APPLICATION WRITING

Tips and Sample for SOP, LOR, Resume and Essay Writing for Admissions Abroad
INTRODUCTION
Studying Abroad brings with it excellent opportunities and advantages for students from
India. While the experience in itself is an added advantage in this highly globalized economy,
the academic infrastructure and research facilities add to the many virtues of a degree for a
foreign university. Not to mention, it is perhaps the best way to find employment abroad. With
many companies preferring students from local universities, being a student in the county
would surely add. Also, studying abroad makes you highly eligible for a whole lot of companies
all over the globe.

With that said, it is hardly a wonder that every
year thousands of students from India reach out
to Universities abroad. However, getting admitted
to a university, especially a top university abroad
is not easy and in no way a small investment. To
begin with, the top universities abroad are seeking
talented students who not only shine academically
but also bring in the right attitude. Not similar to
the traditional merit based system in the country,
all students are open to apply to universities
abroad. The subject choices are wider, the abilities
judged on more than one scale of achievements.
Many students apply but only few are shortlisted
and fewer still selected. This is in part due to the
academic performance and also to perhaps the
most alien aspect of the entire Study Abroad
Applications. And that is Essay Writing.
As many students would know, applying to
universities abroad often require a whole lot
of documents which often includes a series
of essays – written by the candidate him/
herself. These essays are used to distinguish
one candidate from another. With most of the
countries following English taught courses, these
essays are also an excellent way to judge the
student’s actual ability with the language. A user
based research conducted by Shiksha.com also
found that this written document, ranging from
300 to 1200 words is also perhaps the most
difficult aspect for students applying to universities
abroad and perhaps with good reason. So here is a
guide to de-mystify the essays or the Statement of
Purpose and help you with the “Writing” bit for your
study abroad applications.

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TYPES OF ESSAYS
Before we further define the types of essays, we would like to include that essays refer to any
write up required by universities abroad as part of your application. This could be a question
based paragraph or a standard essay asked of you. Also, these would vary from university to
university and also course to course. The actual lengths may vary but the essays are often
ranging anywhere from 300 words to about 1200 words. For ease of understanding, we are
classifying the different write ups on the basis of their word limit.

The different types of Essays based on their word limit are

• VERY SHORT ANSWER QUESTIONS/ WRITE UPS (30 – 200 words)

• SHORT ANSWER QUESTIONS/ESSAYS (200 – 500 words)
• LONG ANSWER QUESTIONS/ ESSAYS (More than 500 words but less than 800 words)
• FULL LENGTH ESSAYS (More than 800 words)

On a general level, the Full Length Essays are also referred to as Statement of Purpose or SOP
and is a standard document required by majority of universities across various courses. The
other alternative varieties are usually asked by universities for their more selective programs/
courses like the Full Time MBA, etc. This is not a rule, however, and universities might ask
either or all of the essays in one way or another.

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1. VERY SHORT ANSWER QUESTIONS (30 – 200 words)

Let us start with the shortest write ups that can be asked. These essays can form either a part
of the general essay form or could be modified as a separate essay question, to be written and
attached with the main application. Either ways, what distinguishes these essays is the severe
word limit. In simple words, these are typically a line or a paragraph and not an essay (by
definition). However, since they are more or less asked in almost all applications, we would try
to give you guidelines for writing them.

Here are some of the questions that might be
asked under these types:
Describe yourself in 30 words or less to
the class of 2017.
You have to introduce yourself to your
peers in 50 words or less, what is the one
word you would like to associate yourself
to and why?
Briefly explain your reasons for choosing
this university.
The more aspirational universities might ask
you to explain your joy of getting selected
in the program by means of a tweet. Others
might simply ask you to mention your career
progression, any specific incident related to team
management or leadership or perhaps talk about
your accomplishments.
The basic point is, the universities could ask you
anything under the sun and limit your response to
less than 100 or say about 200 words. What the
universities are essentially seeking out of you for
these are how you are able to present your point
of view in a limited word space. The key to nailing
these answers is:
Unless otherwise specified, keep the answer
as plain as possible. Obviously if you are
asked to write a Tweet, you need to be
creative. Other than the obvious ones, keep
the answer to the point.
These are not the best places to explain
yourself. State the obvious, with as little
emotion as possible. The key to these type
of questions, especially if they are a part of
the standard application form is to get to
understand your profile. BE clear, concise and
to the point.
Don’t use extremely complex sentences or
long sentences. When word limit is a big
constraint, using punctuations and short
sentences are often more helpful.
Brevity is the soul of wit…be witty and you
should be able to nail these essays.

