writing an SOP.I was able to put mine together and I have submitted awaiting feedback from the Admissions office. Thanks so much.

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How to write standard operating procedures (SOPs) with template

A product manager has to navigate multiple scenarios from discovery to delivery. There are a lot of internal and external stakeholders involved across business, engineering, design, marketing, growth, finance, legal, you name it! As most PMs know, it’s hard to align stakeholders, especially when each one is working in an entirely different field within a company.

But how can one navigate through all of these different areas? And how can one make this navigation their own? One way is through SOPs.

In this article, we will explore the fundamental principles of standard operating procedures (SOPs) and how they serve as a valuable tool for product managers to navigate the stakeholder landscape and ensure effective collaboration.

What is a standard operating procedure?

A standard operating procedure, in essence, is a standardized process that everyone in the organization adheres to. Commonly, an SOP then becomes a dynamic reference document that summarizes these standardized processes. SOPs help foster collaboration and, if done correctly, ultimately help teams achieve common goals.

In the world of product management, an SOP is used as a reference doc to make sure business value gets translated into product requirements, thereby creating value for users by solving their problems.

It’s important to remember that an SOP should not be seen as a rigid, unchanging policy document; it should be agile and open to updates as circumstances evolve.

Why do I need an SOP?

Why are SOPs necessary? Well, the short answer to that is to help PMs derive the signal from the noise. There are essentially three types of noises:

• Noise of ideas — PMs are constantly exposed to their own ideas during discovery. Not only that, PMs are also exposed to the ideas of stakeholders, both near and far from their product’s immediate impact circle
• Noise of priorities — PMs have to deal with dynamic business priorities and choose between velocity, quality, and impact of their work
• Noise of perception — This is a necessary evil garbed in the form of marketing the work the team is doing, thus attracting more investments

How do you write standard operating procedures?

The foundation of a well-crafted SOP lies in asking insightful questions, as this process kickstarts the development of a comprehensive document. This shared document is not an isolated entity; it is a result of co-articulating questions and solutions collaboratively among stakeholders.

Further, it’s essential to emphasize that an SOP should be tailored to fit the specific needs of your product and business, rather than attempting to adapt your operations to a predefined format. When articulating SOPs, it is also crucial to consider the diverse audiences they serve, as different stakeholders may require varying levels of detail and communication.

To find an answer to the “how” of creating SOPs, I have framed three main steps and a template for you to work with:

• Ask good questions
• Co-document the answers
• Frame the SOP

1. Ask good questions

Start by asking a lot of questions. Whether it’s your first PM job, a new team or project in an old job, or just your everyday, regular PM work, always ask questions!

The following questions are key to initiating the process of creating an SOP. These work for not only the PM but also for the stakeholders around them. I divided them into three parts:

• What is my product area?
• What are the OKRs for my product area?
• How does this product area impact the organization’s OKR?
• Is this a legacy product area or a new product area?
• If this is a legacy product area, what is the tribal knowledge?
• If this is a new product area, what is the vision and mission?
• What is the organizational structure of my product area?
• Who are the primary stakeholders for my product area?
• Who are the secondary stakeholders for my product area?
• Who are the other mandatory stakeholders for my product area (legal, tax, etc.)?
• What is the escalation hierarchy and process within my product area across primary and secondary stakeholders?
• Is there a RACI or similar role designation within my product area?
• What is the existing product development lifecycle in the organization?
• How do we do discovery?
• How do we run research?
• How do we brainstorm ideas?
• How do we run tests on those ideas?
• How to instrument the tests?
• How do we set up dashboards?
• How do we run QA?
• How do we launch?
• How do we communicate impact?
• How do we gather feedback from clients/customers/internal stakeholders?
• What are the existing internal comms and GTM structures?

The above list of questions is a great place to address all three types of noises we talked about. There could be answers to questions that PMs already know about, as well as answers that the PMs don’t know right away but other stakeholders might be able to call out during discussions.

On top of this, there could be questions that no one thought at the time but eventually became critical — hence, they should be added to the SOP as a live document. Don’t forget to get creative and add more to this list as you deem fit!

2. Co-document the answers

There’s a key reason to call out why I say “co-document.” A PM’s job is to rally the team towards a common product goal with a well-crafted path from discovery to delivery. While you’ve started asking these questions from step 1, don’t forget to:

• Map your stakeholders across teams so everyone knows the primary, secondary, and mandatory stakeholders of your product area
• Involve stakeholders in your documentation process by letting their expertise shine in the document

Make sure you work with a timeline in mind. No document is perfect or absolute, and it is easy to fall into the trap of taking too long to arrive at a “good enough” version. Focus on progress over perfection.

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3. Frame the SOP

This is the final stage of articulating what you learned from steps 1 and 2. There are different SOP formats, but it’s important to make the document fit your requirements and not the other way around.

Here is a free template for you to start with, you can click File > Make a copy to save and customize it as you see fit:

Different standard operating procedure formats

In general, there are different types of SOP formats that you can adopt based on your unique requirements.

The FAQ SOP

A simple question-and-answer-based SOP will help stakeholders read through different scenarios and tell them what to do as they occur. You can pick or re-frame questions from step 1 and put the agreed-upon answers in a product-people-process format.

Let’s go through an example to make this template more palatable. Imagine you are working on a B2C product feature where you need to add a trust signal during the check-out process.

