Personal Statement Guidelines and Samples

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Personal Statement Guidelines and Samples

Personal Statement

OVERVIEW

The process of applying for jobs, internships, and graduate/professional programs

often requires a personal statement. It is a standard component of most graduate

school or position applications. The requirements for such essays vary from program

to program. This type of writing asks writers to outline their strengths confidently and

concisely

, which can be challenging.

Though the requirements differ from application to application, but some general

principles apply. Its purpose is to represent your goals, experiences and qualifications

in the best possible light, and to demonstrate your writing ability. Your personal

statement introduces you to your potential employer or program director. Admissions

committees rely heavily on these essays to put a face on impersonal test scores and

grade point averages.

Application essays give you an opportunity to explain -- through narrative, example,

and analysis -- aspects of your personal, educational, and professional history that

may have led you to pursue an advanced degree at a particular institution or to fill a

specific position. So it is essential that you allow yourself enough time to craft a

polished piece of writing.

For

this

reason

,

it's

important

for

you

to

use

details

and

thoughtful

self-presentation

to

make

your

face

one

that

stands

out

in

a

crowd.

Whether

you're applying

to

medical

school or a program

in

landscape

architecture,

your essay

should

demonstrate

your

ability

to

make

connections

between

your

experience,

education, and

the program you

have chosen.

The

most challenging aspect of

the

application essay is making those connections in a relatively small amount of space.

PROCESS OF PS WRITING

I.

Prepare your materials

Before you sit down to write, do some preparation in order to avoid frustration during

the actual writing process.

1.

Obtain copies of documents such as transcripts, resumes and the application form

itself; keeping them in front of you will make your job of writing much easier.

2.

Make a list of important information, in particular names and exact titles of former

employers and supervisors, titles of jobs you have held, companies you have

worked for, dates of appropriate work or volunteer experiences, the duties

involved etc.

3.

Print out the specific questions you are required to answer by the program of the

university you are applying to.

In this way, you will be able to refer to these materials while writing in order to

include as much specific detail as possible.

II. Write your first draft

After you have collected and reviewed these materials, it is time to start writing. .

FORMAT

As mentioned before, the requirements for personal statements differ, but generally

a personal statement includes certain information and can follow this format (see

the following model).

Introduction

Once you have a good sense of your essay's focus, try writing an introduction that

will engage your reader and suggest the direction in which your essay will go.

Many personal statements begin with

a catchy opening

, often the distinctive

personal example mentioned earlier, as a way of gaining the reader’s attention.

From there you can connect the example to the actual program for which you are

applying. Mention the specific name of the program or degree you are seeking, in

the first paragraph.

Detailed Supporting Paragraphs

Subsequent paragraphs should address any specific questions from the application,

which might deal with:

?

?

?

?

the strengths of the program

your own qualifications

your compatibility with the program

your long-term goals or some combination thereof.

Each paragraph should be

focused and should

have a

topic sentence

that

informs

the reader of the paragraph’s emphasis.

You need to remember, however, that the

examples

from

your

experience

must

be

relevant

and

should

support

your

argument about your qualifications.

Develop your body paragraphs with example and explanation:

?

Try developing examples and explanations for one statement that you'd

like to make about your experience or interest in this program.

?

Be on the lookout for those cut-and-pastable sentences and replace them

with details that show rather than tell.

Conclusion

Tie together the various issues that you have raised in the essay, and

?

reiterate your interest in this specific program or position.

?

mention how this job or degree is a step towards a long-term goal in a

closing paragraph.

TIPS OF PS WRITING

1.

Write the right personal statement

：

check the precondition, requirements of

the program or job position

2.

Pre-write before you begin writing: ask yourself questions; list your

ideas/inventions; skills, career goals, awards, examples, etc.

3.

Answer the questions being asked by the program/position:

A major problem for all writers can be the issue of actually answering the

question being asked. For example, an application might want you to

discuss the reason you are applying to a particular program or company. If

you spend your entire essay or letter detailing your qualifications with no

mention of what attracted you to the company or department, your statement

will probably not be successful. To avoid this problem, read the question or

assignment carefully both as you prepare and again just prior to writing.

Keep the question in front of you as you write, and refer to it often.

4.

Grab your readers

’

attention and make your writing distinctive: begin with a

relevant story; find a quote that pertains to your field or work philosophy;

concentrate on your opening paragraph.

Many writers want to make their personal statements unique or distinctive in

some

way

as

a

means

of

distinguishing

their

application

from

the

many

others received by the company or program. One way to do this is to include

at

least

one

detailed

example

or

anecdote

that

is

specific

to

your

own

experience

—

perhaps

a

description

of

an

important

family

member

or

personal

moment that

influenced

your decision

to pursue a particular career

or degree. This strategy makes your statement distinctive and memorable.

5.

Be specific: no blanket statements; give specific reasons; give examples

6.

Tell what you know: discuss your interest in the field as well as your

knowledge of the field; relate your experience to what you know about the

field; compare how your quealities and abilities are similar to those in the

field

7.

Do some research: the program you want to apply

8.

Avoid cliches

9.

Consider The ―I‖ Problem:

you and your skills, interest, qualificatioins, and

so on are the subject

This is a personal statement; using the first person pronoun ―I‖ is acceptable.

Writers often feel rather self- conscious about using first person excessively,

either because they are modest or because they have learned to avoid first

and second person (―you‖) in any type of formal writing. Yet in this type of

writing using first person is essential because it makes your prose more

lively. Using third person can result in a vague and overly wordy essay.

While starting every sentence with ―I‖ is not advisable, remember that you

and your experiences are the subject of the essay.

10.

Avoid Unnecessary Duplication with the other application material

Sometimes a writer has a tendency to repeat information in his or her

personal statement that is already included in other parts of the application

packet (resume, transcript, application form, etc.). For example, it is not

necessary to mention your exact GPA or specific grades and course titles in

your personal statement. It is more efficient and more effective to simply

mention academic progress briefly (―I was on the Dean’s List― or ―I have

taken numerous courses in the field of nutrition

‖) and then move on to

discuss appropriate work or volunteer experiences in more detail.

11.

Keep

it

brief:

250-500

words,

or

one

typed

page,

never

exceed

two

typed

pages.

Usually,

personal

statements

are

limited

to

250

–

500

words

or

one

typed

page,

so

write

concisely

while

still

being

detailed.

Making

sure

that

each

paragraph is tightly focused on a single idea (one paragraph on the strengths

of

the

program,

one

on

your

research

experience,

one

on

your

extracurricular activities, etc.) helps keep the essay from becoming too long.

Also, spending a little time working on word choice by utilizing a dictionary

and

a

thesaurus

and

by

including

adjectives

should

result

in

less

repetition

and more precise writing.

12.

Proofread, proofread, and proofread.

SOME SPECIFIC QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER

1.

2.

What experiences and/or education have made you want to pursue this

degree program?

When did you first become interested in this field of study? How have you

been pursuing your interest (e.g., education, volunteer work, professional

experience)?

What most appeals to you about this program -- in general (i.e., the field of

study) and more specifically (i.e., the particular department or school's

program)? What makes you and your interests a good fit?

What do you plan to do with the education you hope to receive?

What do you think is the most interesting or notable thing about you?

3.

4.

5.