Should a statement of purpose be structured into sections?

Question

I'm considering applying to Purdue University's computer science PhD program. While reading the section on the statement of purpose, I saw the following interesting comment:

There is no word limit but it is in your best interest to be concise.

We prefer that you write a comment or short paragraph under each of the following headings and upload into the electronic application system:

Applicant's Name:

Long Term Degree Objective:

Research Experience:

Publications:

Future Research Interests:

Other Comments:

In short, they would like me to submit my statement of purpose in a format that includes section headings, with a brief paragraph under each section heading,

I will likely apply to other PhD programs as well, and, ideally, I would like to create a "base" statement of purpose, and then modify it for each program that I apply to. My question then is:

Is the structure described above OK for a statement of purpose that is submitted to another university (except when the other program also asks for its own structure)?

The reason I ask is that I have not found many universities that ask for a specific structure, so I'm curious to know if this structure works well for other universities. Additionally, I have not read many statements of purpose that include section headings (they are instead structured as one long essay), so I found this comment to be a bit unusual.

Answer 1

You would do yourself no good to use a format other than what they suggest, and yes, with section headings, as some readers there will be more interested in some things than others and will want to find them easily.

However, for a general SoP, the sections on publications and experience belong in the CV, not the SoP. The SoP should be forward looking pointing to educational/research goals and career objectives.

Also, while it is good to have a general SoP, you should expect to tailor it to different institutions. The given format here is a decent "checklist" of things to include, but I wouldn't expect to use it as is other places.

I don't think "Should..." is the appropriate emphasis here. "Could..." seems fine, though. I would, myself, prefer a more "literary" style so that the SoP becomes a writing sample.