Writing the Personal Statement
Writing the Personal Statement
Purdue Online Writing Lab
Summary: This handout provides information about writing personal
statements for academic and other positions.
Contributors: Jo Doran, Allen Brizee
The personal statement, your opportunity to sell yourself
in the application process, generally falls into one of two categories:
1. The general, comprehensive personal statement:
This allows you maximum freedom in terms of what you
write and is the type of statement often prepared for standard medical or law
school application forms.
2. The response to very specific questions:
Often, business and graduate school applications ask
specific questions, and your statement should respond specifically to the
question being asked. Some business school applications favor multiple essays,
typically asking for responses to three or more questions.
Questions to ask yourself before you write:
- What's special, unique, distinctive, and/or
impressive about you or your life story?
- What details of your life (personal or family
problems, history, people or events that have shaped you or influenced
your goals) might help the committee better understand you or help set you
apart from other applicants?
- When did you become interested in this field and
what have you learned about it (and about yourself) that has further
stimulated your interest and reinforced your conviction that you are well
suited to this field? What insights have you gained?
- How have you learned about this field—through
classes, readings, seminars, work or other experiences, or conversations
with people already in the field?
- If you have worked a lot during your college years,
what have you learned (leadership or managerial skills, for example), and
how has that work contributed to your growth?
- What are your career goals?
- Are there any gaps or discrepancies in your academic
record that you should explain (great grades but mediocre LSAT or GRE
scores, for example, or a distinct upward pattern to your GPA if it was
only average in the beginning)?
- Have you had to overcome any unusual obstacles or
hardships (for example, economic, familial, or physical) in your life?
- What personal characteristics (for example,
integrity, compassion, and/or persistence) do you possess that would
improve your prospects for success in the field or profession? Is there a
way to demonstrate or document that you have these characteristics?
- What skills (for example, leadership, communicative,
analytical) do you possess?
- Why might you be a stronger candidate for graduate
school—and more successful and effective in the profession or field than
other applicants?
- What are the most compelling reasons you can give for the admissions committee to be interested in you?
General advice
Answer the questions that are asked
- If you are applying to several schools, you may find
questions in each application that are somewhat similar.
- Don't be tempted to use the same statement for all
applications. It is important to answer each question being asked, and if
slightly different answers are needed, you should write separate
statements. In every case, be sure your answer fits the question being
asked.
Tell a story
- Think in terms of showing or demonstrating through
concrete experience. One of the worst things you can do is to bore the
admissions committee. If your statement is fresh, lively, and different,
you'll be putting yourself ahead of the pack. If you distinguish yourself
through your story, you will make yourself memorable.
Be specific
- Don't, for example, state that you would make an
excellent doctor unless you can back it up with specific reasons. Your
desire to become a lawyer, engineer, or whatever should be logical, the
result of specific experience that is described in your statement. Your
application should emerge as the logical conclusion to your story.
Find an angle
- If you're like most people, your life story lacks drama, so figuring out a way to make it interesting becomes the big challenge. Finding an angle or a "hook" is vital.
Concentrate on your opening paragraph
- The lead or opening paragraph is generally the most important. It is here that you grab the reader's attention or lose it. This paragraph becomes the framework for the rest of the statement.
Tell what you know
- The middle section of your essay might detail your
interest and experience in your particular field, as well as some of your
knowledge of the field. Too many people graduate with little or no
knowledge of the nuts and bolts of the profession or field they hope to
enter. Be as specific as you can in relating what you know about the field
and use the language professionals use in conveying this information.
Refer to experiences (work, research, etc.), classes, conversations with
people in the field, books you've read, seminars you've attended, or any
other source of specific information about the career you want and why
you're suited to it. Since you will have to select what you include in
your statement, the choices you make are often an indication of your
judgment.
Don't include some subjects
- There are certain things best left out of personal statements. For example, references to experiences or accomplishments in high school or earlier are generally not a good idea. Don't mention potentially controversial subjects (for example, controversial religious or political issues).
Do some research, if needed
- If a school wants to know why you're applying to it
rather than another school, do some research to find out what sets your
choice apart from other universities or programs. If the school setting
would provide an important geographical or cultural change for you, this
might be a factor to mention.
Write well and correctly
- Be meticulous. Type and proofread your essay very
carefully. Many admissions officers say that good written skills and
command of correct use of language are important to them as they read
these statements. Express yourself clearly and concisely. Adhere to stated
word limits.
Avoid clichés
- A medical school applicant who writes that he is
good at science and wants to help other people is not exactly expressing
an original thought. Stay away from often-repeated or tired statements.
For
more information on writing a personal statement, see the personal statement
vidcast at:
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