Law School Personal Statement Rough Draft
In my last article, we talked about how to develop your law school application story. I'm going to assume you did the homework assignment, even if you didn't send it to me :)
If you haven't done it yet, take some time to think about the main points you want to share with the admissions committee.
Now, it's time to brainstorm, write, and edit. But don't try to finish the entire law school personal statement in one day.
Give yourself time to write and refine your law school personal statement over several days.
Breaking up the writing process lets you view the draft with a fresh perspective each time you work on your application.
It's not just the topic of the essay that matters.
Equally, if not more important, is HOW you write it: your tone and style.
You might write in short sentences with strong, descriptive words. Or you might mix up your sentence length.
Whatever your style is, make sure you grab the reader's attention with the first sentence and keep it throughout the essay using both the content and style.
It's especially important to use the active voice. I'll give you a few examples.
Example #1:
Passive: "I was awarded first place in the debate competition."
Active: "I won first place in the debate competition."
In the first, someone else (the judges?) gave you the award. The reader is left wondering.
In the second, you actively won the award.
Example #2:
Passive: "I was forced to make a difficult decision between trying to boost my LSAT score and organizing a service project."
In the first, we're left wondering why you were forced. What forced you? A person? A thing?
Active: "My busy schedule forced me to make a difficult decision..."
It's extremely important to write your law school application essays in an active voice. With all the essays they read, admissions staff prefer this. It's far more exciting. By using the active voice, you're far more likely to keep them engaged. This is one of the many techniques you can use to write a persuasive and focused law school personal statement.
YOUR ACTION STEP
Write a rough draft of 1300-1500 words, wait a few days, then aggressively reduce its length so that it will be short, but full of content. Print draft after draft. (It's much easier to make revisions on paper than on the computer screen.)
Also, make sure you show your law school personal statement to others so that you can get feedback from them. Ask your readers to help you cut any unnecessary words and sentences, and have them make sure you're using the active voice whenever possible.
If you're looking for feedback on your law school application essays, you can get feedback on your drafts from me, personally. Find out more about getting law school admissions coaching here ---->
In my last article, we talked about how to develop your law school application story. I'm going to assume you did the homework assignment, even if you didn't send it to me :)
If you haven't done it yet, take some time to think about the main points you want to share with the admissions committee.
Now, it's time to brainstorm, write, and edit. But don't try to finish the entire law school personal statement in one day.
Give yourself time to write and refine your law school personal statement over several days.
Breaking up the writing process lets you view the draft with a fresh perspective each time you work on your application.
It's not just the topic of the essay that matters.
Equally, if not more important, is HOW you write it: your tone and style.
You might write in short sentences with strong, descriptive words. Or you might mix up your sentence length.
Whatever your style is, make sure you grab the reader's attention with the first sentence and keep it throughout the essay using both the content and style.
It's especially important to use the active voice. I'll give you a few examples.
Example #1:
Passive: "I was awarded first place in the debate competition."
Active: "I won first place in the debate competition."
In the first, someone else (the judges?) gave you the award. The reader is left wondering.
In the second, you actively won the award.
Example #2:
Passive: "I was forced to make a difficult decision between trying to boost my LSAT score and organizing a service project."
In the first, we're left wondering why you were forced. What forced you? A person? A thing?
Active: "My busy schedule forced me to make a difficult decision..."
It's extremely important to write your law school application essays in an active voice. With all the essays they read, admissions staff prefer this. It's far more exciting. By using the active voice, you're far more likely to keep them engaged. This is one of the many techniques you can use to write a persuasive and focused law school personal statement.
YOUR ACTION STEP
Write a rough draft of 1300-1500 words, wait a few days, then aggressively reduce its length so that it will be short, but full of content. Print draft after draft. (It's much easier to make revisions on paper than on the computer screen.)
Also, make sure you show your law school personal statement to others so that you can get feedback from them. Ask your readers to help you cut any unnecessary words and sentences, and have them make sure you're using the active voice whenever possible.
If you're looking for feedback on your law school application essays, you can get feedback on your drafts from me, personally. Find out more about getting law school admissions coaching here ---->
Talk soon,
Steve
Steve
P.S. Don’t worry if you don’t love your rough draft. After all, it’s meant to be just that, rough. :)
Very soon, I’ll be giving you plenty of tips on editing, revising, refining, etc. to help you write the best final draft possible.
Very soon, I’ll be giving you plenty of tips on editing, revising, refining, etc. to help you write the best final draft possible.
Recommended Resources:
1. Law School Admissions Coaching
Get personalized 1-1 help on every aspect of the law school admission process -- or just the law school personal statement.
2. Law School Admissions Guide
I've written a concise guide to the law school admission process with tips on completing every aspect of your applications from start to finish. It's a small price to pay for a whole lot of guidance, and it's short enough that you'll actually read the whole thing. 3. Law School Admissions Cheat Sheet Quick-reference guide for the law school personal statement, the "Why X?" essay, and the law school résumé. (You can also get it with the LSAT Cheat Sheets.) |
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