Writing the Personal
Statement for Residency
Writing Consult Center
and
Office of Student Affairs
Goals for the Personal
Statement essay:
1. Get an interview
2. Guide the interviewer
How do they choose?
What are the program
directors looking for?
What are the reviewers trying
to learn about you?
“Reading a personal statement is
like meeting someone…
It’s like remembering a face– ‘Oh yes, I
remember her.’ Some personality,
some individuality should come
through. I want to be able to say,
“That’s the person who….”
Personal life events
“Personal life events that had an impact on
you are important, positive or negative, but
don’t spend half the essay on them.”
“Grab my attention.”
“I want to know who you are, why you are a
doctor and why you want to become an
anesthesiologist [or xxxx] and where you’re
possibly going with this training in the
future.”
“Somewhere in the essay, work in some
comments about your strengths. All
residency directors know that not every
student will be at the top of the class or have
every possible “stellar resident” attribute.
However, some comments about
determination, hard work, intellect, values,
and special skills will catch my attention.”
4 things reviewers want to
learn about you
1. Your personal story
Personal story
“Just a bit if it is conventional, more if it
is unusual & relevant.”
But actually….
Personal story
Concrete, not abstract:
“I look for personal stories that really tell me
something about the applicant. The ‘I love
kids’ doesn’t work as well as a patient
encounter or any kind of story about how
things could have been done better.
Insight is always good.”
2. Significant academic
difficulty
Address it.
“Not mentioning significant academic
difficulty doesn’t mean we won’t see it on the
transcript or read it in the Dean’s letter. This
is a good opportunity to explain what
happened– and is particularly important if
the explanation suggests that the problem is
not likely to recur.”
3. Special experiences that
guided you to select this
specialty
Why you’re well-suited to this
field
Selecting the specialty
“Most of the reasons we’ve heard
before. But an applicant’s own process
of decision is individual and needs to
be heard in his or her own words.”
Selecting the specialty
“I like the essays that tell about the
applicant’s past– if it was a struggle, or
why in general he or she would make a
good [ pediatrician, anesthesiologist,
surgeon,etc.]. Insight is always good.”
“Let me know what you are looking for in a
program. I’m going to invite people to
interview who I believe are looking for the
things that we offer. Be honest about your
future goals. If you want to do clinical or
basic science research, make sure you bring
it up.”
4. What the applicant
chooses as avocations
Avocations
“This might not be appropriate in an
essay that is, of necessity, very serious
or in which a good portion of effort is
devoted to explaining academic
difficulty, for example.”
“The personal statement should be
personal and real. I use it a lot to
structure my interview.”
“Above all, be honest.
Dishonesty will kill the application.”
So, how to write the essay?
3 areas of attention
Content
Form
Mechanics
Content
Create a coherent
life story
coherent
1. Sticking together,
2. Logically connected &
intelligible
Coherent?
It had been dry for a long time. No rain
had fallen for more than a month.
We had a beautiful home.
Now I want to be a dermatologist.
A coherent life story
Direction
Dedication
Purpose
Energy
A coherent life story?
12 year old sister with leukemia died
Played basketball for K-State
Rafting instructor for 3 years after college
Decided to go to medical school
A coherent life story?
12 year old sister with leukemia died.
Volunteered at hospital 3 years in college.
Did research in oncology lab at KU for 2
summers.
Decided to go to medical school. Hope to
become a pediatric oncologist.
Concrete, not abstract
Form:
How to structure the essay
Hook your reader.
Show logical flow.
The formula
Begin with a personal story,
Go to theory, or what the story
means.
Explore alternatives to the
formula
Slight rearrangements
A different opening
Form
No longer than one page.
6 paragraphs maximum.
“Leave some white space! One big
gray page turns me off.”
Mechanics of good writing
“Make sure to check for errors– this is
the biggest no- no to me. If you don’t
write well, it doesn’t bode well for
you.”
Mechanics
Grammar, spelling, diction,
syntax, punctuation, tone, and
style.
