Writing strategies for crafting a compelling personal statement for a scholarship:
In my last thread (linked below), I wrote that a personal statement asks for two things:
β’ Your vision, and
β’ Your plan to execute that vision
In this thread, I will teach you how to create a compelling story around your vision and plan.
β’ Your vision, and
β’ Your plan to execute that vision
In this thread, I will teach you how to create a compelling story around your vision and plan.
Let's get cracking!
Go and sit alone in a room.
Close your eyes.
Think about two or three events or persons who have made a huge influence in your life.
It could be about anything: an achievement, a failure, a moment of joy or sadness.
Close your eyes.
Think about two or three events or persons who have made a huge influence in your life.
It could be about anything: an achievement, a failure, a moment of joy or sadness.
Now get a friend you trust.
Tell them a story about those events/persons and how they have influenced you.
Ask your friend which story they find most interesting or compelling.
Select this story.
Thank your friend.
Tell them a story about those events/persons and how they have influenced you.
Ask your friend which story they find most interesting or compelling.
Select this story.
Thank your friend.
Take a pen and a notebook and write this story down.
Don't write on a computer.
Unlike a computer, a notebook doesn't have a delete button.
Don't worry about spellings or grammar. Just put words on the page.
Write as much as you can. The more the better.
Don't write on a computer.
Unlike a computer, a notebook doesn't have a delete button.
Don't worry about spellings or grammar. Just put words on the page.
Write as much as you can. The more the better.
Now take a green pen and underline all the sentences with words like "will," "want," "should."
These sentences show your DESIRES.
I will do X
I should have done Y
I want to do a PhD because Z
etc. etc.
These sentences show your DESIRES.
I will do X
I should have done Y
I want to do a PhD because Z
etc. etc.
Next take a red pen and underline sentences with words like "if," "but," "problem."
These sentences show the CHALLENGES you have faced in life.
If I had money to pay for X
The problem is I don't have Y
I want to do a PhD but can't do it because of Z
These sentences show the CHALLENGES you have faced in life.
If I had money to pay for X
The problem is I don't have Y
I want to do a PhD but can't do it because of Z
Close your eyes and think about what you have done
to meet these challenges on your own
without any help from anyone else.
Write that down. Again, the more the better.
These sentences show your COMMITMENT in the face of adversity.
to meet these challenges on your own
without any help from anyone else.
Write that down. Again, the more the better.
These sentences show your COMMITMENT in the face of adversity.
Close your eyes one more time and think about how you can overcome those challenges with the help of someone.
Write that down too.
Again, don't worry about grammar or structure.
Just put words on the page.
These sentences show your PLANS.
Write that down too.
Again, don't worry about grammar or structure.
Just put words on the page.
These sentences show your PLANS.
Once you're done, you will have written about four things:
1. Desires
2. Challenges
3. Commitment
4. Plans
It won't be structured and that's okay.
We'll get to it in a bit.
1. Desires
2. Challenges
3. Commitment
4. Plans
It won't be structured and that's okay.
We'll get to it in a bit.
Take four separate pages and write about your desires, challenges, commitment, and plans on them separately.
Arrange these pages in different orders:
β’ challenges, plans, commitment, desire
β’ desire, plans, challenges, commitment
etc. etc.
Arrange these pages in different orders:
β’ challenges, plans, commitment, desire
β’ desire, plans, challenges, commitment
etc. etc.
Go to your friend and ask them which order/sequence they like the most.
Trust your friend's judgement.
Rewrite the whole thing as a story in the order your friend recommended.
Trust your friend's judgement.
Rewrite the whole thing as a story in the order your friend recommended.
This is your personal statement.
Now all you need is a good "hook" to put in the beginning your statement.
Now all you need is a good "hook" to put in the beginning your statement.
A "hook" is the first one or two sentences that make a reader want to keep reading β something that hooks the reader.
One way to write a good hook is to throw the reader right in the middle of action.
Example: I started my personal statement for Fulbright in the following manner:
"Eighteen. That's the number of publishers that rejected my book."
Example: I started my personal statement for Fulbright in the following manner:
"Eighteen. That's the number of publishers that rejected my book."
I started by telling the reader about a challenge and then quickly moved on to how I overcame it.
Within one paragraph I showed:
β’ my desire (to publish a book)
β’ challenge (rejection)
β’ commitment (kept going despite rejections)
β’ plan (revise manuscript, resubmit)
Within one paragraph I showed:
β’ my desire (to publish a book)
β’ challenge (rejection)
β’ commitment (kept going despite rejections)
β’ plan (revise manuscript, resubmit)
Here's the first sentence of the statement that got me my postdoc:
"It was on a visit to my maternal relatives in Gujrat during the early β90s that I was first introduced to Hans Christian Andersenβs tales."
"It was on a visit to my maternal relatives in Gujrat during the early β90s that I was first introduced to Hans Christian Andersenβs tales."
The postdoc is about how Hans Christian Andersen's stories are read in South Asia.
I showed my commitment by telling the reader that I've been reading his stories since I was a child.
I showed my commitment by telling the reader that I've been reading his stories since I was a child.
Found this thread helpful?
1. Scroll to the top and retweet the first tweet to share it with your friends who are working on their personal statements.
2. Follow me @MushtaqBilalPhD for regular threads on how to win scholarships.
1. Scroll to the top and retweet the first tweet to share it with your friends who are working on their personal statements.
2. Follow me @MushtaqBilalPhD for regular threads on how to win scholarships.
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