Personal Statement Writing for Law School

Filed under graduate admissions essay writing tips, April 4th, 2010 by Graduate Admissions Assistant

If you want to apply for law school, you have to expect that the process would not be easy. There are many requirements that you have to fulfill. Pre-law Advising has tips for you to consider to help you with your law school application.

Tell them about yourself

If you want to explain yourself in your personal statement, you have to do it in a way that is creative and appealing to readers. It is also important that your essay has depth.

One of the main problems when writing is that applicants fail to take a thorough and analytical look at themselves and their objectives. Admission committee members are looking for interesting, insightful, revealing, and non-generic essays that suggest you have successfully gone through a process of careful reflection and self-examination.

Take time to reflect and evaluate your experiences and goals. This way, you can share some insights about yourself, know more about your goals, and explain what makes the school your first choice. This will make it easier to come up with an essay that has a solid argument and persuasive discussion.

Set yourself apart from others

Committees are looking for something PERSONAL and ANALYTICAL. This means sharing information you rarely share with others and assessing your life more critically than usual. This approach is key to a successful personal statement.

You have to set yourself apart from other applicants. You can do this by including your own unique experiences, hopes, and aspirations in the essay. The details you include and how you present events, ideas, and insights will make the difference.

Tell a story

The worst thing that you can do is bore your readers.

Be truthful and stick to the facts; yet, think of your personal statement in the terms of writing a story. You want to write something that is fresh, lively, and different, to put yourself ahead of the other applicants. A personal statement MUST be MEMORABLE.

You have to write as if you are writing your story for the whole world to know who you are. Let them see it through your own eyes, how you view the world and certain experiences.

Make your personal statement introduction interesting

Introduction is a very important part of the personal statement. It is the part that can draw the attention of the admissions panel, prodding them to read further.

Keep in mind when composing your statement that the lead or OPENING PARAGRAPH IS generally the MOST IMPORTANT. Here you either GRAB the readers attention or lose it. If you are telling a story you will use this first paragraph to introduce the elements most relevant to that story-and the ones that will hold greatest interest for the reader.

However, you should also make the body and the conclusion as interesting as the intro. After all, the intro is just part of a bigger whole.

Here’s an excerpt on what makes an interesting intro.

The introductory paragraph should also include the thesis statement, a kind of mini-outline for the paper: it tells the reader what the essay is about. The last sentence of this paragraph must also contain a transitional hook, which moves the reader to the first paragraph of the body of the paper.

You can make your essay very interesting if you write a personal statement that is insightful and has a very interesting intro. This will make readers want to know more about you and perhaps consider an interview.

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