After you finish your brainstorming document, you may feel tempted to start drafting your Personal Statement. But, hold off. Instead, develop an outline for your essay that highlights your most poignant and pivotal moments. An outline will make writing way easier, we promise, as the hardest part of writing a Personal Statement can be deciding on the structure. Outlining will save you time and stress.
During this process, we encourage you to think like a storyteller rather than an academic. One of the goals of your writing is to inform, but it is equally important to engage your reader and get them personally invested in your journey. You might even take a cue from an action movie. When the lights go down and the curtain goes up, you see the star in a sports car going full throttle. What you don’t know, immediately, is who or where they are. Similarly, narrative writing does not have to be linear. After leading with an attention-grabbing scene, you can go back and provide additional context and information on what’s missing.
There is no one essay format to follow. That said, there are some ideal beats to hit. Head to our blog for a sample outline that might work for you.
During this process, we encourage you to think like a storyteller rather than an academic. One of the goals of your writing is to inform, but it is equally important to engage your reader and get them personally invested in your journey. You might even take a cue from an action movie. When the lights go down and the curtain goes up, you see the star in a sports car going full throttle. What you don’t know, immediately, is who or where they are. Similarly, narrative writing does not have to be linear. After leading with an attention-grabbing scene, you can go back and provide additional context and information on what’s missing.
There is no one essay format to follow. That said, there are some ideal beats to hit. Head to our blog for a sample outline that might work for you.