Let’s say, the primary audience for this FAQ SOP is your customer service team. Most of your FAQs in this section will be from the process subsection under step 1. For example;

• Check the notification center where they’ll be prompted with a pending transaction
• Look at the cart icon at the bottom of the screen where their selected order is kept on hold for 10 minutes. They can complete the transaction before it times out and the items are removed from their cart

The checklist SOP

This is like a checklist for the things that have to be done across various scenarios. The sequence is extremely important in this section. For example, if the audience is your core product team including devs, technical program managers, analysts, and other relevant stakeholders:

Steps the team will follow before releasing a feature:

• Check with other PMs to see if they are running any experiments on the surface you plan to release your feature, i.e., clarify dependencies, if any
• Clarify if your feature is an experiment or a global release
• Give visibility into the primary and secondary metrics you will evaluate for this release
• Clarify the date and runtime for your release, if it’s an experiment
• Share the roll-back plan for situations where the feature might break

The flowchart SOP

This flowchart SOP is relevant in scenarios that have a lot of moving parts across the decision tree. Make sure you have a clear goal for using this SOP type. For example, where the audience in this example is the program management team:

Remember, for each of these above SOP formats, you can customize the template that benefits you. Do not let the template take over your process — these template options are for your guidance only!

I’ll strongly encourage PMs to make it a mix of different formats they think their audience can easily consume. The SOP may also change based on the audience you are aiming for.

For instance, if you are creating an SOP for your customer service team, you’ll likely need to word and structure it very differently than one for your engineering audience. A customer service team may want an SOP in the form of question and answer, whereas the engineering team may want details about how to standardize story points for each ticket and how will the team calculate velocity or feature impact.

As a PM, it is your job to either find a common SOP format that works for all — which is difficult to achieve, unless you want to make a very long document that lacks brevity — or create a few different versions targeting the different audiences.

Conclusions and key takeaways

To summarize a few key takeaways,

• Asking good questions is a great start to drafting a good SOP
• SOPs can help PMs navigate the complex stakeholder landscape
• SOPs are a by-product of co-articulating both questions and solutions. An SOP is a shared document across stakeholders and should not be made in isolation
• PMs need to customize SOP formats to fit their own product and business requirements, not the other way round
• SOP articulation may differ based on the audience it is trying to cater to

And finally, remember that an SOP is not a policy document or a mandate that you can’t change when it is required. Don’t get fixated on a process you believed would work but later realize it’s not working anymore. Be agile and ready to make updates and changes to the SOP when the team needs it.

An SOP is just another reference document to make your and the stakeholder’s life easier to achieve a common goal. Keep testing and iterating because an SOP is not far away from a product, after all 🙂

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Statement of Purpose for Internship 2024: Complete Format, Sample & Tips

• Updated On January 3, 2024
• Published In Colleges 🎓 , Jobs & Internships 👩‍💻

Looking to create an SOP that makes you stand out of the crowd!? Then, here is where you begin. 

Table of Contents

A perfectly drafted SOP can create an excellent first impression. Especially while applying for internships, making your profile unique among the thousands of other applications is important.

Your SOP has to showcase your skills and convince your employer that you are the right person they seek. 

SOP for Internship Keypoints:

If you are wondering how to write a statement of purpose for internship applications, then here is all you need to learn about. Check out the purpose, format and sample for an SOP. Do not miss out on the tips at the end.

Why Do You Need an SOP for an Internship?

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Most internships offer limited intakes and prefer the best profile that suits their position. They are looking for competitive candidates with optimum skills, experience and passion to perform the task. So, it is essential to ensure that your profile matches the requirements of your employer.

It is your SOP or Statement of Purpose that explains who you are. This is where you provide evidence to prove your capabilities and calibre to take over the task. 

The common benefits of an SOP for internships are listed below:

• To Filter Applicants: Most organisations ask for an SOP for their internship and job applications. This is to quickly filter the candidates based on their academic and professional backgrounds. So, it is essential to display all the relevant information here. 
• Give a Personal Statement: An SOP is a personal statement explaining who you are and why you are applying for this position. It explains your past experiences and future goals that are relevant to your career. While writing an SOP, ensuring it covers all the essential information on your profile is vital. 
• Display your Strengths: During your interview section, you can explain your skills and passion for a particular role. But backing up your claim with proper evidence is what an SOP does. While mentioning your skills, you must prove your work experience and roles that enabled you to achieve this. So, an SOP is an added evidence of your skill sets. 
• Express your Weaknesses: An SOP not only explains your strong points but also needs to mention your weaker sides. Adding one or two minor weak points can make your SOP look more genuine. This will also give an impression that you are observant of your growth and are looking forward to resolving it. 

Even if your employer does not ask for a statement of purpose for an internship application, you can still attach it to your CV or resume. This will make our application look genuine. 

Statement of Purpose for Internship Format

Unlike work experience certificates or backlog certificates , there isn’t an essential format for a statement of purpose for internships. Since an SOP is a personal statement, the details are also subjective.

However, there is certain essential information that you should not miss out on your statement of purpose for internships. We have compiled them for your reference. Make sure that you tailor them according to your work profile and application demands. 

