There are three common types of personal statements that people write about when they apply to a school. These three types of personal statements reflect the personal characteristics, struggles, achievements, and goals of an applicant. In addition, these bits of information enable admissions committees to see a human character instead of an applicant defined and characterized by numeric scores and grades.
The three common types of personal statements have been observed from various examples in sample essay about myself blogs. The three types may revolve around ideas suggested by metaphors, themes of quotes, and challenges in an applicant’s life.
Metaphors as central to personal statements
In some personal statements, metaphors are used to describe applicants’ lives. Applicants may take passages from a classic book or compare their lives to a particular object, event, or feeling. Metaphors are used by many applicants as a writing tool to make their personal statements unique because metaphors may give the impression that the applicants are philosophical or creative. In addition, when the personal statements are written well with metaphors as the theme, ideas in the essay become coherent.
What makes metaphors distracting, however, is when they are not used properly. Sometimes, applicants fail to connect the metaphors to the narration of their lives. To avoid doing this in your own personal statement, make sure to refer to the metaphor twice or thrice in your essay. You must show your readers the direct relationship between the metaphor and your experiences.
Quotes in personal statements
Using quotes in personal statements is like using metaphors. A quote that summarizes the life of the applicant is written at the beginning of the essay. Often times, too, the quote is from a famous person.
While it is true that quotes are now overused and that personal statements should be unique, there are ways for you to still make your personal statement different. One way is to use a quote from a less famous person. You may use a line your cousin, friend, or teacher once said. Another way to make your personal statement different is to make sure that you connect the quote to the elements in your essay.
Personal challenges as the theme
When using the approach of writing about personal struggles, the main factor that the admissions committee look for is how the applicant overcomes difficulties. If you plan to use this approach, you must keep in mind to express that you are a strong and persevering person. A bit of drama is acceptable if it is within the context of the essay, but staying in the victim level is never agreeable. In addition, you must have a positive tone all throughout your essay.
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