Writing a Personal Statement: 7 Things to Avoid in a Paper
For the majority of college applicants, writing a personal statement is the most challenging and stressful part of a college or university application. No wonder that a lot of online custom writing companies report getting loads of orders from students willing to buy personal statement. The reality is that different higher education institutions have a different set of requirements when it comes to application essays. As a result, the assessment of your essay will always remain subjective.
When there are loads of general pieces of advice, it is not easy to know what a college or university is actually looking for. At the same time, there are some popular mistakes that you can easily stay away from once you know them. We’ve listed some of the most common errors that students make in personal statements and simple tips on how you can stay away from each.
1. Overcomplicated Sentences
Never use over-complicated language in a personal statement. Avoid super-long sentences. Make sure each sentence includes not more than two independent clauses unless you really need to provide more.
At the same time, ensure that your personal statement doesn’t sound like its author is the thesaurus. Ensure to stay away from things like “Mary was already being told about the divergent patterns encompassing the industrial adjustment.” Instead, just say, “Mary was already learning about the different ways of industrial adjustment.” Be yourself.
2. Making Silly Mistakes
Most applicants are so concentrated on the content of their work that they simply forget about punctuation, grammar, and spelling. They do their best to make sure their writing has a perfect flow. However, the reality is that grammar and punctuation mistakes can cause your readers to concentrate on them, rather than on the paper content. It is important to always read your piece aloud. As an alternative, approach your pals or family members to help you. They will check your personal statement and easily detect all the issues that should be fixed.
3. Clichés
Do not use the overused phrases like “I’ve been passionate about history since I was a kid…” or “I got interested in history when…” Even though these sentences are OK, it doesn’t make your prose hooking. Keep in mind that the reps of the admission board are going to deal with a bunch of personal statements and you don’t want yours to look cheap. That is why it is important to make each sentence as interesting and engaging as you possibly can.
4. Lying and Exaggerating
Many applicants choose to say something like, “I was captain of the basketball team” while the reality is that they were just trying to at least get in a team. No matter how tempted you get to make some false claims in your personal statement, do your best to play it safe. After all, you don’t want to be caught out. Stick to the facts. If you’re good at Minecraft, it doesn’t mean you can build structures.
5. Narrating
Many applicants believe that their personal statements should be created as a story of their life with all the events provided in chronological order. It’s no doubt, some context should be used. However, a supreme quality personal statement is one with experiences that are directly relevant to the course you have chosen. In general, make sure to concentrate only on the most recent experiences and study. Anything that is older than a couple of years shouldn’t be the core of your personal statement (unless it is crucial to the context).
6. Negativity
“I’m not really good in history, and failed math, but I have some other great skills…” If you state anything like that, your personal statement will turn into a failure. Instead, make sure to concentrate on the positives. Don’t talk about the issues that you failed. Underselling yourself in a personal statement is taboo. Instead, focus on what you achieved in order to show that you could meet the course requirements.
7. Emotional Drama & Loads of Quotes
The reps of the admission committee board aren’t looking to read the life story of Edgar Allan Poe or hear the poetry of George Gordon Byron. Your personal statement is your unique voice. That’s what the members of the admission committee expect to read. So ensure you don’t overuse quotes unless you need to make some very important points.
As you write your personal statement, keep in mind that your potential readers deal with tons of works every other year. If at some point, you feel like you’re stuck in the middle of nowhere, do not hesitate to approach an online writing service to get a helping hand. They offer professionally written papers for sale and can assist you with a personal statement with ease. Online experts will guide you through the process of writing to make your piece stand out from the rest of the applicants.
