Guidelines for Writing Personal Statements

Many applications require a personal statement—a kind of intellectual autobiography, often with a central focus or theme, in which you discuss your academic credentials and accomplishments along with selected and revealing life experiences. Your personal statement, usually about one page single-spaced, should distinguish you from one of the other applicants. You can achieve your goal by:

• Revealing the person behind the experiences and academic accomplishments.
• Showing that you have the adaptability and character traits suited for this experience.
• Showing how you have prepared—or continue to prepare—for the program.
• Conveying your sincerity, integrity, ethics, and, more generally, strength of character.
• Demonstrating your intellectual ability, creativity, and analytical and problem-solving.
• Demonstrating your written communication skills.

I. Audience and the Writing Situation

Understanding your reading audience and familiarizing yourself with the writing situation will help you select appropriate subject matter and generate a high-quality essay. Consider what features of the writing situation may influence your readers' response. Learn all you can about your readers and the program and its philosophy. As you plan and develop your essay, keep in mind that committee members will read other application essays in addition to yours. Late in the day—after reading many essays—tired, bored readers will have little patience for predictable storylines, encompassing statements, clichés, insincerity, and gimmicks. So don’t waste their time—be specific, make every word count, and get their attention with a strong opening sentence.

II. Topic Selection

Readers do not have a set agenda or criteria for what makes an appropriate or ideal topic. However, they do want, from all writers, honest, authentic, thoughtful essays that reveal the person as well as their relevant activities, accomplishments, and academic qualifications. While your particular qualifications and experiences make you and your essay unique, several characteristics and thematic patterns seem particularly relevant for this kind of essay. The following observations, suggestions, and caveats should help you generate a quality piece of writing: 

General Comments & Suggestions

• Avoid summarizing information or writing a resume in paragraph form. The essay is more of a biography but specifically related to you and your aspirations. 
• Discuss "concrete" experiences that illuminate your qualifications; avoid abstract ideas and general topics. 
• Focus more on experiences from the last four years, since you began college, than on the preceding years, though you can, as many applicants do, include a meaningful example or two from when you were younger. Avoid, however, statements like the following one: "I’ve wanted to be an environmental scientist since 2nd grade."
• Focus on academic and professional goals and interests. Note how the program will prepare you for graduate school and your professional life. 
• If applicable, include an explanation for poor grades or a weak academic performance, but do so briefly and in a positive way. Explain the situation and avoid making excuses. Focusing on achievements or strengths may be the best antidote for academic blemishes.

Personal Strengths, Qualities, and Interests 

• Write about a topic that you genuinely and deeply care about—one that reveals your interests, your personality, and your passion.
• Reveal the kind of person you are—show your personality or character traits; reveal strengths and weaknesses; illustrate how you have grown or changed; demonstrate your character and ethical sensibility. 
• Demonstrate your ability to get along and work with other people of all ages and from all backgrounds; show your appreciation for cultural differences and unique individuals and personality types. 
• Focus on jobs, campus activities, and other experiences that demonstrate leadership or leadership potential. Describe experiences that show your ability to teach, support, and help others, including classroom teaching, tutoring, mentoring, and coaching. 
• Focus on experiences that illustrate your independence, maturity, emotional stability, and ability to adapt to new situations and environments. 
• Illustrate your intellectual curiosity and your desire to learn about new places, cultures, and peoples. 
• Describe your creativity, your aesthetic sensibility, and your accomplishments in art, music, theater, or film. Show modesty, restraint, humility, and compassion.

Cross-Cultural Information and Experiences (If Applicable)

• If applicable, discuss family history, particularly experiences, stories, and anecdotes that focus on immigration, place of origin, cultural heritage, ethnic identity, multiculturalism, and cultural and political diaspora. 
• Discuss travel experiences, study-abroad and mission programs, and other cross-cultural experiences in this country and overseas. 
• Demonstrate your knowledge of your host country—about its history, political affairs, currents events, social mores, cultural life, and geography and environment. 
• Demonstrate your knowledge of foreign policy and international affairs, cultural anthropology, global economics, or world history. 
• Demonstrate any language competency. Note your proficiency in a language or a number of languages. Identify language-learning experiences—in the classroom and in another country.

III. Content, Organization, and Development 

• Narrow your topic and develop a theme or connecting thread throughout your essay. Refrain from discussing too many experiences and topics, thus reducing your essay to a resume in paragraph form. 
• Include a governing idea, thesis, or life-lesson that reveals your ability to reflect and think critically about your life and experiences. 
• Show, don’t tell. 
• Begin with an "attention-getter": an anecdote, an example, a vivid description, a meaningful statement, a thoughtful question, a metaphor, or some other "technique" that captures the attention of readers and, as noted above, reveals the main point of your essay. Be "concrete," specific, detailed, and do not bore readers with an introduction replete with generalizations, abstract statements, or trite observations. 
• Make the first sentence a compelling one. 
• Note, too, that a number of applicants include long opening paragraphs with extensive background information that contextualizes their topics. 
• Provide support material in your body paragraphs as well: details, examples, and anecdotes are a must. You sell yourself, support your claims—whatever words you want to use—when you include adequate evidence or support in each paragraph throughout your curriculum vita. 
• Include thoughtful insights about your experience. In other words, in addition to describing and detailing what you have done, reveal what you have learned and what insights you have gained—about yourself, about a subject, about an experience. 
• Develop a thoughtful relevant conclusion—one that adds to your discussion and brings it to a close. The best advice is to stop when you’re finished; don’t tack on a needless summary or add a paragraph of generalizations and empty statements. Often you can end with the preceding paragraph and bring it—and your essay—to a close by adding a memorable sentence or two. As noted above, many writers end by focusing on what they plan to do after their programs.

IV. Language, Style, and Tone 

• Use concrete and specific language; avoid general and encompassing statements. Instead of saying that you value social equality or diversity, show what you have learned and generate specific statements and explanations for why you value these ideals. 
• Choose words appropriate to your audience—a group of thoughtful but non-specialist readers. Avoid jargon—unless appropriate—and explain esoteric terms and disciplinary specific vocabulary. 
• Develop a tone that strikes a balance between being too personal or too academic. Avoid stilted, overly formal, and pedantic language. 
• Avoid clichés, sentimental language, and platitudes. For example: "I felt unbound joy and hopefulness when a homeless person thanked me for the meal on Thanksgiving." 
• Write concisely. Because of page limitations, every word counts, so work with an experienced editor to eliminate superfluous words, phrases, and sentences. 
• Your tone should be genuine and convey sincerity and honesty. If you "sound" inauthentic or insincere, readers may make more general assumptions about your character and integrity. 
• Because the personal statement focuses on you, use the first-person singular pronoun, "I," but keep it to a minimum, particularly at the beginning of sentences. And eliminate the "I thinks," "I believes," and the "I feels." NEVER USE "YOU" and "YOUR" outside of a direct quotation. You cannot speak for others, only yourself.

Remember, your goal is to show, not to tell. You likely don’t have enough space to show how you are smart, dependable, and energetic, so pick the most important word (in the context of what you are trying to say) and use evidence/examples to support your statement.