Word choice matters, and there is a lot of bad advice on the Internet about which words to use in a personal statement.
Among the more common of these recommendations is to refer to the pursuit or practice of medicine as “noble” or an “art.” There is no bigger mistake than this.
Why is that? Because no matter what the candidate thinks about the pursuit or practice of medicine, it is nearly impossible for those words to be used in a manner that will come across as genuine, and in the few cases where they could come across as genuine, they will more often paint a picture of the candidate being more arrogant than how he or she would wish to come across.
Though writing a personal statement can seem like a daunting task, it is actually relatively easy to think of the right words to use.
What are they? They are your words.
However you think and write naturally—specifically when you are not trying to impress anyone—is how you should write your personal statement.
As for non-native English speakers, I know there are many who are concerned about whether they are using the correct words in English and whether those words are spelled correctly.
While it is important to make sure the right ideas are communicated and communicated well, once this is done, the use of one word versus another and making sure every word is spelled correctly is of only minor significance.
Why is this? Simply put, program directors are looking for quality candidates to train to be future doctors, not future English professors.
In fact, many program directors also need help with spelling. We know this because they ask us to edit their emails and other important documents.
No matter the personal statement, and no matter the program being applied for, there are no magical words to be inserted without consideration of the candidate’s particular goals for the personal statement.
The words used should be ones that match these particular goals best.
The best words for one candidate’s personal statement will therefore not be the same ones that best serve another candidate’s personal statement. With our personal statement services , for example, we do not look to employ a specific set of words in every personal statement, but instead evaluate the individual goals of each candidate with his or her personal statement and then advise the candidate which words would best help accomplish them.
Editor’s Note: This article was originally published December 4, 2016, and last updated for accuracy and comprehensiveness June 22, 2022.
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The personal statement within your application form can be of any length, but you are often offered one side of A4 with space for another, which immediately indicates that you are expected to write a great tome of a thousand words, and that fellow candidates will do so also.
Whilst your qualifications and experience get you through the door, the personal statement is an important opportunity for you to tell the decision maker who you are and exactly why you fit that role.
Firstly, do the research about the college. Use their career site or webpage to get to know their values and priorities. This will allow you to include in your statement exactly why you’re right for that college. Don’t be afraid to refer to their mission statement or Ofsted report.
Yes, you do need to personalise your statement every time you apply to a different teaching job.
Relate your experience to their job specifications, and give examples. E.g. if they are looking for ‘ability to engage successfully with parents’, your statement must show how you meet that requirement, such as: ‘I maintain an open-door policy for parents after teaching hours and have found that two-way conversation results in a more joined-up approach to learning and behaviour between college and home.’ This will then form the basis of your interview questions so be ready with the actual example of a student you have supported this way.
Update your personal statement on FEjobs now
Don’t be tempted to write War and Peace. A 400-word statement that gives focussed information is more powerful than a 1,000-word demonstration of your supercalifragilistic literary powers. That said, use a varied vocabulary – after all, a lecturer should be able to find alternative words for ‘enthusiastic’.
As a lectuter (of any subject) your literacy is expected to be high so there should be no spelling or grammar errors. Organise it into logical paragraphs and get someone else to spell-check it manually. There should certainly not be any evidence that you have cut and pasted from an application for another college. Errors such as this are a quick way for a Head to cut down their pile of applicants.
Enthuse about your subject or specialism. If you enjoy it, say why. This is critical in leadership roles where you will be responsible in translating the curriculum into a real learning programme.
Explain what you have learned from the different colleges you have worked in but avoid criticising anyone, no matter how tempting it may be!
Highlight your transferable skills
Include transferable skills from inside and outside of the classroom. If you have come from another industry, don’t be afraid to say so. Your recent and relevant training in technology or a trade is in fact of great benefit to colleges so explain what you think you bring to the table.
Include your long term plans – much of what a college is looking for includes the person you are going to become.
Don’t bother telling them that you love socialising. If you want to include hobbies, relate each to the value it portrays, be it health, papercraft, music, performance or family or community.
If you aren’t sure what skills could be of use to the college, your recruitment consultant can help.
Perfected your personal statement? View our CV advice to ensure your application is ready to go!
This article was originally published on eTeach.
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With this in mind, your personal statement should demonstrate a clear understanding of what the role involves, the challenges you’ll face, and the kind of skills, qualities, and values required.