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SAMPLE
If you were on an elevator with your
dream company CEO or angel investor,
what would you tell him/ her about your
professional ambitions and goals? (150
words maximum).
In an elevator with an Angel Investor for
a precious 2 minutes, I would simply talk
about how I envision to revolutionize the
Solar Power Sector in the country. I truly
believe that a self-sustainable ecology
is crucial to a developing economy. As
such, when my country is on the precipice
of growth and development, this is the
time when people should get bullish
about the opportunities in the renewable
sector. A stable government and excellent
opportunities for green technologies is
something every investor is excited about.
My own experience in green technology
and my latest research in capitalizing
solar power should be an interesting
conversation. Not to forget, I would surely
tell him how I aspire to be the front runner
of Green Technology in the country and how
my project makes commercializing solar
power exceedingly feasible.
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Please describe your short term (3 year)
career goals (200 words).
Within a span of 3 years, I perceive I would
have gained the necessary experience
along with the right competitive edge to
foray boldly towards my family business
and take on the responsibilities of the same.
However, before I do that, I would like to
work in a company of my choice. Since my
family is into retail since long, I wish to work
with a top retail chain immediately after I
complete my graduation. At present, I am
aspiring to be part of Amazon and learn all
about the e-commerce giant.
I believe three years would be ideal for
me to effectively implement my learnings
of management school. By day to day
practice and problem management, I am
sure to be able to improve on my skills and
train my mind and personality to take on
the challenges. Moreover, I aspire to gain
insight into the economics of competitive
markets especially in the e-tail segment and
hone to perfection the skills required for the
same. Also, the 3 years would be crucial
for me for furthering the network ties that
would further my long term goals. As such,
these three years would be as stepping
stones to my long term goals.
2. SHORT ANSWER QUESTIONS/ ESSAYS (200 – 500 words)

Falling into the second category or type of essays are the short answer questions. Usually
limited to a word limit of just under 500, these give the candidates a bit more space to express
the life goals and gain insights into the profile. Often used by Management Schools for their
Admission Essays, these are perhaps the trickiest set of questions/ essay writing and involve
a bit more technique and creativity.

To begin with, the universities have limited the
answer to about 500 words or about a page
long write up (double spaced with a minimum
12 font size). Here are a few standard
questions that are asked under this category
Narrate an important leadership incident.
What are your two most significant
accomplishments?
If you could change two things about
yourself, what would it be?
State an incident when you failed in life
and what you learnt out of it.
Essentially, the above questions try to gage into
the person’s character and abilities as a team
player and a leader. What is important to note
is that while a 500 word essay for narrating
only one incident would give the candidate the
necessary word limit, usually questions are
based on two parts. It would be then divided into
narrating that incident and reasoning about it
(read example 3 and 4 above).
Also, these questions are significantly looking
for two aspects of a person’s writing abilities…
one his/her ability to narrate an incident and the
second is the way the candidate can reason and
present his/her point of view.
For instance, in a class ‘failure’ question, the
university is looking not merely at what you saw
as a failure in your life but also how well you can
talk about it. Here are a few dos and donts.
Avoid using anecdotes and quotes, they
only take up precious space and do not
give you any special brownie points. Often
students believe that using a proverb or a
quote is essential but that is a myth. Unless
and until you are seeking admissions to a
creative writing or journalism course, these
are mere words.
Keep it conversational and under
acceptable casual manner. Trying to make
it all formal would also eat away your words
unnecessarily.

