There are so many issues people face while writing their SOP - that is - their statement of purpose. SOP could make or break your application. Many times, as has been said countless times before, a weak point in your application could be made up for in your statement of purpose by giving appropriate explanations. But i know of many people who get stuck at the very first paragraph of the SOP. How to start one’s SOP? Often times it has been seen that people just blindly copy something off of SOPs they find on line. Just for the sake of sounding really out of the ordinary, people end up sounding just like anyone else - or just like how applications have sounded last year to the admission committee.

How do you make your SOP stand out? Remember, first impressions are usually last impression. And you dont have a lot of time to gain the evaluators attention. You better make the start of the SOP something which can stand out. But that does not mean you copy the most grandiose language SOPs verbatim into you SOP. Here is an example of a SOP that got rejected from a top 5 university. This is what it started with:

The awe and wonder I felt after finishing my first science fiction book I ever read by Isaac Asimov has remained decades later an integral part of me well into my adult life. Over the years, an increased awareness of the world around me led to slight modification toambition has not changed.

This sounds pretty good in a novel, but not in a SOP. Not anymore at least. This is something that has been read over and over in SOPs by the admission people and you dont wanna give them something they are sick and tired of reading year after year. You need to at least put in some thought into what you are going to write. Creating a fantasy should be the last thing on your mind while writing your SOP, presenting facts backed by evidence is what is required.

Here is another not-so-great-start example:

The idea of being able to create a system that learns from its environment, evolving and adapting with time, paralleling how humans evolve, and potentially changing the ways in which we interact with machines has always fascinated me.

Well this is not exactly a bad start, but still, how do you justify that you wanted to create a robot learning from its environment at age 5. Did you even know what a robot as back then? Why always? What does always even mean? This is vague and not to the point. Basically, looks like a job done in haste.

Now here is an example of a SOP which made it to the top universities:

My  undergraduate  education  at  XXX college,  coupled  with  projects  at  2  of  India’s  premier  research  institutes­ YYY  and  ZZZ,  has  deepened  my  interest  in  Computer  Science.  By  pursuing  MS  in  Computer  Science  from AAA University,  I  will  be  able  to  fulfill  my  career  goal  of  carrying  out research on problems faced by this industry. 

Now what does this SOP starting have in it? Truth!! Its plain, simple facts which seem to come straight from the heart. The student starts with facts (which are backed by details later). And then mentions her desire to solve problems faced by this industry - short and succinct. No fantasy, no alice in wonderland stories. Simple and straightforward. This is what you should try to create in your SOP. A simple and straight forward essay written in a way to bring out your strong points pointing to why you considered that university for grad education.