How to compose a great personal statement
A personal statement is short written content that focuses on the author’s outstanding qualities, usually in the context of college or career applications. Personal essays are individual accounts that discuss the writer’s abilities, passions, skills, objectives, and accomplishments.
It’s critical to figure out what type of person you are when applying to scholarships, schools, businesses for a job so that the business or institution can determine whether you’re suitable. Personal statements are intended to discover what applicants say about themselves and how they are expressed.
Personal statements are an important element of many applications to top universities and desired occupations. On the other hand, discussing oneself is never simple. It’s a rather personal issue, to put it mildly! So in this article, we’ll go through everything you need to know about how to write a personal statement as well as some sample personal statements.
What exactly is a personal statement, and why is it required?
A personal statement is a tool that may be used to assess individuals, particularly for educational purposes, scholarships, job hunting, and other types of grants. The personal statement is a written essay, usually addressing the candidate’s approach to the field in which he or she is applying.
Take a look at the following Uni Compare personal statement example. This passage, for example, shows how the author, a possible law student, expresses his or her enthusiasm for and grasp of legal issues while also describing relevant expertise and accomplishments.
The personal statement of another would-be English literature student includes a narrative about how the writer connected their favorite books to their interest in the field, even relating stories from when they were younger and attending live performances at a theater before listing off their academic scores.
There are no strict standards for writing a personal statement; the reader and assignment largely determine your wording choices. Personal statements range from 400 to 1,000 words.
Personal statements can be written openly or under guidance. Personal statements with an open structure allow the author to pick the main subject of discussion. These are more difficult since they need skilled decision-making: deciding which parts of your life to document is a difficult choice.
The subject is restricted when you volunteer personal statements. This sort of essay usually includes a stated objective or at the very least some parameters for what you should discuss.
How to write a personal statement that is tailored to your own experience
When crafting a personal statement, follow the standard essay writing guidelines; after all, a personal statement is simply a little specialized personal essay.
We suggest following the six-step writing process, like with all significant writing. The most important step is to understand the assignment completely, including the essential themes and word count requirements. It’s time to start now that you know what you need to do.
- Brainstorming
During this stage, you’ll be able to come up with distinct thoughts for your own statement or choose the major topic if the prompt is open.
Start by jotting down all of your most important moments so you can choose your subject from the list if the assignment asks you to discuss a defining period in your life that has influenced who you are, for example. It’s difficult to know what the greatest option is: a student in this personal statement example talks about how their grandmother inspired them to pursue economics.
If you already know the most important event in your life, you may begin writing a paragraph about how it has affected your life. After that, pick the best solutions to include in your own statement after assessing all of your options.
Here are some key questions to consider when deciding what to include in your personal statement: What if you’re stuck as to what should be included in your personal statement? Here are some of the most important questions you can ask yourself as a starting point for coming up with possible essay topics.
- What was the most challenging difficulty you’ve ever had to overcome? What insights did you gain as a result of it?
- What do you enjoy most? What would you choose to do with your time if you were given a billion dollars to spend?
- What skills, abilities, or talents do you have that your coworkers don’t? What distinct characteristics distinguish you from the crowd?
- What is the importance of your background or personal history to your life? Do you get treated differently because of who you are? How does it alter the way you act?
- Who are your heroes, and how has their story impacted your life?
At times, it’s difficult to evaluate oneself honestly, so ask for guidance from friends or relatives. Learn what talents and abilities they find most appealing to you. What are your finest qualities according to them?
Once you’ve obtained enough concepts to fulfill the project’s criteria and exceed the word limit, you can begin noting in the next stage.
- Preparing
The first draft is typically the most time-consuming stage of the writing process, and in this section, you’ll develop a framework for organizing all of your thoughts from brainstorming into a basic structure for your first draft.
Consider who you’re writing for before getting started. Your tone and the things you choose to address in your personal statement are greatly affected by who you’re writing for (and what you leave out).