The essential components of an SOP are:

• Introduction: Start your SOP with a strong introduction. The introduction should be no more than 2-3 lines. Give a short bio of yourself in the introduction. You can also add your motivation in joining the particular internship position. 
• Education: Add all your education qualifications. You can add them according to their order of completion. While adding your education details, add all the relevant information, including university name, course, and specialisation. You can include any other details that are relevant to your academic record. 
• Work Experience: Having enough work experience can add more value to your application while applying for an internship. You can specify your job profile, experience level, and tasks you performed during the job. Add any information relevant to your job. 
• Research Experience: If you have any research experience related to your internship field, you can specify that. If available, you can include details such as your research area, interests, and publications. If your research experience does not relate to the internship field, tailor it accordingly. For example, you can express your interest in exploring new fields and explain your motivation. 
• Educational and Professional Achievements: Include all of your educational and professional achievements. Even if they are irrelevant to the internship field, they will help your employer assess your general capabilities. 
• Interests: Although not mandatory, adding your interests can be a good addition to your statement of purpose for an internship. This will help your employer understand your aptitudes and passion for the role. Try to add your interests that are related to the internship position. For example, if you are applying for a content writer position, you can mention blogging as an interest. 
• Skills: Add your major skills. First, add your relevant skills to the internship position, followed by your general skills. You can also add your level for more accuracy. For example, “ Speaks French [beginner] ”.  
• Strengths and Weaknesses: Add all of your strong points. Here, you can include the abilities that make you suitable for the internship position. After adding your strengths, you can add one or two general weaknesses. This will make your SOP look more professional. However, do not make it sound negative. For example, “ I am extremely self-critical. However, this helps me analyse my weak points and helps my grow th”. 
• Career Goals: Adding your professional goals will help your employer understand that you are a career-driven person with determination and passion for your field. Here, you can add both your short-term and long-term goals. 
• Relevance of the Internship: Before concluding your SOP, add one or two lines on the importance of the internship for your professional and personal life. Here, you can add the reason why you want to pursue this internship and how you expect to benefit from it in the longer term. 
• Conclusion: End your SOP on a positive note. Here, you can highlight your key points and end with your expectation of working with the team. 

In addition to this basic information, you can add other details that you expect will benefit your statement of purpose for the internship. 

Check out the complete format below:

Also Read: SOP for Visa Application

Statement of Purpose for Internship Sample

A statement of purpose is a personal statement. So, it is important to create it independently, considering your academic and professional journey. 

Draft your statement of purpose for an internship, including all the relevant details mentioned above. 

We have provided a sample SOP for the internship for your reference. You can observe the document’s language styles, tone and overall structure. 

Do not forget to tailor the statement of purpose example below according to your application. 

Check out the SOP sample below:

Also Read: SOP for Canadian Universities

10 Tips to Create an Excellent SOP

An SOP or statement of purpose is a highly personal document. It does not have a standard structure that needs to be followed universally. What to write in a statement of purpose for the internship can vary depending on your internship application and work profile.

However, considering the document’s purpose, including all your relevant academic and professional records, is important. 

Below are a few healthy practices you can perform to make your statement of purpose for an internship look more professional and credible. Remember to personalise the tips according to your internship position and organisation. 

Check out the tips below:

• Learn the Internship: Before drafting your statement of purpose for an internship, try to gather knowledge about the internship program and the organisation that it offers. This will help you to understand their requirements and expectations better.
• Formatting: Although the document has no strict formal structure, do not miss out on essential information such as student details, education information and work experience. Try to maintain a coherent and simple structure. Do not cluster information. Break down the content into smaller paragraphs so the document is more readable.
• Proper Content Structuring: Since an SOP is a short description of your academic and professional journey, you can make it more interesting. Structure it with a proper flow of ideas. You can begin with a catchy introduction and end by expressing your passion and hope. 
• Use Formal Tone: You can use either a formal or semi-formal tone. Do not make it sound very informal. Maintaining a formal tone will help to make your statement of purpose for the internship look more professional. 
• Do Not Exaggerate: Keep your skills and achievements authentic and realistic when mentioning them. Do not exaggerate information. Be genuine about your strong and weak points. 
• Simple Language: Do not use extravagant language or ornamental terms. Try to keep it simple and easily understandable. 
• Do Not Overexplain: Always be specific. Do not overexplain details. Although there is no standard word limit, try to conclude your document in 1-2 pages. Do not diverge from your point. Try not to add irrelevant information.
• Use a Positive Tone: Draft your statement of purpose for the internship under a positive tone. Do not make it sound negative, demotivated, or hopeless. Your document should reflect your enthusiasm and passion for the internship task.
• Proofread the SOP: Before sending your document, proofread it thoroughly. If any information sounds irrelevant or repetitive, replace it with more relevant details. Check grammar, spelling and punctuation. 
• Customise the SOP: While your personal details and educational information may remain the same, your professional information, such as work skills, work interests and other achievements, has to be tailored for each application. You need to prioritise the details that are relevant to your internship position. 

Internships are a great way to enhance your skill development. It provides you with hands-on experience in your industry and widens your networks. Being a student, availing internships is a great way to boost your academic and professional growth. While applying for internships, make sure you attach a perfectly crafted statement of purpose with it.

Always remember that the statement of purpose for internships is the document that makes your profile distinct. So, draft your statement of purpose for the internship creatively. Understand the demands of your internship position and develop your SOP accordingly. 

