 Welcome and thank you for joining us today for this presentation on all things related to the personal statement. In this presentation, we will look at how they are used by universities, what makes an effective personal statement, how to write a personal statement, what not to write in your personal statement, and go through some strong examples of personal statements. In terms of how do universities use personal statements, they use them to learn more about applicants and why they applied to the programs, to understand an applicant's knowledge and appreciation of a subject as well as their motivation to pursue it, to add a qualitative context to quantitative results and predictions. So this can be learning a bit more about a student's workload, if they haven't studied that subject before, if there have been any changes to the student's study or environment, to distinguish between applicants with similar backgrounds and records, to shortlist for interviews or applicant days, and as a tool for rejecting or selecting applicants. In terms of what makes an effective personal statement, we look for enthusiasm, passion and motivation for the subject, understanding the experience of the subject, academic engagement with the discipline, relevant knowledge and skills, an honest self-portrait, originality and independence of thought, an academic focus of 75 to 80%, and a good structure with clear, well thought out and persuasive approach. In terms of how to write your personal statement, usually the first barrier is even starting that first personal statement and that first line that you put on the page. So don't worry at first about structure or size, brainstorm, think about what excites you about the subject, how did you first learn about it, and how have you engaged so far? Back up your interests, do you have any work experience or volunteering related to it? What outside reading have you done? What transferable skills do you have and how will that help you? Ask family, friends and teachers about your strengths. They may mention something you haven't thought of. There are some things that you shouldn't do in your personal statement and we've listed them here. So don't waffle, avoid including anything and everything. Editing is key. So in the previous slide, we did talk about putting everything down on paper, but in terms of your final personal statement, you should look at editing this down into what is essential and what showcases you in the best light. Not to show off, backing up your interest with relevant examples is good, but being overly confident can come across as false or boastful. Mention any one university or tailor the personal statement to one university. Don't use flower language, be clear and be concise. Don't use cliches and don't copy from the internet or from an example. And never submit a first draft, you need to review, revise and ask others opinions. In terms of writing the personal statement, you should first make a statement, have a strong opening paragraph that sets the T scene and grabs research attention. Why are you excited by this course? Showcase your understanding of what you're about to study for the next three years. Evidence, prove your suitability, your academic ability, your transferable skills and your current engagement. Put the personal and personal statement. Finish with what makes you unique and interesting and how this will help you both in your academic program, in your time at university and beyond. So now we're going to go through a range of examples, going through all of the areas that we talked through before. So the first would be enthusiasm and motivation. So why this subject and what aspects specifically are of interest. So in this first example, the student starts with a strong opening statement. They talk about a specific issue that sparked their interest and how this area requires further study. Further fueling their interest and their commitment to politics. In this second example, again, the student starts with a strong opening statement. They talk about their own experience, engagement and actions linked to the subject outside of the classroom. In this third example for law, this student again makes a strong opening statement and talks about a law from their home country and how it drew their interest. They talk about how this law is interlinked with religion and culture. They raise questions and suggest areas of change and underrepresentation. This student would likely be seen as a strong candidate for a black letter law school where you learn about the law, how it is established and law and legal structures, but also a critical thinking law school where you'd also look at the impact of other areas such as economics, politics, anthropology, culture, religion on law. In this final example for enthusiasm and motivation, we have an economic student. Again, they start with a strong opening statement and they make it personal. They talk about how economic affects them in their daily life and how this is further drawn into the subject. They show a particular area within the subject they're interested in and how they will pursue this within their studies and within their career. Understanding their experience. What are the key issues? What will studying this subject involve? In this example for social anthropology, this student takes you on a journey of how they decided to study social anthropology. They talk first about their interest in the social sciences, the study of societies, cultures and systems of thought. They show you how they first engage with this through following elections and reading social theory. They talk about how they researched multiple subjects and their interest in interdisciplinary study, but also how they then develop strong views on particular disciplines and how it led to their final decision to study social anthropology. In this example for Arabic, this student uses a range of personal experience in reference to their first engagement and visits to the Middle East as well as their engagement for a range of resources and media and their understanding of looking at the Middle East through various different lenses and perspectives. They talk about further reading and the questions this raised and how it requires further study and review. They talk about academic engagement. So demonstrating academic writing skills, analysis and evaluation, looking for applicants who go beyond the classroom. So for this first example for economics, this student talks about an essay they wrote for the Royal Economic Society Competition. They showcase their ability to form an argument on an economic issue and they talk about how they would like to study this issue further. In the study for law, this student talks about a range of law resources they have already engaged with, such as academic works, law reports, following judgments of the Supreme Court and then they bring it background to a wider area of study including politics and economic theory. This example is a little bit less like and the student could have elaborated on it further. Relevant knowledge and skills, they demonstrating through examples of classroom based study, super or extracurricular activities, work experience, etc. So in this first example for actual science, this student talks about a taster course they did at City University of London. They showcase their understanding gain from this course and they showcase their desire to study it further as well as an understanding of the career opportunities within this field. In this example for politics, this student talks about how their current studies in history will prepare them for their studies in politics. They talk about critical and reasoning skills and they talk about thinking creatively. Relevant knowledge and skills. So again in this example, this student talks about the Model United Nations Club, which is their extracurricular activity. They talk about how it has given them key skill sets in public speaking and debate, how it has made them understand the area of international relations more, and also talks about how they were selected to be the Deputy Secretary General of the conference. Final area is originality and independence thought, and this is demonstrating the ability to analyse and think critically and form your own opinions. So in this example for philosophy and economics, this student talks about particular reading they've done. They then put it in their own words and say whether they agree or disagree. So lastly, we'll talk about some common mistakes that are made by students in their personal statements and one that is echoed time and time again by many readers of personal statements is the opening line I've always wanted to be, and then you can add many things into this so it could be doctor, it could be lawyer, it could be engineer from the day I was born. Now this is highly unlikely and it's better that the student would actually talk about the first time they engaged in the area and what might have drawn them to it. Mentioning any one university or tailoring the personal statement to one university, for example, saying that you always wanted to study Roman history, but applying to two universities that don't teach Roman history. Trying to be too creative. This often uses up your word count when something more simple would reach the same goal. Not linking extracurricular activities to the subject you want to take. So it's great to hear that you are in a sports team, it's great to hear that you play a musical instrument, it's great to hear that you've been involved in some extracurricular club. But they should always draw it back to their study so what skill sets do they get from it, and how will it help them, and there could be many great skill sets they would get such as teamwork, such as leadership, such as commitment, and such as communication. List, adding lots of reading or work experience but not saying what you learn, and the skills sets you gained, and finally not coming across as authentic. To recap on what makes an effective personal statement, it's enthusiasm, passion and motivation for the study of the subject, and understanding the experience of the subject, academic engagement with the discipline, relevant knowledge and skills, an honest self portrait, originality and independence of thought, and academic focus of about 75 to 80%, and a good structure with a clear well thought out and persuasive approach. Well, this session has been helpful for you. And if you do have any questions, all of our contact details are here. Thank you very much for your time.