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 Stick to the question. Often students talk
about everything to get to their leadership
experience and keep explaining about their
job, etc. The university can get an idea of
your job by your resume as well. They need
to know the incident…talk about that.
Keep it short and within word limit.
Needless to say, this applies to all the
questions. Remember, the entire idea of
the exercise is to understand/ assess
your ability to express yourself in a limited
manner and space. Exceeding the word
limit is absolutely forbidden.
This is perhaps the most difficult set of
essays…not too long…not too short. Balance
is the key to writing these type of answers.
These questions are significantly looking for
two aspects of a person’s writing abilities…
one his/her ability to narrate an incident and
the second is the way the candidate can
reason and present his/her point of view.
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SAMPLE
Give a specific example of when you have
had to test your leadership and team
working skills. (300 words)
In my previous organization I was part of
a cross functional team responsible for
preparing proposal bid for a new product. A
technical person, the task of our team was
primarily creating the backend interface
to support the product delivery. We were
running for a deadline that was barely 2
weeks apart when to mu great surprise I
found myself left alone. An unfortunate
accident called my manager off to his
hometown. While I was the technical person
and could easily manage the briefing of my
team, my manager – the product manager
was the liaising officer. Without the proper
coordination between the three teams he
was managing, the delivery of the product
sample in time was a big ask. I crossed my
fingers and concentrated on my work but
soon all my fears came true. What a lack of
leader can do to an extremely streamlined
project can do became clear to us. Soon
the communications started to lag and
there was a delay. Deciding to take the
responsibility, I stepped up to the role.
I started by calling a quick meeting of all
the teams concerned and sharing how the
manager was not available. Opening up
the dialogue, I quickly addressed the bigger
issues and promised a quicker response
from my team. My willingness to repeatedly
change technical designs to accommodate
the other team’s concerns inspired
others innovate to optimize their designs.
Reaching out to the team members, I
was able to dispel the fears and put the
teams back in sync. Finally we were able to
salvage the situation and deliver the sample
in time for the bid.
Please describe your short-term and
long-term career objectives, and how you
expect our program to contribute to them.
(Not to exceed 500 words)
The world is forever changing and that
change is driven by technology. New and
improved techniques, gadgets and software
are changing the way we live; and I want
to be part of this change. In the short term
I aspire to take up leadership positions
where I can provide robust business plans
which can cater to the new ever connected
world which is borderless, while maintaining
environmental sustainability as its core
value.
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After completing my engineering I joined
XYZ Corporation, Bangalore as a Software
Engineer and from there on the journey has
been a ride of a life time. Quickly moving
from an executive to a manager, I managed
multiple roles and learnt all through the way.
Most importantly, I was able to innovate
myself and effectively adapt. My two year
off site experience in France was a further
boost to my career. Not only was the
experience an excellent learning curve, it
also opened up the myriad opportunities
the world has to offer. More importantly,
the new perspective gained by working in a
culturally vibrant team helped me evolve on
many levels. All this has effectively helped
me gain unparalleled success in my field at
a relatively young age.
Moving ahead, however, I feel that my
work has limited my scope of growth.
While it is challenging, it does not help me
understand how to further market myself.
Also, as the teams burgeon and move
beyond the national boundaries, I strongly
believe that I need to further reinvent
myself and improve my own understanding
of the industry I am in. As such a formal
education is the answer that would help
me in understanding the core concepts of
product visioning, branding. Correct product
delivery and marketing knowledge would
significantly impact my career growth and
also help me better utilize my skills. I hence
believe that an MBA at this juncture would
be the right way ahead.
Deciding on doing an MBA, ABC University
is an excellent choice, more so given my
unique requirements and expectations from
an MBA. The celebrated faculty, small class
sizes and the multi-cultural group makes
it extremely attractive to me. My lack of
formal understanding of the management
discipline would be better addressed by the
small class size. ABC’s team based MBA
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approach in which I would be very closely
working with a team would be the best way
to develop and refine my abilities in team
building and management that would come
in handy for achieving my long term goal.
I truly believe that the MBA program at
ABC is quintessentially the best available
program for me where in I would be able
to develop and perfect the necessary
attributes which would help me achieve my
goals, both short and long term, and provide
me with an enviable network and resources.
3. LONG ANSWER QUESTIONS/ ESSAYS (More than 500 words but
less than 800 words)

These along with full essays or Statement of Purpose are usually long answer type questions,
and can be anywhere upwards of 500 words to about 800 words. We distinguish these from
the Statement of Purpose or Full Length Essays because these are usually themed questions.
By that, we mean that these questions can be based on specific goals and objectives and
would hence would be dealt in a different manner. A common practice for many Management
Schools, these are usually one of two in number and are often a tad more creative than a
statement of purpose or a full length essay.

Here are a few question types for these kind of
essays
If you could be anyone other than who you
are, who would you be and why?
You met your country’s Prime Minister in
an elevator. Share what you would like to
talk to him about and why.
Do you believe moral ethics and business
ethics are different? Share your point of
view in not more than 750 words.
Share your two qualities that would add
value to the institutes. Also share one
weakness that you wish to address while
you are here.
Simply put, these are more often than not
conditional essays or essays that seek you to
express your point of view. They could also be
case study based or asking about moral ethics
versus business ethics or something as simple
as asking you to share your favourite leader’s
name and explain why. In other words, these are
plain and simple essays. Universities ask you
to talk about your career progression or your
strengths and weakness.
What is important to remember is that these
are questions that seek creativity from you. For
straight questions the pointers remain similar to
the previous types of essays. However, for the
ones that seek a bit more information into the
kind of person you are or your thought process,
here are a few pointers on how to answer them.
Keep it honest. More often than not
students try to think of the best possible
answers that would show them in a brilliant
positive light. What they tend to forget
is that variety is what the universities
are looking for. Be honest about yourself
because that would help you express
yourself in the best manner possible.
Avoid using negative terms and stick to the
narrative as much as possible.

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 In questions which ask you of why you
would decide or why you decided, etc., try
to limit your narrative to about 40 percent
and use 60 percent of word limit to explain
your ideas/ viewpoints. For instance, in a
question about ethical dilemma, is it is for
500 words, use about 200 words to explain
the incident and 300 words to share your
decision and why you took it.

Do your research. Often, students come to

pick up the more famous names like Gandhi
and Abraham Lincoln or Steve Jobs, etc.
when asked to write about the leader than
inspired you. Our advice, do a bit of reading
and research. Often, writing about the rather
less obvious names would make your essay
more interesting to read. This does not
mean that you cannot write about Gandhi
or Abraham Lincoln. If you have been truly
inspired, then follow point number one – be
honest.

When asked to list out your strengths or

weaknesses, try to give incidents that
validate the same. Simply saying I am an
honest person is not enough. Share an
incident that would make it more evident.

It is healthy to share your failures…remember,

a true leader is often the person who can
effectively overcome his/her past failures and
keep moving ahead!

Being creative does not mean using

extremely difficult words and breaking into a
quote every now and then.