SOPs are integral to your document requirements while planning to study abroad. However, it is important to tailor your SOP for each university and country you apply to. We understand how difficult it can be to keep track of all these necessities. We are more than happy to guide you through this. 

Frequently Asked Questions

Q. what is an sop.

A. An SOP or statement of purpose is a document that provides a personal statement of your academic and professional history. An SOP is usually attached while applying for a job or university. It can include your basic information such as educational qualifications, work experience, work skills and contact information.

Q. Why do I need an SOP?

A. An SOP is often asked while applying for a university or a job. Most foreign universities in popular study-abroad destinations such as the USA , the UK , Canada and Australia ask their applicants to submit a statement of purpose explaining their intention, plan and qualifications to pursue a particular program.

Q. How to make create an SOP?

A. You can create your SOP on your own. Since it is a personal statement of your qualifications and achievements, creating your statement of purpose can make it look more genuine. You can refer to the internship statement of purpose sample above to create your SOP. Remember to customise it. For example, if it is a statement of purpose for a law internship or a statement of purpose for a research internship, alter the document accordingly.

Q. What is the average word count for a statement of purpose for an internship?

A. The average word count for a statement of purpose for an internship is between 1000-2000 words. Although there is no standard word limit, it is recommended to maintain a minimum word count of 500-700 words in your statement of purpose for the internship. Try not to exceed 2-3 pages for your document.

Q. Can I make a single-page statement of purpose for an internship?

A. Yes, you can create a statement of purpose for an internship under a single page. There is no compulsory word limit for a statement of purpose for an internship. However, it is recommended that you maintain an average word count of 1000-2000 words in your document.

Q. What are the details to include in my SOP?

A. You can add all the relevant information about your studies and work in your statement of purpose. Some of the important details you can add are:

– Educational Qualifications – Work Experience – Awards and Achievements – Skills – Likes and dislikes – Career Goals

Q. Is an SOP compulsory while applying for an internship?

A. An SOP is not compulsory for your internship application unless specified in your application procedure. However, attaching a statement of purpose along with your cover letter or resume is recommended. This will help your employer to get more information on your profile.

Q. How to write an SOP for internship?

A. While drafting a statement of purpose for an internship, add all the relevant information that can benefit your internship application. Some of them are:

– Educational Qualifications – Work/Research Experience relevant to the internship role – Awards and Achievements relevant to the internship field – Skills that are relevant to the internship position – Likes and dislikes that help your internship task – Career Goals you intend to achieve through this internship

Q. What skills should I mention in my statement of purpose for an internship?

A. You can add all your skills to your statement of purpose for the internship. However, prioritise those skills that are relevant to the field of the internship. For example, if you are applying for a research assistant position, add details about your research skills, critical thinking, and analytical skills.

Q. What is a good weakness to add to an SOP?

A. While adding your weaknesses is a good addition to creating a statement of purpose, make sure this does not affect your profile. Do not add any weaknesses that could hamper your internship task. You can add more general points such as being self-critical, perfectionism, and being more risk averse.

Q. Does adding a weakness affect my SOP?

A. Adding a weakness does not discourage your employer from prioritising your profile. However, it is important to add it appropriately. Do not make it sound demotivating or critical. Add a general and simple weakness and specify your plan to resolve the same.

Q. Can I write an SOP for an internship in an informal language?

A. Do not create your statement of purpose in an informal language. Always use a formal or semi-formal language style. Using informal language or slang can make your document look unprofessional and less credible. Although you need to use formal language, try not to use complex usages and sophisticated styles.

With over a decade of expertise in the study abroad domain, Renu is a true visionary. Her unwavering commitment lies in guiding students to their dream universities and empowering them to conquer their academic goals.

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• Free SOP template: A standard operating ...

Free SOP template: A standard operating procedures guide

Standard operating procedures (SOPs) map out how your company or team performs a specific procedure or work process. You can use SOPs to improve communication and consistency among team members and make training easier for new hires. Read on to learn how to write an SOP.

The most efficient teams have processes for everything, from best practices to naming company file folders. Teams perform these processes routinely and get better at them over time. But how can you be sure everyone is performing each process the same way? That’s where having a standard operating procedure (SOP) becomes useful.

SOPs document important company processes and guide team members as they learn or relearn tasks. You can write SOPs at either the team- or company-wide level. Read on to learn more about what SOPs are and how to create them.

What is a standard operating procedure (SOP)?

Standard operating procedures (SOPs) are a set of written instructions that map out how your team will complete a specific process. They’re used for tasks that team members perform regularly because they streamline communication, reduce errors, and promote consistency. 

Benefits of standard operating procedures

SOPs may be time consuming to create on the front end, but they provide many long-term benefits to team members in their daily workflow. They also improve the overall efficiency of the company.

The benefits of SOPs include:

Create uniformity: SOPs help team members perform processes in the same way.

Reduce training time: Having written guidelines makes it easier to train (and retrain) team members on tasks and tools.

Offer quick answers to common questions: Team members can use SOPs to find answers to procedural questions on their own.

Streamline communication: SOPs provide a common source of truth for how team members should accomplish internal tasks.

Save time: SOPs offer fast clarification for team members, saving time for everyone involved in the related workflow.

Reduce work errors: Team members can follow SOPs when performing tasks and know that they’re receiving accurate information. This prevents them from resorting to guesswork. 

