Sure, you know you have to edit your law school personal statement, but one thing I find many students are unsure about is when to stop editing.
Something I get asked a lot is, “How do I know whether my law school personal statement needs more work?”
My answer’s typically:
If you’re asking whether your law school personal statement needs more work, it probably does.
At the same time, it’s easy to become obsessed with editing, and actually create more work for yourself.
Some students keep going back and forth over their law school personal statement, when it’s already perfect as is.
To help solve this dilemma, I’m giving you this guide:
How to Tell Whether Your Law School Personal Statement Needs More Editing
You Caught a Mistake
The biggest sign your law school personal statement still needs editing is that others see it! If you’re still noticing spelling or grammatical mistakes, repeated or omitted words, or any other mechanical errors, keep editing until there’s absolutely nothing left to fix.
Don’t read it through just once and submit it, either. Read it, take a break, then come back to it again until you’re 100% certain it’s your most error-free work to date.
Your Readers Have Questions
Whether it’s your mom, a teacher, or a friend, anyone who gets confused over a certain detail, paragraph, or sentence in your law school personal statement is doing you a favor. Things that might seem obvious to you aren’t necessarily as easy for the average reader to understand.
If one of your readers has said “I don’t get this,” or “This part confuses me,” thank them! They’ve just pointed out a place where you need to elaborate or clarify, and that’s far better than leaving your law school admission officer confused.
You Haven’t Answered These Questions
Every law school personal statement should answer:
• Why do you want to go to this law school?
• What do you have to offer that other students don’t?
• Do you have a passion for learning?
• What made you decide on a future in this specific field?
• How will a law school education support your future goals?
You should aim to answer these questions with clear, concise answers.
You Feel Like Something’s Missing
If you’ve read and reread your law school personal statement, but it still seems to be lacking something, you may need to rework one or more areas.
Ask yourself: where do I feel like the law school personal statement is falling flat? Does the conclusion need to be stronger? Does the opening make enough of an impact? Are there any areas that simply seem boring? If so, could you replace them with more interesting details, or leave them out altogether?
You Haven’t Left It & Come Back
Your entire writing, editing, and submission process should not happen over the course of one day. In fact, many students spend weeks on the planning, writing, and editing phases to write a law school personal statement they consider flawless.
In order to tell whether an idea is truly working, I recommend walking away from your law school personal statement and then coming back to it 48 hours later, at the very earliest. Of course, this only works when you begin your law school application process on time!
For a timeline on when you need to do everything by, visit my law school admissions resources here.
Until next time,
Steve
P.S. Another way to tell whether your law school personal statement is at the exact point it should be (or, conversely, you could still make a few tweaks) is to have an expert weigh in. If you’d like some professional help on turning your law school personal statement into a masterpiece, you know where to find me!
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