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SAMPLE
Assume you are evaluating your
application from the perspective of
a student member of the Kellogg
Admissions Committee. Why would you
and your peers select you for admission,
and what impact would you make as a
member of the Kellogg community? (600
word limit).
There are three distinct points that truly
stand out in this particular application. And
while at a general overview it is a rather
unassuming application, we would like to
stress out on these three things.
To begin with, the excellent academic
record calls out. What is exceptional about
that, though, is the humble beginning and
the ability to rise to occasions, even when
not everything was provided on a latter.
Growing up in a small village where the
family had to scrape through to provide a
decent meal and education to 5 siblings
is one thing. It was all hard work and
dedication that propelled the applicant (me
in this case) from an incognito life to the life
in the fast lane.
The second, obviously is the ability to
quickly adapt and stand out. From a village
to a metropolitan, I quickly adapted to the
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life and was able to deliver effectively. I
was chosen as the head of the student
council of my college, was the campus
brand ambassador for a national daily and
even went on to contribute effectively to the
placement cell of my campus.
Finally, what stands out about the
candidacy is the inventive zest and the
determination to make a difference. My
decision to go back my village with a
handful of my college friends and assist
in remodelling of the village showcases
my belief that we are our own destiny. The
combined efforts helped bring better water
facilities to my village and also helped the
farmers. The small education program
continues to enrich the lives of many
families and bring economic independence.
All these attributes highlight my candidacy
and brings about a person who is
determined, focussed and uniquely
innovative. The implementation of
e-chaupal in our village and the setting up
of a placement centre for the seasonal
farmers has truly assisted in improving the
living conditions in the village. This also
talks about the high sense of giving back to
the society. All these characteristics sync
well with Kellogg’s ideology.
To sum it all up, my achievements, the work
experiences and the unique life I have led
has enabled me to effectively improve my
personality. The zeal and zest to be my
own worst competitor has helped me set
milestones one after another. But while I
managed to do all that, I have always been
a most curious student and let life be my
best teacher. As such, these teachings bring
a unique mix of determination, risk taking
ability, innovation and an effective leader
in myself. I will bring my perspective and
skills to the cohort and seek to learn and
utilize the perspectives and skills of others,
while applying this learning in a work based
scenario. I believe that Kellogg is the ideal
place for me where in I can hone my skills,
interact with people from across the globe,
be guided by excellent faculty members and
alumni and also in return give my own small
contributions that would make my stay at
the university memorable for me as well as
my peers.
Please share one or two examples
from your past experience that best
illustrate(s) how you will contribute to this
highly engaging and hands-on learning
environment. (600 words)
The best aspect of being in the army is that
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every day brings forth a new experience
that not only tries you but forces you to
think not as a person but as a team. This
has been extremely evident in a lot of my
experiences. More so when I was serving
with the Peacekeeping Force in the jungles
of Congo. Being an India, belonging to the
southern and tropical part of the country
you would think would prepare me for the
dense and humid jungles of Congo. But
that was a far cry. Furthermore, the troops
from around the world presented a unique
cultural mix. While everyone was working
towards the common goal…of fighting the
rebel forces, the fact remains that everyone
was tasked into overcoming the usual
cultural hurdles. Language being one of
them. It was during that particularly trying
time that the best of me came forth.
Just before the start of a particular mission,
I was asked to induct a faction of the
Congolese army into the unit. Not only were
they all fresh recruits, none of them were
particularly fluent in the language of choice
– English. As the COO, it was my duty to
facilitate the proper training of this faction.
Apart from that, it was crucial that we were
able to effectively utilize their common
knowledge and overcome the cultural
divide.
The training kicked off and though we were
patient and I tried every single means of
the rule book to train them, I felt a certain
desolation in the army. Not only did they
lack enthusiasm, they were downright
morose and sad. I presumed it was
because of the state their country was in
but failed to motivate them. Neither words,
nor actions could excite them. It was then
that I realized that before implementing
a solution I had not truly understood the
problem. Wanting to figure out the problem
I tapped in the local sentiments, trying to
understand their reverie and a rather unique
problem surfaced.
Every country has its own unique social
set up and so was the case with Congo. A
rather large country with almost no means
of communication and large widespread
jungles, the societies had found their own
unique communication system. They
simply tagged everyone along. In order
to avoid lack of information, the family
members had come up with a unique
way to be informed. They simply moved
with their entire group, wife and kids
along, even into the battle areas. And the
Congolese army was rather desolate after
understanding that in the conventional
army, this was not possible. The constant
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worry about their family was the core
reason of their state of mind. Once I
understood that, I could figure out a better
plan of action.
We focused demonstratively on the de-
induction plans and could convince them
through the possibilities also. Such was the
situation in which I effectively tapped into
my past experiences of interacting with the
locals and my interpersonal skills, focussed
approach with empathy and a deep
understanding and came out victorious.
The operation went smoothly with no
casualties on either side.
I would bring such a unique combination
of strategy definition, seeking effective
solutions and building teams out of
diverse group of individuals to the XXX
MBA. I am certain that I would be able to
effectively lead the team to understand
the problems faced by such countries,
how relief is such a matter of concern and
how by being humble and becoming a part
of a community we can find the easiest
solutions to the most confusing situations.
More importantly, I believe my ability to
effectively lead a multi-cultural team would
also assist in not only adapting but helping
my peers adapt to such groups.
4. FULL LENGTH ESSAYS (800 words and more)
These are, as the name suggests, full length essays and are of 800 words or more. The most
common form of full length essays are Statement of Purpose. These are essentially essays
that are asked by the widest number of universities across a wide list of courses. They are also
famously referred to as the Admission Essays.
These could be question based essays or a
student could simply be asked to present his/
her statement of purpose. Again, the questions
could be specific in nature or could be rather
vague. While the straight questions are the
elaborative form of previously mentioned
essays, a Statement of Purpose is completely
different and must be handled in a certain
manner. Here are some key pointers for writing
an effective Statement of Purpose:
Don’t wait too long to share what your
purpose is. Often students start by
narrating their entire life history before
getting to the basic answer – what do you
want to do in life and why. Answer the first
part or rather ‘state’ your life’s purpose or
goal in the first paragraph itself.
You can quote a leader or a famous
personality but this is not mandatory. Again,
using quotes and proverbs often add more
vigour and life to the essay and gives it an
artistic touch. You, however, don’t have to
mandatorily use it. And also, if you do use
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it, it is not necessary to always begin with
it…sometimes, proverbs or famous quotes
make for a very interesting ending to an
essay.
Divide your life into small and equal
paragraphs. This is a simple enough
technique and helps you space out your
statement of purpose. Ideally, a Statement
of Purpose should have about 5 paragraphs
of about 200 to 250 words each. There is a
template for your reference.
BE very careful about grammar and
punctuation. Also, using big words is
not a judge of your essays’ worth. But,
you can be technical if you want. For
instance, a computer software engineer
applying for a masters in the subject may
use programming language names, etc.
Similarly, a botanist can use scientific
names. When you do use them, though, do
italicize them to ensure proper punctuation.
Decide a chronology and let it flow. Do not
 keep jumping from your school to your
college and back to your school. Try to
keep the flow in a systematic manner, this
ensures a better read and understanding.
Try to talk about incidents in your life that
have been turning points for you, these
could be failures as well. Students believe
that they should not talk about their failures
but that is not true. Talking about those
small incidents also help the reader connect
with you on a personal level.
cohesive and easy to read. Long Paragraphs
should be avoided as much as possible.
Statement of Purpose, is a document that
lists out the person’s motivations in life, the
journey so far and what he/she aspires to
achieve in his/her life.
Here is a template for an effective Statement of
Purpose.

