PERSONAL STATEMENT TIPS
Personal statement
Reviewing Your Personal Statement
Tell an interesting, informative story and
personal story about yourself in 700-1400
words (double-spaced). Check the school’s
requirements for the exact word count or page
limit. Share aspects of your life that are not
apparent from your transcript(s), resume, or
letters of recommendation. Here are some
topics to consider. Brainstorm ideas and pick
the ONE with the strongest story.
• Have your draft reviewed by colleagues that
will give you an honest and constructive
opinion. We recommend choosing readers who
DO NOT know you well (not relatives,
boy/girlfriends, close friends). That way your
readers are similar to admissions officers, who
also do not know you.
• Describe a personal challenge you faced and/
or a hardship you overcame.
• Discuss your proudest personal achievement
or a unique hobby that reveals who you are
(climbing a mountain, inventing recipes,
winning a contest, writing poems).
• Tell about how becoming consciously aware
of a personal value or characteristic has
changed the way you view yourself.
• Describe your passions and involvement in a
project or pursuit and the ways in which it has
contributed to your personal growth and goals.
Do not rehash what is already on your resume.
Note: describing the event should only be about
1/3 of your essay. The rest should be a
reflection on how it changed you and how it
shaped the person you are today.
• Coach your readers before they read your
statement. Ask your readers: do they feel that
they know you, your personality and/or your
values better after reading it? Ask them if this
essay makes them want to meet you? Ask them
if the essay is boring? Is it engaging? Does it
hold their attention? Is it memorable? Is it
authentic?
• Remember, your essay is supposed to be
PERSONAL. The law school personal statement
is not meant to be a statement of purpose or
about what kind of research you would
conduct. It is not meant to be the kind of essay
you would write for a Master’s or PhD program
SOURCE:
http://www.washington.edu/uaa/advising/prelaw/downloads/
personal_statement_law.pdf
When writing your law school personal
statement, you should reflect on two
fundamental questions:
1. Why do I want to be a lawyer?
2. What are my qualifications?
TOP 10 LAW SCHOOL STATEMENT WRITING
TIPS
1. Don't Write in Legalese.
2. Don't Bore the Reader. Do Be
Interesting.
3. Do Use Personal Detail. Show, Don't
Tell!
4. Do Be Concise. Don't Be Wordy.
5. Do Address Your Weaknesses. Don't
Dwell on Them.
6. Do Vary Your Sentences and Use
Transitions.
7. Do Use Active Voice Verbs.
8. Do Seek Multiple Opinions.
9. Don't Wander. Do Stay Focused.
10. Do Revise, Revise, Revise.
1. Discover something new for your audience
that you set up along the way.
2. The conclusion is the final chord of music
resolved. It should pull together the different
parts of the personal statement, rephrase main
ideas, interpret the importance of the choice of
topics, point towards the future, and give the
cue for ending with a rhetorical flourish.
SOURCE: http://www.top-law-schools.com/statement.html
Selecting a Personal Statement Topic
1. Make a chronology of your life
2. Canvass those closest to you
3. Develop personal statement topics
from your chronology
Popular Personal Statement Topics
1. Answering a question an admissions
dean would logically ask
2. A memorable academic experience
3. Words of wisdom
5 Do’s of Personal Statement Writing
SOURCE:
http://www.classbrain.com/artteensm/publish/article_61.
shtml
How to Write a Strong Introduction
1. Attention-grabbing material: Hook them with
a remarkable or a life-changing experience, an
anecdote, or a question that will be answered
by your law school personal statement.
2. Benefits: Make your essay worth their time to
read.
3. Credentials: Build ethos.
4. Direction: Tell them your thesis and
structure.
How to Write a Strong Conclusion
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Follow directions
Grammar, spelling, and details
Distinguish yourself
Be confident and positive
Start strong and end strong
5 Don’ts of Personal Statement Writing
1. Don’t distill your resume into essay
form
2. Don’t focus on your weaknesses
3. Don’t write colloquially
4. Don’t focus on another person to the
exclusion of yourself
5. Don’t submit a lightly edited draft
SOURCE:
http://www.admissionsdean.com/applying_to_law_school/pers
onal-statements