Tips on Writing a Personal Essay

Everyone, who starts researching the question on how to write a personal statement, will easily get overwhelmed by all the information available on the Internet. The thing is that a personal essay is such a hot topic that everyone tries to write about it because they know they will attract readers. This can make finding specific information difficult since you’ll have to sieve through a lot of articles. To make your life easier, we’ve summed up the most important points that you need to know about how to write a personal statement.

A personal statement is the alternative of a job interview for the process of college admission. The fact that it’s written and not oral is good because you have more time to polish your words and avoid any slip-ups. On the contrary, writing about yourself is much more difficult than about any other subject. You want to present yourself in the best possible colors but you also don’t want to come off standoffish and insincere. The line between a good personal statement and a bad one is very thin and you should be careful not to cross it.

The right approach to writing a personal statement requires a lot of preparation and self-contemplation. Do not get discouraged if you’re facing difficulties and it takes longer than planned to find your wording. If you know someone who’s very proud to have finished their personal statement in one go, the chances are very high that they didn’t do a good job. You’ll be writing, rewriting, reading, and rewriting again to come up with the best possible result because you understand that stakes are high and a personal essay is something you cannot do half-heartedly.

There are two categories of personal essays that you might encounter if you’re applying for college. The first one gives you a complete freedom and simply requires you to present yourself. Here you need to paint a full picture of your personality and abilities so that a person reading it, who has never met you, can feel like they know you well. The second type is an answer to a specific question. In this you’ll have fewer choices regarding the direction your essay might take, but it still doesn’t mean you can’t make it personal. In fact, it’s still a personal statement so your personality should come through in your writing.

Whatever kind of application assignment you receive, one thing you should always keep in mind is meeting all the requirements. If you don’t have any, perfect! Then it means you can take it wherever you want. But if you have one question or a set to answer, follow them and don’t drift off the track. Doing this is important for demonstrating your ability to clearly comprehend what is asked from you and deliver successfully.

This article doesn’t give you exact directions but it puts you in the right mindset for writing a good personal statement. And the mindset is the basis for success.