Types of SOP formats

When developing standard operating procedures, consider which format is best suited to your goals. Your audience, your objective, and the level of detail you require will all affect the SOP integration you choose.

For example, you may have used company-wide SOPs before to learn common processes. But as a manager, you can also create SOPs to support your team and clarify common processes. 

Some example processes an SOP is helpful for:

Onboarding new hires and clients

Offboarding team members and clients

Processing time-off requests

Performing internal audits

Processing payments

Submitting project change requests

Categories that SOP formats fall into include step-by-step, hierarchical, and flowchart.

Step-by-step SOP

A step-by-step SOP works best for straightforward processes, like receiving payments from clients. This SOP breaks down a process into a list of steps for the reader to follow and learn from.

In a simple, or step-by-step, SOP format, it's important to include: 

Purpose statement

Brief summary

Clear, bulleted or tabulated step-by-step instructions, and the 

Specification of the responsible person for each step of the procedure.

Hierarchical SOP

A hierarchical SOP works best for complex processes like team member onboarding because it breaks down every stage of a process, including policy, procedures, guidelines, and documentation.

For a hierarchical SOP format, ensure it includes: 

Table of contents 

Division into various sections, such as a purpose statement, a concise summary, detailed step-by-step instructions with relevant links to standards, checklists, or action plans

Identification of responsible teams or stakeholders for each stage.

Flowchart SOP

A flowchart SOP gives your audience a visual way to learn. This SOP format is useful for processes that have conditional circumstances. For example, a submission and approval process may require different actions from the reader based on whether a document is approved or rejected.

A flowchart-based SOP should integrate key elements like

Statement of purpose

Clear and easy-to-understand flowchart or diagram that illustrates different scenarios

Designation of accountable individuals for each step in the process.

Free SOP template

Teams require well-defined processes to achieve their goals efficiently. The question is, how does your team document and communicate existing processes to ensure everyone is aligned?

This free SOP template offers a uniform way for your team to document internal procedures by providing essential context about your operational methods and leveraging your project management tools effectively.

Here's how successful integration of an SOP template can benefit your team:

Marketing SOP: Implementing a fresh campaign or giving out promotional gifts to clients? A standard operating procedure template makes sure that all team members and stakeholders are equipped with clear instructions, complete with company names and contact information, for executing specific tasks effectively.

Sales SOP: Provide your sales team with clear instructions for following company-wide sales practices, whether they use email, CRM, or sales interaction tools.

Human Resources SOP: An HR SOP template can streamline a number of complex tasks, such as a new employee onboarding process that ensures new hires are efficiently integrated from their effective date.

Engineering and product SOP: Ensure your team follows the standard operating procedure for coding, testing, and launch phases. These SOPs not only specify timelines but also integrate quality control standards and automation for a more efficient process.

Customer support SOP: Establish the standard operating procedure for handling real-time support processes to guarantee that essential information such as escalations, refunds, and FAQs is readily available for your customer experience teams.

Below, you’ll find a free standard operating procedure template. Use this step-by-step SOP template for simple topics with smaller scopes.

How to use a standard operating procedure template

To get the most out of a SOP template, your instructions need to be clear, organized, and adaptable. Here are some key tips to ensure your standard operating procedures are both efficient and user-friendly.

Under the header "Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for:", clearly define the specific task or process the SOP template will be used for. This title should be precise and easily identifiable.

In the "This document was created for the purposes of:" header, concisely articulate the main objective or goal of the SOP. Explain why this procedure is important and how it benefits the workflow.

Use the numbered list to outline each step of the procedure in a sequential manner. Ensure each step is clear and detailed, leaving no room for ambiguity.

Use a consistent style and language throughout the document. This helps in maintaining clarity and understanding, especially for complex tasks. Avoid using jargon unless you are certain the reader understands it. To avoid confusion, spell out any abbreviations or acronyms.

Once the steps are documented, review the completed SOP template to ensure accuracy and completeness. It may be beneficial to have it validated by someone who performs the task regularly.

Be prepared to update the standard operating procedure as processes change or evolve. An SOP is a living document that should reflect the most current practices.

Incorporating these best practices into your use of the SOP template will not only enhance the clarity and efficiency of your standard operating procedures but also contribute to a smoother and more effective workflow.

When to write an SOP

Your team probably has many business processes that can benefit from having an SOP. If you’re writing one for the first time, a good starting point is to brainstorm all the internal processes your team regularly completes. Also, consider the typical tasks you teach to new team members. Based on this information, you can decide which processes could benefit from an SOP and which might not need one—either because they’re simple enough or because they need more hands-on, live training. 

The most common SOP docs include:

How to onboard a new client

A step-by-step guide to the first day of work

How to name files based on their type and location

Tips for scheduling meetings and tasks

Guidance on your team’s standard project workflow

How to navigate project management software

An overview of your team’s performance review process

You may not need an SOP in the following situations:

For one-off tasks

For unique processes that apply to only one individual

For events that rapidly change and are impractical to document

For complex, skill-based processes that require more in-depth training 

By making a list of your team’s most common work processes, you can visualize which tasks can benefit from an SOP template, which items are less urgent, and which can remain undocumented.

How to write an SOP

Regardless of which SOP format you use, they all have similar components. Your SOP should have a clear title so team members can easily access the document. You’ll also want to include a section explaining the SOP’s purpose and step-by-step instructions to guide the reader. Use the steps below to begin the SOP writing process.

