Personal Statements Do's and Don'ts

Your personal statement is an opportunity to highlight your writing ability, unique personality, and diversity of experience. Think of it as a written interview during which you get to choose the question. What one thing do you wish the admissions evaluators knew about you?

• Discuss possible topics with your pre-law advisor (or someone else) before you invest a lot of time in writing.
  
• Choose a narrow topic. Offer details about a small topic rather than generalities about a broad topic. Focus on a concrete experience (or two) and the impact it has had upon you.
  
• Be yourself. Do not tell law schools what you think they want to hear -- tell them the truth.
  
• Pay special attention to your first paragraph. It should immediately grab a reader's attention. Reviewers are pressed for time and may not read past an uninteresting opener.
  
• Keep it interesting. Write with energy and use active voice. You do not have to explain how your experience relates to your desire to attend law school. Tell a story. Paint a vivid picture. The most interesting personal statements create visuals for the reader.
  
• Keep it simple and brief. Big words do not denote big minds, just big egos. Choose your words with economy and clarity in mind, and remember that your reader has a huge stack of these papers. A personal statement generally should be two to three double-spaced pages.
  
• Proofread. Ask several people to proofread your essay. Grammatical or mechanical errors are inexcusable.
  
• Include information from your background that sets you apart. If your ethnicity, family, religion, socioeconomic background, or any similar factor may motivate you to succeed in law school, be sure to highlight it. This can be done in the personal statement itself or in a separate diversity statement. If you are writing a personal statement and a diversity statement, make sure the two essays address different topics.
  
• Consider your audience. Most admissions evaluators are professors, third-year law students, or admissions professionals not far out of law school. Therefore, you want to come across as an attentive student, interesting classmate, and accomplished person. Again, consider what you most want them to know, beyond the information provided in the rest of your application.
  
• Read the application carefully. Most law schools allow you to choose a topic, but some will require you to address a specific question. Follow whatever instructions are provided.

• Do not play a role, especially that of a lawyer or judge, and stay away from legal concepts and jargon. You run the risk of misusing them, and even if you use them properly, legal language may make you appear pompous.
  
• Do not tell your life story in chronological order or merely re-state your resume. Further, resist the urge to tie together all of your life experiences. The essays that try to say too much end up saying nothing at all.
  
• Do not become a cliché. Although you might really want to "save the world," or perhaps your "study abroad experience transformed the way you look at the world," these topics are overused. Before writing your essay, consider how your story is unique and highlight your individuality.
  
• Do not use a personal statement to explain discrepancies in your application. If your academic record is weak in comparison to your LSAT scores, or vice versa, address that issue in an addendum. Emphasize the positive in the personal statement.
  
• Do not offend your reader. Lawyers rarely shy away from controversial topics, but you should think twice before advocating a controversial view. You do not want to appear to be close-minded.
  
• If you are in the bottom of an applicant pool, do not play it safe. You have nothing to lose by making a novel statement.