Writing the Personal Statement

1. Writing the Personal Statement

2. 2 Approaches • Focus on your area of study. • Write a narrative essay that addresses a specific writing prompt.

3. The Personal Statement (Essay) • Sometimes referred to as a “memoir” because the author chose to focus on a personal experience or reminiscence. • The subject is YOU! • Written in first person • It’s the one nonfiction genre in which you are the most qualified person to write your essay.

4. University Bound • The personal statement is your opportunity to tell universities, colleges, and future employers about your suitability for coursework that you hope to study or field you’d like to work in. You need to demonstrate your enthusiasm and commitment, and above all, ensure that you stand out from the crowd. • The quality of your writing reflects the quality of your thinking. Show that you know your strengths and can outline your ideas clearly.

5. Your Audience • The people reading your essay are a lot like your teachers and school administrators. They want to know whether you are someone who thinks about what happens in your life and can grow, even from the bad experiences. They like to see you formulate an idea or draw a meaningful lesson by connecting different events. They look for intellectual vitality, creativity, genuineness and sincerity, and in a serious essay, a feeling of passion or deep ring about your topic.

6. How to Start? • Some statements start with quotes, some include jokes, some set out to be unusual or eye-catching. Sometimes it works, but it might have the opposite effect to what you hoped. The admissions or employer decision maker may not share your sense of humor so be careful when trying to make your statement stand out. • A good opening will grab the readers’ attention and cause them to read the statement properly, rather than just scanning it.

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8. The Do’s : What to Include • Be sure to read the question on the application carefully and stick to answering that question.

9. DO • Comply with the word and space limitations given in the application; the school uses them to tell you how deep they want you to go in your analysis and description.

10. DO • If you have a choice, shorter is better.

11. DO • Feel free to express your emotions within appropriate limits, even to reveal contradictory emotions.

12. DO • Tell what you realized from this event, how it changed you, what it meant to you, why you find it worth telling.

13. DO • Choose one incident, not the entire trip: "The day I trekked in the desert," not, "My six weeks in Death Valley."

14. DO • Find the unusual in the ordinary: "She was an illiterate, elderly immigrant from China, but my afternoon with her changed my life," not, "Many unusual people addressed our group."

15. DO • Get personal; tell something with deep meaning for you: "I kept thinking, 'My great grandmother said the same blessing over her Sabbath candles; my great grandfather prayed these words every morning,"' not, "I enjoyed meeting people from many different countries."

16. DO • Indicate how the trip changed you, made you grow: "I went to Israel thinking it would be fun to rappel, go whitewater rafting, and hang out with my friends. Little did I know it would change the entire direction of my life," not "The trip was just what I wanted: a visit to a Middle Eastern country with a lot of interesting sites to see."

17. The Don’ts : What NOT to Include • Don't list activities and their dates. It's boring and will probably appear elsewhere on your application anyway. 

18. DON’T • Don't take on a large subject; keep it small and manageable. 

19. DON’T • Don't use gimmicks or try to be cute.  • Don't do a humorous essay unless you are very, very sure an adult would find it funny. 

20. DON’T • Don't try to make the essay for one college fit the question from another college unless they are truly the same. 

21. DON’T • Don't use clichés. Try to rework them for more depth and interest: 

22. DON’T • Don't try to impress the reader with big words; you will only sound stiff and stuffy. • Avoid slang - make sure the reader understands what you mean. • Don't use quotations that have become cliches, such as "To thine own self be true."

23. DON’T • Don't use the same word over and over; try consulting a thesaurus to find an equivalent expression to add variety.

24. DON’T • Avoid qualifiers: "rather," "quite," "somewhat," "probably," "possibly." They weaken your point and make you sound wishy-washy.

25. DON’T • Don't use the passive voice (is, was, were) if you can avoid it: "I didn't understand" is stronger than "It was difficult to understand."

26. DON’T • Don't say something was "special" or "interesting." Instead, tell what was special or interesting.

27. DON’T • Don't say, "I felt," or "I noticed"; tell what you saw or noticed.

28. DON’T • Don't whine, complain, appear bitter, or be sarcastic, angry, caustic, boastful, aggressive, or overly humble.

29. WHAT? ACTIVITY • Testing your approach. • Choose: Experience or Area of Study • Plan a beginning, middle, and end.