We've asked admissions tutors to share their top dos and don'ts for nursing personal statements, and asked a careers adviser to create an example of how to write about your work experience – here's what they told us.
To structure it, try to write clearly and reflectively about:
Some universities will score your personal statement against their specific selection criteria. Make sure you take a look at individual university websites, as these criteria may be listed for you to refer to. Look for nursing courses in our search tool .
Try to build up as much experience or observation as you can. Ideally this should be in a care environment, such as a hospital, clinic, GP practice, school, residential care or the voluntary sector. Any other experience of working with people is helpful too.
Back up these experiences by carrying out some relevant background reading or research – Health Careers is a good starting point . Just talking to nurses about their work will also be valuable. Nurse Ewout talks about his route into nursing . If possible, get to some university open days , as they’re great for picking up new insights and asking questions.
Then, when you write about all this in your statement, try to explain and reflect on:
The latter could include the responsibility and commitment you’ve shown through:
Tip: Don’t waste space in your statement explaining what a nurse does – they know that! But if you’ve found out for yourself how nurses manage, prescribe, evaluate or critically review evidence when making decisions, do reflect on that.
Most nursing admissions tutors expect you to apply for one specific field only, such as adult or child.
They'll expect you to choose between nursing and midwifery courses rather than apply to both at the same time. However, one university told us that you wouldn’t automatically be rejected if you are genuinely interested in the crossover between two different fields (same for nursing and midwifery), so do check first. Some universities also offer dual-field courses but you'll need to demonstrate a realistic understanding of the field(s) you’ve chosen.
For example, if you’re applying specifically for mental health nursing, you might want to reflect on your ability to understand other people’s perspectives or to advocate on their behalf. Or if you feel it’s appropriate to reflect on your own experience of mental health then, as one admissions tutor told us, the key is to explain how this has motivated you to become a nurse yourself.
For child nursing, you might wish to demonstrate your awareness of the diverse range of children you will nurse and the kind of challenges you expect to face. Similarly, for adult or learning disability, you could reflect on what you’ve learned from your interactions with elderly people, or how you’ve supported someone with a learning disability yourself.
The key words are ‘demonstrate’ and ‘reflect’. It’s not enough just to say you understand something – you need to show what it was that led to your understanding. Then, as Moira Davies, nursing admissions tutor at University of South Wales, advises, ‘highlight the skills you have that are transferable to the field of nursing you have chosen’.
If you’re interested in learning more about midwifery, read our guide .
Nhs constitution.
For all degree courses that involve training within an NHS setting, there is likely to be some emphasis on values based selection, and how applicants' own values and behaviours align with the seven core values of the NHS Constitution . Familiarise yourself with this while writing your personal statement.
For more personal statement advice and examples, check out all our personal statement advice including how to write a personal statement and how to start yours .
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COMMENTS
You can use words in your personal statement that showcase your suitability for this. It's a great opportunity to present who you are outside of your academic achievements and grades. You want to give them an idea of the kind of person you are. Here are some words you can use to describe yourself: ambitious. confident.
A strong conclusion is clear, concise, and leaves a lasting impression. Use these three steps: Summarize the main points of your statement. For example, "My experience volunteering for the school newspaper, along with my communication skills and enthusiasm for writing, make me an ideal student for your university."
10. Teacher personal statement. "Elementary school teacher with 5+ years of experience managing classrooms of 20-30 students. Adept at using positive reinforcement teaching techniques to encourage student behavior and development. Looking to use my creativity and experience to engage at-risk students.".
Related: Personal Statement vs. Statement of Purpose: Key Differences How to write a good personal statement Follow these steps to a good personal statement: 1. Craft a strong opening Begin with an opening sentence that interests your audience and makes them want to read more. Use your words to introduce the main idea of your response.
Resist the temptation to try and write something dazzlingly original, witty or epigrammatic. It's much better to , thus allowing you time to explore the details of your interest in the subject in the main body of the statement. : this is simply hiding behind someone else's words and gives the admissions tutors little idea of what excites you as ...
There are no set rules for how to write a personal statement—a lot of your writing choices depend on the assignment and reader—but they typically fall between 400 and 1,000 words, rarely exceeding a single page. Personal statements can be either open or prompted. Open personal statements are when you, the writer, get to choose the main topic.