1. Identify your end-user

Once you’ve chosen which process to write your first SOP for, you’ll need to get clear about who your end-user is. If you’re writing this SOP for your team, ask the following questions:

Which team members will use this SOP?

What is their role on the team in relation to others?

How often will they use this document?

Will this SOP serve as training material or a reference?

Will this SOP have multiple uses or end-users? 

You’ll use SOPs internally, but you can apply similar strategies as you would in a GTM strategy . Create a buyer persona and decide on key messaging for your document. While you aren’t trying to make a sale, your reader should get the most value from the SOP you create.

Tip: You may have multiple end-users for one SOP. For example, team members with different job roles may read the general project workflow SOP to understand their different roles throughout that workflow. While you don’t need to make multiple SOPs in this situation, you need to consider these different perspectives and potentially break down your steps so that each user understands exactly what they need to do.

2. Define your goals

You ultimately want to help your end-user perform a procedure or process. But you may have bigger goals for your SOP depending on what the process is and whether you’ve experienced issues in the past. 

For example, you might want to create an SOP for team member onboarding because your team has suffered from low retention rates. After reviewing exit interview data, you’ve noticed that people have left the team because of poor onboarding experiences. Your SMART goals for the onboarding SOP are to:

Improve the first day of work experience

Outline a 30-60-90 plan

Increase retention rates by 20% over the next year

Tip: Just like any other goal you have, you can set KPIs or OKRs for your SOP creation process. OKRs can help you set stretch goals for how many SOPs you want to create in the next year. KPIs can help you measure whether each SOP is improving team productivity .  

3. Determine your scope and format

You should now have the basic idea of your SOP, which means you’re almost ready to write it. You now need to determine how you want to display your information and how in-depth your document will be. The following key can help you determine your scope and format:

Straightforward topics: Use a step-by-step SOP format, which works best for smaller scope topics. This SOP will likely have only a few sections, with one section explaining the “why” of the SOP and the others providing work instructions. 

Complex topics: Use a hierarchical SOP format, which allows for a larger scope. You should include a table of contents with this SOP, as well as headings and multiple sections. 

Conditional topics/approval process: Use a flowchart SOP format, which offers a flexible scope size. This SOP may include various decisions or conditional items, and you’ll need to ensure you draft it in a way that’s easy to follow. You can also include a short “why” section at the top.

Tip: Your topic should lead you to your SOP format, not the other way around. For example, if you have a complex topic like onboarding and try to put it in a flowchart format, your readers won’t have all the details they need and will struggle to complete their training. 

4. Draft your SOP

Writing standard operating procedures requires you to break down your process or procedure into sections and steps. It’s important that you get detailed with your instructions so the SOP is clear for all readers. Even if you think a step is obvious, you should include it to avoid confusion and reduce the chance of errors. 

For example, if you’re creating a new SOP on how to process a client payment, your SOP draft may have a title, a section explaining the purpose of the document, and a list of detailed instructions on things like:

How to ask for the payment

Security guidelines for storing client payment information

How to navigate the payment platform

Where to record the processed payment

What to do once the payment is processed

After drafting your SOP, you can show it to your end-users and ask for feedback on whether the document includes everything they need to complete the task. If your team has questions, improve the SOP as needed.  Tip: Once you finish writing your SOP, you’ll need to revisit it intermittently to ensure it’s still relevant. Processes require continuous improvement . By keeping your SOP up-to-date, you can feel confident that your team knows how to perform at a top-notch level.

SOP example

Here’s an example of a flowchart SOP. This SOP outlines how to submit an expense report and receive reimbursement. Above the flowchart, there’s a blurb explaining the purpose of the SOP.

Build and scale your workflows with SOPs

SOPs are an important part of documenting your team workflows. Workflows can streamline your operations and help your team meet their goals.Use work management software like Asana to build workflows that can pave the way to stronger processes and performance.

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Table of Contents

Toolkit for sop for internship.

• Sample SOP for internship
• Sample SOP for a student with a different background
• How to write an SOP for internship

Beginning your career as an intern is one of the best ways to build a professional network and gain relevant experience and exposure in your area of interest. A good internship program with a limited intake is bound to have intense competition, to stand out among the crowd, a well-crafted SOP will be the ultimate tool. It will be obvious that famous organizations will be flooded with equally adept candidates, and in such instances, your SOP will be the only document that will set you apart. So, to help your SOP stand out from the pile of other documents, we have crafted this comprehensive guide on how to write an SOP for an internship.

Below we have put together a toolkit that consists of all the important points that need to be covered in your SOP for internship with respective examples and comprehensive samples. We suggest that you copy the questions we have mentioned in the toolkit and then answer them following our example.