Dividing your long essays into smaller

paragraphs of 200 – 250 words make it more

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STATEMENT OF PURPOSE (Standard Template)
Para 1: INTRODUCTION AND STATEMENT
OF GOALS
Use this space to talk about your goal in life.
You can be creative here and use analogy’s
or quotes to make it more interesting. But,
don’t waste a lot of space in introducing
your goal. The sooner you lay it out, the
better it is. Remember, it is an essay about
your goals in life…so starting with it is
always a good idea.
Para 2 & 3: CAREER PROGRESSION
This is the para which you usually use to
talk about yourself. You can start with a
brief history about yourself and career
progression starting from your school to
your college. This is the paragraph which
is usually dedicated to your academic
pursuits. If you have work experience, you
can limit your school life and talk more
about your college in para 2 and move to
work experience in para 3. If not and you
are applying directly after your graduation
or school, then you can divide para 2 for
academic and para 3 for co-curricular.
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Para 4: WHY?
This is the most important part of your
Statement of Purpose for this is the place
where you provide the reason as to why
you wish to do what you wish to do. You
can make it more interesting by narrating
an incident that lead you to the decision
or a turning point in your life. The more
emphatic and passionate you are in this
paragraph, the better your essay.
Para 5: HOW YOU PLAN TO ACHIEVE
YOUR GOAL
You are finally ending your essay. So far
you have talked about what you want to do,
what lead you to that decision and why you
are moving towards this course. Now, lay
down how you plan to achieve your goals.
If you wish to get into research, write it. If
you plan to work for a certain organization,
write it. This goes on to show how well you
have thought your life over. Also, give it
time periods…for instance, I intend to work
in the industry for 2 years before I start my
research program.
STATEMENT OF PURPOSE (Sample)
Ever since I can remember, I have been inclined
towards learning programming languages. My
first rendezvous with computer was at the age
of 11 when I started learning Lotus 123 and DOS
that was very popular at the time. Intrigued by
the power of these basic languages and very
keen to learn how to assemble a computer,
I upgraded the hardware of my computer at
the age of 13; all on my own. My decision to
study computer science as a major in my
undergraduate course was thus a consequence
of these interests.
My Bachelor’s curriculum exposed me to a
wide range of computer science courses, laying
a strong foundation in the same field. I got a
chance to delve deeper into the concepts of
Computer Organization, Compiler Design, Data
Structures and Algorithms, Object Oriented
Programming Concepts and Database
Management Systems. Always being good at
mathematics, I was quick to learn programming
languages such as C, C++ and VB. In the third
semester, I was introduced to Data Structures,
which taught me how data can be efficiently
stored and retrieved through it, and it caught my
interest. The concept of compilers made more
sense to me now and I realized how powerful
they are and how programming languages work
at the backend. Understanding algorithms and
data structures also helped me in developing
18
more efficient applications.
In my academic years I accomplished many
projects in which the first one was ‘Camera
Security using Video Streaming in ASP .NET,
C#’ in August 2012. This project provided
efficient security with the use of web cameras
and sending it using video streaming. With the
help of this project places like house, office and
many other personal places gets secured. The
web cam starts recording and streams the video
to the owner whenever intruder occurs and the
place is fully secured.
One another project I did in November 2011
was ‘Online Student Portal System’. The main
objective of this project was to develop a
comprehensive implementation strategy for
the delivery of web-based student services.
It provided an interactive web based system
wherein students, teachers along with parents
can interact online and enhance communication
between them. Another project was done when
I was in Florida during my program in 2014.
‘Development of Mobile Application’, the aim
for this project is to create an application for a
smart phone which lets users create a mobile
ad-hoc network to share their files and perform
effective audio/ video streaming using bit
torrent approach. This project I did under the
course mobile networking and this can be used
in short areas like campus such as parking
areas or dense deep areas where there is no
internet connection so can us this own created
network.
Within my undergraduate course, I initiated an
internship from CISCO Academy, Chandigarh
in June- August 2012. The ICND1 covers
Network Types, Network Media, Switching
Fundamentals, TCP/IP, IP Addressing and
Routing, WAN Technologies, Operating and
Configuring IOS Devices, and Managing Network
Environments. It helped me learn Extending
Switched Networks with VLANS, Determining
IP Routes, and Managing IP traffic with Access
Lists, Establishing Point-to-Point connections,
and Establishing Frame Relay Connections.
I find the Zero Touch technology which is an
optical multi-touch interaction and is an idea
behind the Interface Ecology laboratory very
impressive because students are encouraged
here to express their individual creativity and
expression. I believe it will give me a great
degree of expertise and exposure that will add
greatly to my knowledge and skills in advanced
programming, computer-human interaction and
intelligent systems.
I am looking forward to my life-changing years
at University of XXX. With the right blend of
expert guidance that I will get at the University
and my self-motivation, I am confident of
achieving my life’s goal.