Tip 3: Show, Don't Tell. One common mistake you might make in your personal statement is to simply tell the reader what you want them to know about you, such as by stating "I have a fear of public speaking" or "I love to cook.". Instead of simply stating these facts, you should show the committee what you're talking about through a story or scene, which will make your essay much ...
In a great personal statement, we should be able to get a sense of what fulfills, motivates, or excites the author. These can be things like humor, beauty, community, and autonomy, just to name a few. So when you read back through your essay, you should be able to detect at least 4-5 different values throughout.
Strategy 1: Open with a concrete scene. An effective way to catch the reader's attention is to set up a scene that illustrates something about your character and interests. If you're stuck, try thinking about: A personal experience that changed your perspective. A story from your family's history.
Write it so that the person reading it wants to hear more. Address the elephant in the room (if there is one). Maybe your grades weren't great in core courses, or perhaps you've never worked ...
When using size 10-11 font in Aptos (the Microsoft Word default font) it comes out at about four lines. Now you might have to adjust the margins to fit in more, but it's more about the line count than the word count. It's like Goldilocks. Not too long, not too short. Easy to skim read, but long enough to have detail.
Here's a 3-step solution: STEP 1. Brainstorm about your life. Dedicate 5-10 minutes each to brainstorming about these 4 sets of questions. You can do this by yourself (writing down your thoughts), or do this exercise out loud with a friend or family member, and then jot down notes as you're talking.
For a university application, discuss what parts of the program or school align with your passions. Your university introduction should be a full paragraph. 2. Expand on relevant skills, interests and experiences. The body of your personal statement lets you share more about your relevant skills, interests and experiences.
Key Takeaways: To write a personal statement, first brainstorm, then narrow down your ideas, and start with an intro that leads into your qualifications. Make sure to proofread your personal statement before submitting. Personal statements describe your interests, skills, and goals, with a particular focus on your passion.
Use your closing couple of lines to summarise the most important points in your statement. 9. Check your writing thoroughly and get someone else to check it, too. 10. Give your brain a rest by forgetting about your personal statement for a while before going back to review it one last time with fresh eyes.
Include tangibles - always try to give additional details that add value to your application, for instance, quantifying something always makes it sound better. 'Increased sales by 35%' sounds better than just saying 'increased sales'. Hit key points - a good personal statement will be able to give the employer a quick summary of you and ...
How to Write a personal statement A Comprehensive Video Course for Students. A seven-part online course designed to gives students and counselors everything they need to figure out (or help someone else figure out) how to write a personal statement for the Common App. Watch the Q&A sessions after each session where I answer important questions about the personal statement-writing process and ...
6. Career Aspirations. Outline your career goals and how the course will help you achieve them. This shows that you have a clear vision for your future and that the course is a step towards achieving your long-term objectives. What Should a Personal Statement Include: Short-term and long-term career goals.
Just start by showing your enthusiasm for the subject, showcasing your knowledge and understanding, and sharing your ambitions of what you want to achieve. Avoid cliches! Remember, this opening part is simply about introducing yourself, so let the admissions tutor reading your personal statement get to know you. Keep it relevant and simple.
Here are some examples of personal and professional statements: 1. Personal statement for a postgraduate programme. Joan David Personal statement for master's programme in Public Policy and Administration London School of Policy 'I held my first textbook when I was a 23-year-old undergraduate.
The key to a successful personal statement is that they themselves write their personal statements and that they write their personal statements in their own voice. What many candidates do not realize—particularly those who hire others to write their personal statements for them—is that each word choice paints a picture, and simply looking ...
Stay logical. As a lectuter (of any subject) your literacy is expected to be high so there should be no spelling or grammar errors. Organise it into logical paragraphs and get someone else to spell-check it manually. There should certainly not be any evidence that you have cut and pasted from an application for another college.
Top tips on how to write your statement opener. We spoke to admissions tutors at unis and colleges - read on for their tips. 1. Don't begin with the overkill opening. Try not to overthink the opening sentence. You need to engage the reader with your relevant thoughts and ideas, but not go overboard. Tutors said: 'The opening is your chance ...
With this in mind, your personal statement should demonstrate a clear understanding of what the role involves, the challenges you'll face, and the kind of skills, qualities, and values required. We've asked admissions tutors to share their top dos and don'ts for nursing personal statements, and asked a careers adviser to create an example of ...