A Personal Statement, also called Statement of purpose (SoP), is a written document by a prospective student to the institution he or she is seeking admission into. You will be expected to state the reason why you are choosing to study a course and your reason for choosing the institution. As such, you need to clearly give an account of your past, your present and your future aspirations. This will serve to tell the institution you are applying to that you are a better candidate to them compared to the other applicants.
To write an appealing personal statement, the following rules should be adhered to: 8 Steps to writing a personal statement
- Start your SoP with enthusiasm and with interesting details about your past educational life. This will make the reader want to read more.
- State the course you want to study with an explanation on why you are choosing the course over the others.
- Make the reader understand that your choice of course is the perfect one for you by connecting your past educational achievements with the course you want to study.
- State what you intend to learn from your course of choice and explain how your present knowledge will enhance your study. This will show that you have a solid foundation for the course you chose.
- Let the reader understand the academic progress you will earn from the course you want to study and the career options you will be entitled to in your country or any other place you intend to work after completing your studies.
- Also, explain in details why you are choosing a particular university. State the reason you decided to choose the university instead of the other available ones.
- Just like the above, explain why you choose to study in that country. Make the reader understand why you are choosing to study in the country over your country and other countries.
- Your total word count should be between 500 and 1000 words. This is why it is necessary to be straight and concise in your writing in other to avoid writing an unduly long SoP.
Following the outline above will help you in writing an academically presentable personal statement that will gain the audience of the reader and will make the reader see your passion. Also ensure you write in short paragraphs and make each of them connect to the other in an orderly and organised manner.