The introduction is one of the most important parts of any admission essay. This is because the intro has a strong influence on how the admissions panel will think about your essay. Knewton has some interesting things to say about your personal statement’s introduction.
Repeating the question is a boring personal statement intro
Accepted editors discussed a client’s response to the question, “How have you experienced culture shock?” The applicant began her response with “I experienced culture shock when” How many applicants responding to this question start similarly? Too many. However, if the applicant from the first word contrasted the culture she comes from with the one that engendered the shock, she would be immediately painting a picture of the situation, differentiating herself from her competition, and making maximal use of each word in an essay with a tight word count.
This is a good tip on how to be creative by starting your essay with a scene or an anecdote. Repeating the questions seems like a grade schooler’s essay writing style, so better look for a more effective approach. Make sure that you hook the readers right from the beginning.
Cliche opening
Another common opening: “I want to be a lawyer because” or “I was born in” or “I come from” Start with an opening that portrays your vision for the future, reveals your preparation for your chosen path, or depicts an illustrative and impressive experience from your background. Then swing back and tie this opening to your desire for a legal education or the theme of your personal statement.
Admission essay readers are looking for something fresh, inspiring, and interesting. Cliches only make your essay less creative and half-heartedly written, without much enthusiasm or creativity coming from you.
According to this excerpt from another article:
Your introduction conveys a lot of information to your readers. You can let them know what your topic is why it is important and how you plan to proceed with your discussion. It should contain a thesis that will assert your main argument. It will also ideally give the reader a sense of the kinds of information you will use to make that argument and the general organization of the paragraphs and pages that will follow. After reading your introduction your readers should not have any major surprises in store when they read the main body of your paper.
You have to be consistent until the end of your essay. You should also work on your body and conclusion and write them with the same quality as your introduction.
Your personal statement introduction must be creative and interesting. You have to ensure that your intro is not just paraphrasing the question. It will also do you well if you avoid openings that are cliches.
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.
