3 Common Personal Statement Writing Mistakes to Avoid
By: Jason Kay
Submitted: 2011-09-21 09:42:31 | Word Count: 502
Creating a personal statement can be an incredibly important task. In many cases it can hurt you much more than it can help you. There have been a lot of debate surrounding the importance of personal statements, because they often are a much larger potential detriment than a potential advantage. If you do decide to craft a personal statement, it is vital that you do not fall victim to any of these 3 killer mistakes that are common, but also easily avoided.
1.Basic Errors
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There is absolutely no reason to have careless mistakes in your personal letter. This include punctuation, word choice, and most importantly spelling. If you are going to invest a lot of time and effort in your personal statements, why would you want it to be tossed aside because of a basic error? You are not under any undo time limits or stress, so make sure that you cover the basic. If the reader sees an error, or worse yet, several errors, they will likely assume that you are either not serious or extremely careless and disorganized. Additionally, these errors will detract from what you are trying to share with them.
2.Don't Be "Cute"
Some people opt to use a "cute" or gimmicky format for their personal statements. They think that it will show the readers that are original and will hopefully stand out from the crowd. You can count on standing out, but probably for all of the wrong reasons. In all reality, it doesn't matter how clever or original you think that you are being, there is a good chance that whatever you are doing has been done before. You will definitely catch the attention of reader, but the review will not be positive.
3.Poor Word Choice
There are two common mistakes associated with word choice. The first is being too long winded. While included detailed information is always a good idea, some details simply are not necessary. By adding in irrelevant details, you will only muddy the clear picture that you are trying to present. More words does not inherently mean a better personal statement. The second common problem is arbitrarily using big words, solely for the sake of using them. Anyone can use a thesaurus, which means that bigger words does not always equate to a more cohesive and intelligent personal statement. This doesn't mean that you should "dumb-down" your writing, sometimes fancier words are more effective at illustrating your point. Instead, just focus on using the best words possible, which often means using the smallest words possible.
A well-crafted personal statement can be an excellent tool, however a poor personal statement can undercut everything else that you present to the reader because it will undercut your perceived credibility. While there are a large number of tips and tricks that may be beneficial, there are 3 killer, yet common, mistakes that you absolutely must avoid. You need to make sure that your personal statement is error free, written professionally (don't be cute), and illustrates good word choices.
Author Resource:-
Jason Kay recommends writing your personal statement by starting with a sample personal statement at http://www.samplepersonalstatement.org. Your writing will be faster and more professional as a result.
