Do Universities Check for Plagiarism in SOP

Do universities check for plagiarism in an SOP? 

This is one question which may come in mind of those who are applying for a UG or PG course at a foreign university, and thinking of taking online help for preparing an SOP or Statement of Purpose. No matter how tempting it is to take a few lines or sentences from online resources, it is better to know the consequences before taking any such step. In this article, we will inform you whether universities have an SOP plagiarism checker to check for plagiarism in SOPs or not.

What is a Statement of Purpose (SOP)?

To begin with, let us understand what an SOP is. It is a long essay, required by universities abroad that includes the academic and non-academic achievements of the aspirant. Through the SOP, the admission committee of a university also gets an idea of why an aspirant is seeking admission to their university program. It helps them assess the profile of the candidate and decide whether he/she is fit to pursue that program or not.

What is an SOP Plagiarism Checker?

An SOP Plagiarism Checker is a tool used to check the copied content from the resources available on the internet. In this digital era, where a lot of information is easily accessible, such a plagiarism checker for SOP helps the universities in filtering out the original Statement of Purpose from other plagiarized ones. Although there are many free plagiarism checkers available, online, which offer limited scope of checking the content, universities abroad use better, paid plagiarism checkers for SOP, which make it impossible to get any plagiarized SOP approved. Thus, to avoid rejection at least on the basis of plagiarism, it is important to steer clear of any available content online. One should an original SOP, which can truly reflect your personality.  

Why You Should Not Copy an SOP?

Nowadays, a lot of SOPs or sample SOPs are available online, resulting in many aspirants copying them while applying to a university. Even after knowing the importance of the SOP in the admission process, many aspirants use plagiarized content. The following reasons will help you know why you should not copy an SOP:

• Chances of adding wrong information: While copying the content, there are chances of adding details which are not relevant to your profile. This can create a wrong impression if the SOP does not match the other aspects of your application. Also, the SOPs of two candidates cannot be the same under any circumstances. The challenges that one goes through while working on research projects, or the skills that students develop during internships can be unique to each. Even if two students have encountered the same problems, their approach cannot be the same always. Also, their goals in life cannot match.
• Unreal portrayal of language skills: Some students complain about not having good English skills to write a good SOP, and they end up copying the content. It may lead to the unreal portrayal of English language proficiency, if the SOP does not match the language of other parts of the application or the scores of an English proficiency test. Here, you need to understand that a Statement of Purpose (SOP) need not contain fancy vocabulary. Rather, it should be able to explain your goals clearly and elaborate on what you want to achieve in your life, apart from what you have already learned in your academic and professional life.
• Rejection of the application: Moreover, copying an SOP will impact your chances of selection as the copied content can be detected by the SOP plagiarism checker used by the universities. Getting a rejection on the basis of sop plagiarism can be really disheartening and impede the application process.

Tips to Write an SOP without Plagiarism

Writing an original SOP that is free from plagiarism is essential for every applicant. Here are the top tips for writing an SOP without plagiarism:

• Understand the Purpose of an SOP:An SOP is a personal statement that reflects your own goals, motivations, and qualifications. Hence, it is supposed to reflect your own experiences and aspirations.
• Research:To write an SOP that is free from plagiarism, it is important for you to understand the university, programme, and other essential details. This will help you tailor your SOP according to the programme’s needs.
• Personal Experiences:In your SOP, emphasise your individual experiences, triumphs, and goals. Give specific examples that support your qualifications, expertise, and commitment. Use these opportunities to highlight your special skills and the value you can bring to the programme or to an institution/organisation.
• Structure:To ensure a coherent flow of ideas in your SOP, provide an outline or structure. Start off with an attention-grabbing beginning that draws the reader in. Discuss your academic background, research experiences, professional goals, and how the programme or organisation fits with your plans after that. Strong conclusions that restate your primary ideas should be used to close the essay.
• Proofread:After you have written your SOP, proofread it carefully to check for any grammatical errors, typing errors, or inconsistencies. Make sure your sentences are clear and concise.

How do Graduate Schools Assess SOPs?

Graduate schools in the USA look at the holistic profile of the candidate. They match the academic and other details in the SOP with the documents that you have provided. Your SOP should state your achievements and drawbacks, how you tackled them and what you have learned from them. If the admission committee does not find your application in sync with your SOP, then they might think that you have copied it from somewhere and chances are that they will reject your application.

Also, it should contain your experiences; if you have worked on a research project, then you should mention everything about it: the tasks that you have done or the challenges you faced while working on it; this will strengthen your application. Therefore, you should be extra careful not to copy your SOP from anywhere as an SOP Plagiarism Checker can break your dream of getting admission into your desired university.

As the format of the SOP remains the same, admission committee members often encounter sentences that are commonly used by students. It can happen that you or someone who has worked with you (colleague or batchmate) may have encountered a similar situation. However, your approach to solving that issue matters and how you arrived at the solution is important. Apart from this, you may have similar kinds of achievements, but how you achieved them, your working style and your approach cannot be similar to your colleagues. As a matter of fact, the way you express yourself cannot be similar to anyone else. A personal statement has to be from someone who is applying, so, you should explain your own goals, achievements, and aspirations.