Writing an outstanding personal statement is not hard if you stick to a certain plan that requires taking only a few simple steps. It will make things easier and increase your chances to succeed considerably.
The best plan on how to write your personal statement
There are different reasons why people write a personal statement. It lets organizations, potential customers, or academic institutions find out more about your goals. All personal statements are different, but they all highlight why you’re a perfect candidate for an academic program or position. Use all of your accomplishments and experiences to support this document.
How to develop your impressive personal statement
To end up with a winning personal statement, there are certain steps that you should include in your plan, such as:
- Choose the right purpose;
- Research targeted institutions;
- Determine your goals;
- Decide why you should be chosen;
- List your achievements;
- Outline your success;
- Describe your past challenges.
Pick a purpose for a personal statement
A purpose and a basic structure of your personal statement can vary considerably based on your chosen field and goals. Emphasize different focuses and skills based on a specific situation:
- Focus on your interests, achievements, and academic accomplishments to write a personal statement for scholarships or undergraduate schools;
- Focus on a specific course, undergraduate experiences, and your reasoning when applying to a graduate school;
- Focus on your community and academic records and describe your reasons for an undergraduate transfer.
Research targeted institutions
Start your personal statement with researching targeted institutions. Find out more about their history, missions, and potential values. That’s because every institution may look for the content specific to their goals and mission when reading personal statements. Personalize your document and avoid sending the same one to different organizations.
Define your goals
A personal statement should be focused on your goals because they let targeted readers know that choosing you can have a major impact. However, it’s not necessary to describe all of your goals. Just list the most important ones and brainstorm them to end up with specific and clear goals. To get started, give your answers to the following questions:
- How can the chosen scholarship or institution impact your academic future?
- What are your ultimate goals?
- What are the steps you need to take to reach them?
Decide why you should be chosen
You’re quite likely to face a fierce competition, and that’s why your personal statement should thoroughly describe how you stand out from the crowd. Convince yourself because trying to convince the audience of your uniqueness. Give your honest answers to such questions as:
- What personal traits or skills do you possess to be a valuable asset?
- Why should you be chosen over other candidates?
- What beliefs or experiences shaped your personality?
List your achievements
Although you shouldn’t include a list of your achievements in a personal statement, it’s necessary to mention some of the most significant ones. Making their list can help you easily recall the main achievements and decide which ones to include, such as:
- Grants, scholarships, fellowships;
- Academic certificates and degrees;
- Published works;
- Recognition for community services;
- Honors or awards from academic institutions.
Outline your success
Describe how you reached your success in life to write a good personal statement and use https://essaymates.com/ to submit the best admission essay. Make a list of turning points or important experiences that helped you develop academic interests. There are certain questions worth asking, including:
- What do you like about your chosen field?
- When did you develop an interest in it?
- Why do you think your choice is important?
Describe your past challenges
Different difficulties and challenges can foster your academic interest and make you stronger. They can include:
- Physical disabilities;
- Financial problems;
- Family difficulties;
- Medical issues;
- Unexpected tragedies.
How to put a personal statement together
Once you create an effective plan with the steps necessary to write the best personal statement, it’s time to put it together. Read specific questions if you get them from the chosen institution and outline your answers.
Outline a basic structure
You get a limited space to fit all of your important data into a personal statement. Creating an outline can help you cover the most important points in this limited space. Picking a few critical points is one of the most effective methods. Prioritize the main purpose in your outline and write about something that really interests you to sound more passionate and convincing. Address the issues brought up by institutions.
Make a beginning strong
The first paragraph should grab readers’ attention and clearly introduce a thesis while creating a certain sense of narrative. For example, you can use a matching anecdote to hook the targeted audience. Avoid starting a personal statement with clichés or common phrases. Provide enough details, introduce the main idea, and describe how it connects to the rest of your document. Don’t include any elaborate details in this section.
Write the body to support your purpose
All the paragraphs that follow an introductory section should bolster the main purpose of your statement. Focus each one only on a single point and relate them all to the goals you mentioned at the beginning. Tell readers about your unique ideas, experiences, or goals without being general or vague.
Maintain a positive note
Write your personal statement in a confident and optimistic tone even when addressing complex subjects. It should show how you create effective solutions and address issues. Make sure that your chosen tone reflects that. You also need to avoid weak or uncertain phrases. Focus only on your triumphs over specific problems even when discussing different challenges.
Revise everything
If your personal statement is too short, you should expand it by adding supporting data. Look for effective ways to elaborate on your available information and include specific details to provide readers with a full picture. You can also introduce other points to contribute to an overall purpose. Although submitting a too short statement is not a good idea, you shouldn’t add information only to hit a word limit.
If it’s too long, trim it down by scanning for any irrelevant parts that don’t address a major point directly. Feel free to cut anything that provides only background information. Reduce the number of key points if they don’t seem really significant. By the way, there’s a huge demand on Upwork for this service, read this guide if you want to get started in this Freelancer platform.
My name is John Obstander, I am a freelance writer who is fond of practical psychology and motivation tricks. I love finding amazing personality and career boosters! Currently working with https://essayholics.com/ to ensure people get accepted to the colleges and universities they dream about.