Sample SOP for research internship

“Research is seeing what everybody else has seen and thinking what nobody else has thought.” - Albert Szent-Györgyi

From homes to big MNCs, technological progress is transforming our lives rapidly in all domains and spheres. From an early age, I’ve always been deeply interested in computers. Honestly, I was initially drawn to them because I fancied computer games. However, the more I operated computers, the more I began to appreciate their functions, discovering just how much they can do and the near limitless potential they hold. From seeing the wonders of the internet for the first time to communicating with artificial intelligence, my interest grew more profound and passionate with every discovery I made. This interest of mine became the reason for choosing computer science as my major subject in high school. My first contact with computer science was when I started studying Pascal programming and web designing in 10th grade. By the time I was in 12th grade, my tutor offered me the opportunity to work with the school’s IT department. I helped them by writing a few lines of code for the school’s website and uploading files to a server and it was the first time I observed how a database is created and manipulated. Due to these experiences, I have built a good foundation in IT which enticed me to pursue a career in the field and become a software engineer for an IT company. During my bachelor's in computer applications, I was able to learn more about web development using CMS, where I learned how to create websites using CMS platforms including WordPress, Drupal, and Joomla. I believe to further unearth my potential, I am looking forward to joining the computer science research internship program at Yale University .

I have always viewed my educational journey as an opportunity to seek more knowledge. My journey got onto the track of computer science when I decided to pursue a Bachelor's in Computer Applications. The semesters of my course provided me with comprehensive knowledge of web development using HTML, CSS, and JavaScript because of which I was able to learn how to make websites from scratch. As I was exploring Web development, I took up a JavaScript quiz game project. This opportunity allowed me to practically apply the learnings of building a web page, using HTML for structure and CSS to make it interactive and appealing, and using JavaScript to build the detection engine. Apart from academics, I was also a member of the Entrepreneurship and Innovation Cell, during my bachelor, in the role of Joint Secretary. Having started as a junior programmer, I went on from coding for large-scale projects to handling teams of students who were coding, designing as well as presenting projects at international forums like Digital Point and Coffee Cup. I believe this experience has enabled me to grow both as a leader and a team player capable of fostering collaborative work.

My previous education and experience, however, I believe is a stepping stone to my career as a software engineer. A computer science research internship program specializing in Programming Languages and Compilers will provide me with the opportunity to learn more about language design, compiler implementation, and programming environments. I am especially looking forward to working under Professor Zhong Shao’s research on developing and applying new language-based technologies to build certified system software like OS kernels and hypervisors. Not only that, but the remarkable research infrastructure of the FLINT Group will provide me with the opportunity to work on the development of certified software. Also, an intellectual student population with a well-venerated community of alumni will help me develop my communication skills, teamwork abilities, and time management.

Upon completing my research internship, I intend to complement my graduation with a Master's in Computer Science from the University of British Columbia to learn about parallel programming environments in-depth. In the long term, I aim to join an IT company as a software engineer and apply the engineering principles and knowledge of programming languages I gained from my academics and internship, to build software solutions for end users. I intend to create a greater impact using my knowledge and skills in language-based technologies to develop more effective and reliable programming environments that will allow developers to utilize the full potential of large-scale parallel systems in programming. Hence, I am eager to contribute to the research efforts of Yale University and enhance my skill set.

Sample SOP for Law internship

“We cannot expect people to have respect for law and order until we teach respect to those we have entrusted to enforce those laws.” - Hunter S. Thompson

As a hardworking and focused person, I have always believed that it is the ability of a person to keep learning and developing oneself through diverse experiences that makes him/her prepared for the challenges of the future. The world in which we live is becoming more complex day by day. New innovations and technologies necessitate new laws for countries, communities, and individuals to live a peaceful and uninterrupted life. I got attracted to the field of law during my school days when I watched the interview of Soli Sorabjee, who served as an attorney-general for India. The idea of serving my nation and its people, fighting for their rights and justice, inspired me to pursue a career in law. Another major reason is the personal fulfillment this career provides. Because of this, I decided to go for a Bachelor’s degree in criminology and criminal justice. Due to my Bachelor’s, I gained knowledge about Indian Penal Code, Criminal Procedure, Indian Evidence, and other legislations for social protection. Apart from that, I also published a research paper on “How organized crimes impact global economy” at regional conferences organized by the O.P. Jindal Law School, Haryana. However, I must admit that I lack in areas that lead to combining all these fields and applying them in the real-time present-day context. So to gain industry exposure and develop my professional skill set, I decided to obtain a law internship at Karanjawala and Co.

When it comes to my academics, I have always been a responsible learner. After completing my bachelor's. I joined National Law University, Delhi, for my professional qualification in the discipline of constitutional and criminal law. My masters provided me with knowledge in Advanced Constitutional Law, Principles of Criminal Law and Contemporary Issues, Advanced Criminal Procedure, and Advanced Evidence Law. My final semester law thesis was on the famous case of “The Nanavati murder case”, in which I received the highest grade in my batch. The thesis helped me develop strong identification with the sides of the claimant as well as the plaintiff in the litigation. Besides helping me with getting familiar with the nuances of evidence analysis, this project helped me have more confidence in myself. It helped me develop strong identification with the sides of the claimant as well as the plaintiff in the litigation.

Even though these experiences have made me well-versed in the theoretical know-how of the Indian law, I need to be able to practically apply my learnings. That being the reason, I decided to apply for a law internship at Karanjawala and Co . I wanted to do an internship at a firm that provided their internees with real-time experiences and involved them in the workings of real cases. I read online that your firm provides interns with opportunities to conduct research, draft written statements, notices, memorandum of appeal, etc. Also, I read that the senior associate provides the interns with opportunities to visit courts and learn practical aspects such as filing the application and memo, listening to arguments of the senior counsel, etc. Hence, I am convinced that an internship experience from your firm will provide me with practical exposure that will further help me develop and foster the knowledge and skills I have acquired.

