No task is more daunting or more crucial to the university applicant than writing their personal statement. It’s daunting because of what it requires: the compelling articulation of a student’s ambition and merit. It’s crucial because it serves, in a single page, to project a coherent and captivating self-image to admissions officers.

It’s a myth that universities ignore personal statements. These days, leagues of students have excellent grades and long lists of additional activities. The admissions teams of competitive universities look to personal statements to distinguish outstanding candidates from excellent ones. What makes a student outstanding, then, is the ability of that student to communicate their character and their dreams with an uncommon sense of refinement and purpose. In short, the outstanding statement is the impressive one - and impressing requires crafting.

The following are 5 action points for an outstanding personal statement. Rather than thinking of the personal statement as a product, it’s important to view the writing of the statement as an action. Language has active effects, and so the statement writer needs to approach the writing with desired effects in mind. The impression the statement gives is the end product, and these efforts will help to ensure the force and success of that impression.

1. Recall your inspiration. In choosing to study a subject at university, you have a reason for wanting to study it. Ideally, that reason is a love of the subject itself or a desire to have a career the subject trains you to perform. Begin your statement by recalling what inspired your love or sparked your desire. Take a paragraph at the start to describe this inspiration. There might be an idea, a theory or an issue that fascinates you, so outline it. Recount a mini story of the birth of your interest. You witnessed an event that impacted you, or encountered a concept that gave you a brainwave. Something you observed once moved or electrified you. Recalling your inspiration personalises you, and making that live connection is crucial to making a strong impression.

PERSONAL STATEMENT GRAPHIC.jpg — State Your Person

5 action points for an outstanding personal statement

2. State your intent. In the academic world, the personal statement is also called the statement of intent or statement of purpose. State explicitly what you intend to study at university. The last line of your introduction or the first line of your main body is the place to do this: It is with the goal to contribute research on poverty to urban planners that I aim to study Geography at university. There is no substitute for being clear in the expression of your intent. The lack of such a statement requires the reader to infer your intent and this gives an impression of uncertainty. Describing why you love your favourite novel may suggest you want to study English, but you must still state that intention. The admissions process favours students with clear goals.

3. Show your research. Universities are teaching and research institutions and faculty members play a crucial role in the admissions process. In applying to be part of an academic community, it benefits you to show you have done research into your subject or field of choice. To reference a scholarly work, an advanced concept or theory, or the work of a leading academic demonstrates knowledge, skill, initiative and interest all at once. This separates active learners from passive ones and gives the impression of an inquisitive, independent student. Universities favour candidates who are already demonstrably academic. The more competitive and research-oriented the university is, the more research you should demonstrate and incorporate into your statement.

4. Link your pursuits. All pursuits mentioned in the personal statement – super- and extra-curricular activities, hobbies, and volunteer or paid jobs, should be linked to your subject interest. Students have a tendency, in drafting their statements, to include a paragraph in which they list these other pursuits, to show they are busy, well-rounded and responsible. To create a more coherent image of your academic candidacy, pick the most relevant of these pursuits and link them to your chosen subject. In teaching dance to children in your community, you learned about the mechanics of the body, and about how movement contributes to physical and mental health, sharpening your interest in preventative medicine. All pursuits should enhance your candidacy.

5. Frame your statement. A statement is a self-portrait, and should be framed like one. Pick a concept or a theme to mention at the start, refer back to it lightly at one or two points in the main body, and then conclude your statement by linking back to it. This technique connects and binds the paragraphs of your statement. You might begin by explaining how building forts as a child sparked your interest in civil engineering, refer throughout to structures you have encountered at key points in your life and education, and end on the notion of fortifying your knowledge of engineering at university. A conceptual framework makes the image of your candidacy cohere.

Used together, these deliberate actions in your statement writing will show admissions officers what they want to see: an outstanding student with self-awareness, direction and promise, who optimised this opportunity to state who they are, and what they want to study at university.