The MS program in Computer Science at

the University of Texas, A&M is my preferred
academic course because of its expansive
curriculum with courses in programming,
algorithms and data mining. These courses
will help me to gain specialized knowledge
in Programming Languages, Generic
programming, Analysis of Algorithms,
Randomized Algorithms and Database systems
and Applications. I will also get an opportunity
to work in Parasol laboratory where research
on next generation computer languages and
data intensive applications is being carried on.

19
“XXX’s mission statement is “We educate
global leaders who create sustainable
prosperity worldwide”. As the second half of
this mission is driven by our graduates, how
do you foresee yourself living out this mission
after graduating from XXX? Are there specific
organizations or companies that serve as an
example of sustainable prosperity for you?
The world is in a constant flux and the biggest
reason for the same is the wide disparities.
Not of cultures and thoughts but in fact of the
economies. There is an ever increasing divide
between the rich and the poor. And I for one
believe that until and unless the corporate
and the capitalists start doing their bit for the
society, we would not be able to continue with
the growth of any economy.
I believe that economy is effectively linked to
the ecology and agree that holistic development
of the human race cannot be achieved if
we solely focus on economic development
and forget about the environment at large.
Tackling the problems at the macro level, I
envision to bridge the divide by seeking a better
cooperation between the developed nations
and the developing countries and focusing on
creating platforms that would assist and give
equal opportunities to all. This is where I seek to
exploit the global ideology and resources at XXX,
20
particularly the expertise of the faculty and the
alumni.
At XXX, I wish to corroborate my vision of an
impartial world through the knowledge and
wisdom that I would gain. , I am sure that
armed with the skills that I learn at XXX, I shall
be in a better position to bring about a change
and strive for a fairer world. I aspire to set up
a group of budding managers from across
the globe who would effectively create funds
and organizations aiming at various aspects
of sustainable growth and corporate social
responsibility. To begin with, I would aim at
setting up a global network and would start with
the issue of our environment.
Growing up in a typical defence family, I was
lucky to have a life filled with adventure. The
constant transfers across the country not only
excited me, they were the best learning lessons
of my life. Soon I realized I had a knack of
learning languages and adapting to the society
I was in. More importantly, it helped me retain
my humility and easily adapt. Furthermore, a
volunteer at XXX, I worked over the weekends
and took part in various activities and field trips
that aimed at sensitizing the people about the
local flora and fauna. Our major effort went
towards organizing interactive sessions and
presentations at the local schools. It is very
important to inspire and educate the future
generations for I believe that they hold the
beacon of hope. This belief has inspired me
to be a constant patron of the Greenpeace
community as well and I regularly monitor
and express my opinion on the petitions that
Greenpeace files. The entire planet is our home
and one must learn to respect it and use the
resources in a thoughtful manner. Wastage
and pollution are killing our planet and we can’t
possibly believe that we can live if the planet
dies. My respect for the endeavours of WWF and
Greenpeace Society is immense and I wish to
forever be associated with them and do my bit.
I also feel that my company, XXX is a pioneer
in understanding the responsibility towards
the society and I feel that their dedication is
worth a mention. Constantly motivated to
give back to the society, XXX has a dedicated
Corporate Social Responsibility engagements
and I am an active member of the same.
Recently the Leh Flash flood motivated many
of my peers and colleagues from the XXX Biker
Group to step in and help the families that
were thrown mercilessly down the river. Such
combined efforts further cemented my belief of
concentrated growth endeavours. The company
also has a committee which deals with various
issues such as employee relief and ideas that
touch almost every aspect of the company. One
21
of the ideas that were picked was to get motion
detector lights installed in the washrooms to
cut electricity consumption and I am proud
to say that my role was commendable in the
initiative. I am inclined to further increase my
level and scope of involvement at XXX. I aim to
devise ways that people would be able to use
technology that can not only make their life
easier but also make the planet a better place to
live.
An individual with a mission, I am not walking
the road that leads to a dead end. My aspiration
for the world is a global work place that would
simultaneously aim at achieving equilibrium. I
believe that Mother Nature is a potent force that
can effectively make or break any company.
No amount of technology can save a human
from the wrath of nature if he was to step on a
wrong foot. Now is the time for all of us to unite
and undertake the responsibility of restoring
the equilibrium. Working collaboratively is the
only way forward for if one was only working
singularly; he would only be erasing the past
mistakes and would not be left with any time
to further implement corrective strategies for
the future. We all have a moral responsibility
towards our future generations along with a
bigger responsibility of teaching our generation
and the next and helping them in ensuring that
our mistakes are not repeated. XXX’s philosophy
gels perfectly well with my ideology and I believe
that such a stance is the only way forward.
The thought and idea of organizations working
in tandem, of true globalization not merely for
profit but also for the betterment of the society
on a whole is what growth is all about. And I
stand tall for I believe that I am already part of
that moment and wish to continue this journey
with my peers at XXX and make it a success for
many to follow.

