© 2019 - 2024 ECP Consultancy PLC
Personal statements are often written in a narrative structure which you probably have seen in other creative forms. Imagine you are telling a story to a friend. That story will revolve around one character ideally, and in your personal statement, you should be the central character, not your parents, your friends, etc. It’s okay to showcase yourself and share less of the spotlight. Students commonly focus on challenges that they have personally faced or that society faces. It is good to tie the essay with a lesson that one has learned in the process that you have discussed throughout the essay. At the end of this phase, you should be able to write a clear and concise statement that fully encapsulates what the essay is about. It will help you trim the fat later on.
Just as an engineer follows a blueprint, you will build an outline for the essay before the writing process begins. The outline will create a clear map. It should include how many paragraphs there are and a connecting statement between each paragraph. Within the outline, you should include what you will accomplish in the paragraph and how it relates to the main theme.
A major pitfall I see in Ethiopian high school students is the lack of connecting statements between paragraphs. These statements allow for a smooth transition and must be included to avoid confusion. Here is a link for a more in-depth overview: https://www.shemmassianconsulting.com/blog/how-to-write-the-common-app-essay
This should be the simple part if you have devoted a proper amount of time to the previous steps. In this step, you are just bringing the outline to life, but please make sure you adhere closely to your outline especially if you are a beginner in writing. If any idea contradicts or does not add to your ideas outlined, don't compromise; remove it.
Please make sure to appropriately make spelling and grammar checks with free tools such as MS word review or Grammarly. Missing proofreading whilst accomplishing the previous steps will result in what my teacher used to call a man with a beautiful tuxedo but with broccoli in between his teeth.