After the completion of my internship, I look forward to joining a famous criminal litigation firm. I will be able to apply various skills including verbal communication, excellent writing, and knowledge about law and legal procedures to work towards my goal of serving my nation and its people. I aspire to start my own criminal litigation firm and work for not just corporate firms, but also to fight for the rights of the people of my nation and help them get justice. I am confident that after this internship, I can bring a significant change in the judiciary and add new values to society.

How to write an SOP for internship?

Now, let’s discuss in-depth the process of writing an SOP for an internship.

Introduction: (Motivation and goal)

Start the first paragraph of your statement of purpose (SOP) with a hook, this is done to grab the attention of the admissions committee. Generally, a good hook is considered to be a quote related to your field that surfaces your vision. Once you are done writing the hook, you will talk about your motivation or inspiration for applying to the field you selected. These reasons can stem from a personal experience, inspiration from an idol, or a goal you aim to achieve as your reason for pursuing the course. Once done with this, mention the skills that you already possess that will aid you in your internship. And finally, end the paragraph by providing a brief of the long-term goals that you aim to achieve after completing the internship.

Checklist for writing introduction:

• Hook (quote related to your field)
• Source of motivation
• Long-term goal
• Reason to pursue the course
• Unique aspects about your personality
• Future goals

Body paragraph I: (Learning, execution, and impact)

Here begins your first body paragraph, start this paragraph by providing a brief overview of your academic and professional background. Begin with your educational background, mention all the skills and knowledge you acquired, and talk about the extracurricular activities you participated in and how they helped you to expand your skill set. Emphasize the situations in which you applied your knowledge and abilities; these might be internships, competitions, or any other tasks you worked on. Now, if you have work experience, mention it after you’re done explaining your academic background. Keep in mind that if you have work experience, you will need to provide a reason for applying for an internship.

Checklist for writing body paragraph I:

• Academic accomplishments
• Professional accomplishments
• Strengths and weaknesses
• Impact of all the cumulative experiences
• In case of work-experience, provide a rationale for applying for internship

Body paragraph II: (Why this internship)

Now start your second body paragraph, To persuade the university or the company of your suitability for both the internship, begin by defining your reasons for applying to it. Emphasize the skills you currently lack and aspire to acquire through the internship. Subsequently, talk about the knowledge and skills that it will provide. After explaining the rationale behind choosing the internship, proceed to discuss the particular university or company you've chosen. You can begin this by highlighting a unique aspect that piqued your interest. This might include a specialized research center, a distinguished teaching staff, or a particular skill. You can also talk about the opportunities the university or company offers.

Checklist for writing body paragraph II:

• Define the knowledge and skill set that the internship will provide
• Describe any particular aspect of the university or company that piqued your interest
• Discuss the opportunities the university or company will provide

Conclusion (closing statement)

In this part, you'll talk about your career plans. Start with what you want to do in the near future, this could involve a job you want to join after your internship. After that, describe your long-term plans, and give a little brief of how you plan to achieve them. In conclusion, explain how the skills, knowledge, and opportunities gained from your internship at the specific university will empower you to make a meaningful impact on society.

Checklist for writing conclusion:

• Path to achieve your career goals (short-term and long-term goals)
• What after internship (long-term goals)
• Contribution towards the society

If your goal is to get an internship at a top university or a firm, you must spend quality time creating the best statement of purpose. You need your SoP to stand out in the crowded field. While a majority of employers won’t go through thousands of documents, they will undoubtedly review the SoP to ensure it complies with their criteria. Make sure to add details demonstrating your enthusiasm for the industry and the business. This contains information about extracurricular activities, relevant schooling, and prior professional experience. With all this in mind, you can create the best SoP, which will give your application an edge.

How long is a statement of purpose for an internship supposed to be?

A statement of purpose is one of the most important parts of applying for an internship. While it doesn’t have to be lengthy, it should be between 600 - 1000 words long, clearly explaining why you want to intern at this firm, what you hope to gain from it, and how you plan to use it.

What is a good reason for wanting an internship?

There could be many reasons why someone may want to pursue an internship. Some students want to gain experience working in a professional environment. Others want to see what it’s like to work in another industry. Still, others want to expand their network by getting to know professionals in their field. Whatever the reason, having an internship can open doors for you later down the road. Whether you end up pursuing a career plan in your chosen field or not, having an internship will give you a leg up on your peers who have no real-world experience.

How should you introduce yourself in a statement of purpose for an internship?

When writing your statement of purpose for internships, you should briefly describe yourself, your skills, experience, and why you’d like to pursue an internship. Your goal here isn’t necessarily to convince future employers that you’re perfect for the job; rather, you want to let them know you understand the position and that you’re excited to apply. Make sure that you mention any previous experiences you have had that relate to the position you’re applying for.

What should be the tone of an SOP?

Try to be yourself when writing an SOP; pretend that you are speaking with the university administration like this is an interview. Remember to speak in a conversational tone and avoid using any slang or casual language that might come off as unprofessional. Additionally, try to avoid using phrases that are unclear when describing the university, the faculty, or your history. Instead, choose language that is more direct and less flowery.

Recommended Readings:

SOP for Canada - How to Write an Effective SOP for Canada

How to Write an SOP for Data Science with Sample SOP

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