Mechanics of good writing
Competently written in standard English.
Workmanlike to Creative: the continuum.
Suggestions from reviewers
“Clarity is fundamental.”
Clarity
“If you don’t have confidence in yourself as a
writer, keep it simple. One idea per
sentence.”
Tone and style
Tone and style
“ Don’t be dramatic or effusive.”
“ Be careful in touting your
accomplishments. Tone is important.
Sounding egotistical or boastful
makes a bad impression.”
Proofreading & editing
Proofreading and editing
“Get input from others. Have at least
one other person read the essay.”
“Good writing is re-writing. Read and
edit it several times.”
“Let it cool off before submitting it with the
application. If it sounds corny or trite to you or
perhaps even too strong, rewrite!”
Clarity
Eschew Obfuscation
Writing clear prose
It’s raining
At the present time we are experiencing
precipitation.
Identify me as Ishmael.
Several twelvemonths past– disregard the
exact period– being somewhat
impoverished financially and possessing
nothing remarkable to intrigue me on terra
firma, I reflected I would navigate about
somewhat and observe the liquid,
aqueous component of the globe.
Call me Ishmael.
Some years ago– never mind how long
precisely– having little or no money in my
purse, and nothing particular to interest
me on shore, I thought I would sail about a
little and see the watery part of the world.
Clarity counts.
Make your reader work as little as possible.
Keep the degree of difficulty as low as
possible.
Robert Gunning’s Fog Index:
measuring the degree of difficulty of
writing based on the length of the words
we choose.
English:
the world’s richest, most expressive language.
Heteroglot: constant absorption
American Indian: chipmunk, moose
Italian: balcony, umbrella
Persian: shawl, paradise, sherbet
Greek: acrobat, catastrophe, elastic
Spanish: alligator, vanilla, hammock
Anglo Saxon roots
Words of usually no more than 4 letters
Home
Wife
Night
Eat
Farm
Love
Know
Tell
Norman Invasion 1066
Language exploded– and separated into 2
classes:
Home / Residence
Eat / Dine
Loving / Amorous
Anglo Saxon & Latinate words
Think (verb)
cogitate, ruminate, reflect, meditate,
conceive, contemplate….
Need (noun)
privation, destitution, indigence,
penury, pauperism….
Willing (adjective)
amenable, compliant, submissive, tractable
Short, simple words
Not:
But:
Contemplate
Endeavor
Equitable
Facilitate
Magnitude
Require
Terminate
Utilize
Think
Try
Fair, Equal
Help
Size
Need
End
Use
Avoid Pompous Diction
Endeavor – Try
Initiate – Begin
Is desirous of – Wants
Cognizant of – Knows
Ascertain – Find out
Implement – Start, create, carry out, begin
Apprise– Inform
Eventuate – Happen
Transpire – Happen
Transmit – Send
Remove empty fillers
It would thus appear that….
Apparently….
It is considered that….
We think….
It is this that….
This….
It is possible that the cause is….
The cause may be….
In light of the fact that….
Because….
It is often the case that….
Often….
It is interesting to note that….
Omit
It is not impossible that….
Omit
It seems that there can be little doubt that…
Omit
Economy and Precision
In the course of
While, during
In the event that
If
In the majority of instances
Usually
In the near future
Soon
In the nature of
Like (similar to)
In the neighborhood of
About
In the not too distant future
Soon
In the vicinity of
Near
In view of the fact that
Because
It is imperative that
Be sure that
It is interesting to note that
Note that
It would thus appear that
Apparently
Make decisions about
Decide on
Needless to say
(Then why say it?)
On a few occasions
Occasionally
On the assumption that
Assuming that
Prior to
Before
Subsequent to
After, Following
Take action
Act
Take into consideration
Consider
With regard to
Regarding
With the exception of
Except
Please find enclosed, herewith, my new
paper, which was published in January of
this year.
Here is my January 2003 paper.
Clarity = Economy + Precision
“Give us a coherent personal
story written in clear standard
English.”