In short, XXX would provide me with the right

amount of knowledge and skill sets with a
unique pool of resources in which I can tap and
bring about the amalgamation of individual
endeavours on economic and environmental
front. By working towards unifying the two,
I would be able to bring about the requisite
sustainable development. I believe that I stand
only as an individual at present, but once I
graduate from XXX, I would be part of a huge
group, and in that unity is the answer to the
future problems.

22
ACADEMIC RESUME: WHAT IT IS AND HOW TO MAKE IT

Seeking admission to an international university often requires a whole lot of paperwork and
documentation. While students do their research for their admission essays or statement of
purpose, they often forget that the document that holds if not equal but a substantial impact
on your admission is also your Resume. And no, the resume is not the standard resume you
would provide for your job application. Learning to make the right resume is essential in order
to gain the first favourable impression with the Admission Committee.

To simply define the document, an academic resume is a simple statement of facts

that include your academic qualifications, achievements and work experience in a set
chronological order. Also, since it is an academic resume, it contains, in detail all the specific
scores.

HOW TO MAKE AN IMPRESSIVE ACADEMIC
RESUME
The most important part of developing an
effective and impressive resume is to realize
and understand the purpose of creating this
document. You need to understand that it is
not an autobiography, instead it is a summary
of your professional and academic qualification
and achievements. An undergraduate aspirant
must focus on their academic credentials and
extra-curricular activities; an MS applicant
must emphasize on their research interests
and breakthroughs; and an MBA aspirant must
endeavour to showcase their professional and
leadership abilities. Here are a few pointers to
create an effective resume:
Divide your resume into separate relevant
headings like Academic Qualification,
Professional Qualification, Projects,
Internships, Seminars, Publications,
Workshops, Presentations, Achievements,
Technical Skills, Extra-Curricular Activities,
Honorary Service, Sports Participation, etc.
You may even considering segregating
your Work Experience into Professional and
Entrepreneurial Venture, if applicable
Focus on prioritization of content based on
your academic or professional profile. For
example, any quantifiable achievement which
has added value to the organization must be
mentioned before a general contribution

23
Use action verbs to describe your role in
the project/internship/job, etc., but use
varied verbs to break the monotony of the
document
Use bullets to provide a clean and organized
look to your resume
Mentioning your complete contact
information in your resume is an important
aspect of developing the document. Ensure
to include your full name, complete address
including the street number, city, state,
postal code, hand phone number and email
address
Mention dates/duration as much
as possible and that too, in reverse
chronological order. Editing and proof
reading holds immense importance in your
resume. The admission committee, at any
cost, should not come across any misspelt
word or mistake in grammar. Usually a
resume is limited to two pages unless
specified.
Remember:
This is not your work resume so avoid
cluttering it with Synopsis and Objectives. Your
essays are doing the same.

