Pick tips and tricks to strengthen your personal statement before applying to scholarships or academic institutions.

2. MERIT SCHOLARSHIPS, FELLOWSHIPS AND AWARDS
WORKSHOP OBJECTIVES
• Understand what personal statements are
• Identify the purpose, audience, and values for your
essay in order to create a match between what the
opportunity is seeking and what you offer
• Practice communicating the main idea of your personal
statement
• Understand the stages in drafting a personal statement
and the type of feedback most appropriate for each one
• Get tips for becoming a more effective writer

3. MERIT SCHOLARSHIPS, FELLOWSHIPS AND AWARDS
WHAT ARE PERSONAL STATEMENTS?
Writing samples used in selection for academic
programs and scholarships that describe you:
– your philosophy
– connections between past influences and future
goals,
– what makes you unique,
– how you will add value,
– your writing ability.

4. MERIT SCHOLARSHIPS, FELLOWSHIPS AND AWARDS
SAMPLE
MARY GATES LEADERSHIP SCHOLARSHIP
Describe the activity or project you propose to undertake
and how this experience will challenge you and allow you
to grow as a leader. Include a discussion of why this
initiative matters to you, what you expect to distinctively
contribute, and your goals for developing your leadership
potential. What do you need to learn about leadership and
about being a leader yourself? Consider how your mentor
and the context of your project will provide the support
you will need to meet your learning goals.

5. MERIT SCHOLARSHIPS, FELLOWSHIPS AND AWARDS
SAMPLE
UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE
MPHIL DEVELOPMENT STUDIES
Explain why you wish to do this course and how
it fits into your long-term career plans.

6. MERIT SCHOLARSHIPS, FELLOWSHIPS AND AWARDS
SAMPLE
UW LAW SCHOOL
The University of Washington School of Law aspires to be the best public law school in the
nation and one of the world's most respected centers for interdisciplinary legal studies. We
strive to be leaders for the global common good by shaping and defending just and sustainable
laws and policies through scholarly discovery, our ethical advocacy, our inspired teaching, and
our generous public service.
The primary goal of the admissions process is to enroll students who strive to be leaders for the
global common good; demonstrate outstanding academic, professional, and leadership
promise; are committed to generous public service and ethical advocacy; and who have
background and experiences that will enhance the diversity of the student body, thereby
enriching the law school educational environment. As such, applicants are invited to write a
personal statement that describes their potential contributions to our vibrant community.
Applicants may include the following factors in their personal statement or the optional
supplemental statement: perseverance against substantial obstacles; socio or economic
disadvantage; family or personal adversity; social hardships; disability; prejudice or
discrimination; leadership potential; studying or living abroad; foreign language skills; special
talents; unique life experiences; or geographic diversity.

7. MARRIAGE PROPOSAL
Image from http://www.flickr.com/photos/bwr/

8. MERIT SCHOLARSHIPS, FELLOWSHIPS AND AWARDS
What is the purpose or goal of
your essay? What do you know
about your audience? What do you
know about values or qualities
they prioritize?

9. MERIT SCHOLARSHIPS, FELLOWSHIPS AND AWARDS
How will you
match their needs?

10. MERIT SCHOLARSHIPS, FELLOWSHIPS AND AWARDS
Imagefrom:http://americandreamingmagazine.com/blog/?p=2070

11. MERIT SCHOLARSHIPS, FELLOWSHIPS AND AWARDS
WHAT IS THE MAIN IDEA YOU WANT
TO CONVEY TO YOUR AUDIENCE?
“I’m a great candidate for [XYZ opportunity]
because…
[my interests / values]
[my skills / accomplishments]
[connections between my past experiences and
future goals]
[ways I will bring value]”

12. MERIT SCHOLARSHIPS, FELLOWSHIPS AND AWARDS
TELL A STORY
• Engage your audience from the first moment
• Use vivid examples
By showing, a writer appeals to
all of the senses, not just the
visual. To show means to
provide a feast for the eyes, ears
and, depending on the essay,
the mouth, nose or skin.
Parke Muth, Senior Assistant
Dean and Director or
International Admission, The
University of Virginia

13. MERIT SCHOLARSHIPS, FELLOWSHIPS AND AWARDS
SHOWING VS. TELLING
Last year I noticed that the local senior center was in bad need
of some upkeep. I contacted the director and explained that I
have a summer’s worth of experience painting houses, not to
mention a lot of left-over supplies, and would love to help
spruce up the place.
I’m ambitious and driven.
After I took Psych 101, I continued to wonder about how
engaging in the artistic process can contribute to better mental
health, specifically in regards to depression. The next quarter, I
participated in a research study that investigated the varying
levels of depression in teenagers who engage in the creative
arts versus those who participate in competitive sports.
I’m intellectually curious.

14. MERIT SCHOLARSHIPS, FELLOWSHIPS AND AWARDS
ORGANIZE BY FOCUSING ON “SO WHAT?”
what?
what?
so what?
so what?
better

15. “Almost all good writing begins with terrible
first efforts. You need to start somewhere.
Start by getting something -- anything --
down on paper. A friend of mine says that
the first draft is the down draft -- you just
get it down. The second draft is the up draft
-- you fix it up. You try to say what you have
to say more accurately. And the third draft
is the dental draft, where you check every
tooth, to see if it's loose or cramped or
decayed, or even, God help us, healthy.”
From Anne Lamott’s “Shitty First Drafts” in Bird by Bird (1994)

16. MERIT SCHOLARSHIPS, FELLOWSHIPS AND AWARDS
FEEDBACK BASED ON DRAFT TYPE

17. MERIT SCHOLARSHIPS, FELLOWSHIPS AND AWARDS
RESOURCES FOR FINDING THE RIGHT WORDS
• Occupational Profile Databases:
– O*NET: wwww.onetonline.org
– WOIS: www.wois.org
• Career Assessments:
– Strong Interest Inventory
– Strengths Quest
– MBTI

18. MERIT SCHOLARSHIPS, FELLOWSHIPS AND AWARDS
ELIMINATE “EMPTY” CONTENT
Vagueness
Generalizations
There are
moments in our
lives that come to
define our beliefs
and perspectives.

19. MERIT SCHOLARSHIPS, FELLOWSHIPS AND AWARDS
ENGAGE EXTERNAL REVIEWERS

20. MERIT SCHOLARSHIPS, FELLOWSHIPS AND AWARDS
INDIVIDUAL ADVISING AVAILABLE AT:
Writing and Communication
Center
Merit Scholarships Office
Career Center