PERSONAL STATEMENT
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Personal statement is a mandatory part of application of higher education, scholarships, and certain professions. This paper aims at discussing what a personal statement is, the information that is typically recommended to be included in it and recommendations on how to write a good statement.
Basically, a personal statement’s major role is to reveal information about applicant’s academic achievements, work experience, the reasons for applying, and plans for the future. Unlike other components of an application, including transcripts and standardized test scores, a personal statement entails an excellent opportunity to demonstrate one’s individuality and the kind of skills one possesses. It helps to determine the candidate’s suitably for the program or job and gives some additional necessary information to the admission committee or employer, besides the figures.
The elements that a good personal statement must contain are as follows: First, it needs to have the beginning that would intrigue and attract the reader to the text. This may be in form of a small story, an arresting question or a statement that will leave the audience in deep thought. The introduction is the first part of an essay and, therefore, the readers should be greeted with the writer’s passion and the prototype of the argumentative voice.
Further, the skills and accomplishments related to the course of study need to be described in the second part of a personal statement. The content of this section should involve the academic achievements, hobbies and interests, working experience and all other relevant experience. When listing these experiences, it is useful to consider what was identified and how these experiences relate to one’s goals.
In this regard, the personal statement also has to discuss why the candidate is interested in the particular course or position that they are applying for. This entails familiarization with the area of practice, writing down ideal career objectives and the unveiling of how the program or the position is in par with the planned objectives. Demonstrating continuity between previous undertakings and future goals is another way of developing a good and convincing storyline.
Last, it is important to sum up the personal statement in a way that brings back the theme to focus and create a lasting impression on the reader. Here is a chance to repeat the positive attitudes towards the given opportunity and to speak about the positive expectations.
The following tips can help any application when writing personal statements. First of all, to be effective, they should be sincere and not fake while expressing the writer’s personality and emotions. That is why it is necessary to minimize the usage of clichés and distinguish between too similar and similar statements in order to have a unique essay. Furthermore, applicants should invite the feedback of other people like mentors, teachers, or peers, because they are able to point out the possible weaknesses in the submitted paper and help to polish the final version.
Therefore, personal statement is an integral part of most of the applications, and it gives an individual the platform to present himself/herself. Describing the structure, content, and writing style of personal statements, it is possible to conclude that through organizing one’s thoughts and experiences systematically, using proper language, and following the structure of a good composition, applicants can write excellent personal statements that would attract the attention of the admissions committees, as well as potential employers.