Format your resume extremely carefully

as that is what decides how readable
your resume is going to be. The length
of the CV must not exceed two pages
under any circumstances. Placement of
information should be such that all the
necessary and relevant information is
readily visible to the Committee member
going through the CV.

Formatting the resume also holds immense

importance in making it presentable. Do not
clutter information in the CV and keep them
separated using bullets

24
SAMPLE: ACADEMIC RESUME

E
PL
M
SA

25
INTRODUCTION: RECOMMENDATION LETTER (LOR)

A recommendation letter is a document that provides the Admission Committee a

comprehensive insight to your suitable candidature for admission into the concerned
University. The letter aims at enabling the Admission Committee gain a clearer and favorable
picture of your experience, achievements, contributions and skills communicated by the
recommender through the recommendation letter.

Provided that almost every application
necessitates submission of 2-3 recommendation
letters, you must have your recommenders
identified and agreed to prepare your letter well
in time. Also, don’t underrate the importance
of an LOR as it is almost as important as your
essays, statements of purpose, resume or any
other document for that matter. While targeting
your recommenders, you must remember a
few key pointers following which you will end up
submitting outstanding LOR’s to the Admission
Committee.
strict no-no as it does not offer much value to your
candidature for the program you are applying to.
You must always remember that the Admission
Committee scurries through thousands of
applications and yours is one of them. Now, in
order to stand it out, focus on including your
qualities and accomplishments reinforced by
real instances. Another important point here is
to endeavour to make all your LORs unique and
that can be achieved only if you include unique
instances in all the LORs.

An important point to be kept in mind is that an

LOR is not a repetition of an SOP. An ideal LOR is
supposed to demonstrate aspects/perspectives
of your personality not mentioned either in your
SOP or resume. Thus, an ideal recommender is the
one who knows you well, has personally witnessed
the quality of work delivered by you and readily
agreed to provide specific instances of your valued
contribution and excellence. A generic LOR is a

26
SAMPLE

ACADEMIC LETTER OF RECOMMENDATION his interest in the manufacturing and creative

(LOR FROM A FACULTY/ PROFESSOR)
I am writing this reference letter in support of
ABC who is applying to the Master in Science
program at your esteemed University. I have
known ABC in my capacity as his Professor
for over three years now during which, I taught
him the courses Thermodynamics, Heat &
Mass Transfer, Renewable Sources of Energy
and Advanced IC Engines in the first, fourth,
fifth and sixth semesters respectively. Through
my observation, I would like to say that he is
attentive and studious and always possesses a
positive attitude towards academics.
Throughout his course of study, ABC has shown
great interest towards practical aided learning
techniques. We engaged in several course
and research related discussions in which, he
confidently talked about his aspirations towards
higher education. For his project, he chose
the significantly complex topic of “Enhancing
Efficiency of Screw Press Oil Expeller Roller”.
Besides this, he has also gained experience
innumerous simple concepts, which are highly
valuable for the future generation.
Besides the academic record, ABC’s
participation in MIRAGE’14, state level project
competition for Mechanical Engineering
students held in our college, clearly displays
sector. As a person who is always ready to take
up responsibility, he carries out his duties with
immense dedication.
I have the deepest personal and professional
respect for him, and sincerely believe ABC will
bring his unique energy, optimism, passion, and
tireless creativity to your class and University as
a whole. Thus, he has my highest endorsement
for admission into his desired course at your
University. If you have any questions about this
recommendation, please do not hesitate to
contact me for I will gladly try to help.
Sincerely,
Name
Designation, Department
College, City
Contact
Email

27
SAMPLE
PROFESSIONAL LETTER OF
RECOMMENDATION (LOR FROM A
SUPERVISOR)
It gives me immense pleasure in writing this
letter of recommendation for ABC, an apt
prospective research students, who should
undoubtedly be given a chance to prove their
mettle in his desired field of study. I have known
ABC for over two years, during which he was a
vital part of my team at Tribal Fusion Pvt Ltd.,
Noida where he had been my subordinate for
various projects.
ABC is a professional software developer
of the highest calibre, whose meticulous
implementation of projects has earned him
highest praises from all his team mates as well
as seniors. He possesses strong analytical
and programming skills. During his tenure,
he developed projects like X, Y and Z for
the company EFG. He also houses in-depth
knowledge in analysis, design and development
in Java, J2EE technologies as well as backend
algorithm developments in MS SQL Server and
Oracle.
ABC single-handedly implemented various
reports and data fetching algorithms, which
effectively generated automated reports for
28
more than 100 thousand records and also
helped in enhancing the performance of the
record management team. I have received many
positive and noteworthy feedbacks from clients
who were impressed by his helpful nature and
professional approach of working.
ABC has the innate ability of handling pressure
well. He voluntarily works overtime and rarely
misses any deadlines. He was even recognized
as the Best Performer of the Quarter within three
month of his joining. Based on our interaction, I
am certain that he will prove to be an invaluable
asset to any organization/institution he joins,
and thus, I highly recommend him for admission
into graduate studies at your University.
Sincerely,
Name
Designation, Department
College, City
Contact, Email 
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