For example, when you’re writing a personal statement for a college application, the admissions office at that school will be interested in your academic achievements, such as being on the honor roll. However, if you’re writing a personal statement for a job application, academic achievements like the honor roll may not be worth noting.
Before you begin writing your personal statement, consider what your reader wants to know. When you apply for jobs, recruiters are looking to see if you’re a good fit for their institution or program. Include information about yourself that suggests your matchability. Provide evidence of your work ethic and mastery of skills that will help you get the job done. Recruiters want to see proof of these qualities.
Re-read your brainstorming list with your distinct reader in mind. Determine which ones to keep and which ones to eliminate.
After that, deconstruct your ideas into three parts of your personal statement: the introduction, the body, and the conclusion. At this stage, you shouldn’t be too concerned about small details. Make sure that all required concepts are included in the proper sequence at this stage.
- Drafting
When you’re initially learning how to compose a personal statement, keep in mind that the drafting stage is generally the most time-consuming and difficult—it’s where you actually write your own essay.
It’s possible that your first draft, or rough draft, isn’t perfect. The objective of writing a rough draft is to document your ideas; the next step, editing, is when you pay closer attention to the finer points. For now, write whatever comes to mind and worry about improving it later.
In a personal statement for college, use a similar opening hook as you would in a university essay, then build on it in subsequent paragraphs. The author begins this example from a chemistry applicant with a seemingly random personal experience to pique the reader’s interest:
I was always wondering who cleans the pool and how they do it. As I got older, it became clear to me that the question wasn’t who but rather what. In fact, chemistry provided the answer.
The first tale is then linked to the major aspects of the personal statement for further emphasis, which the reader would want to know. It’s due to them being a suitable match for your university’s chemistry program in this case.
It can be tough to write honestly about yourself since you can’t always see the big picture. If you’re stumped, try freewriting; this technique entails recording everything that comes to mind, regardless of whether it’s suitable for the final draft. Freewriting is frequently the boost you require to break through a block caused by an overbearing writer’s ego.
You may write openly and honestly because the material is about your life. Your readers want to hear your tale, not just the facts; they’ll get the details from your academic history or resume/CV, but they won’t get a firsthand account of these events unless you tell them yourself. Don’t let them down!
- Revising
When you already have a preliminary draft in front of you, selecting the appropriate phrases and rearranging the structure is considerably simpler. You can now go back over your own statement and correct any flaws.
Keep an eye out for the passive voice, needless words, redundancy, long sentences, and a few other cautions during the self-editing phase. For the time being, don’t worry too much about misspelled or grammatical mistakes; you’ll have more opportunities to fix them later when you proofread.
Make sure everything can be understood by someone who has never met you regarding personal statements. Because the topic is yourself, you may have neglected to provide important information that a stranger wouldn’t be aware of.
- Proofreading
When the personal statement is complete, it’s time to proofread it. This is when you correct any technical issues, such as spelling and grammatical errors, and other more general concerns, such as formatting.
It’s a good idea to take a break from working on your personal statement before you start proofreading. In addition, it’s nice for you to unwind, especially if you’ve been at it for a long time. Furthermore, after you’ve had some rest and refreshed yourself, returning to your draft can help you spot minor issues that you wouldn’t have seen otherwise.
- Submitting
After that, you’re done! Simply submit your personal statement. Check to see whether you’ve met the conditions and that the file is in the correct format (PDF, Word document, etc.).
The next step, which was also the most difficult for me, is to simply wait for a response back!
Conclusion
As you start to write your personal statement, keep these questions in mind. They will help you create a powerful essay that will impress recruiters and admissions officers alike. How do I use my experiences as the basis for telling an interesting story? What are three qualities or skills that make me uniquely qualified for this program? What am I passionate about? Our team at The Nursing Term Paper is here to provide you with the tools and guidance needed for your personal statement. If you need assistance, contact us today!
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