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Personal Essay

Thu, 29 Oct 2009 23:05:02 +0000

The overall application package will represent who “you” are to people whom you will most likely not know personally. The written expression of your qualities as an applicant will often be a very important way for committee members to get to know why you are an acceptable candidate for their program. Thus, it is essential to take great care in preparing this part of your application. Because graduate schools make important selection decisions that are partly based on what you say in this essay, the writing of it can be an intimidating prospect.
To begin your essay, brainstorm using the following questions:
* What might help the evaluating committee better understand you? What sets you apart from other applicants? Who will be applying for the same program?
* Why are you interested in this field? What things have stimulated and reinforced your interest?
* How did you learn about this field (classes, seminars, work experience)?
* What are your career aspirations?
* Are there any gaps or discrepancies in your academic record that need to be explained?
* What skills or personal characteristics do you possess that would enhance your chances for success in this field?
* Why should an admissions committee be interested in you?
Write the first draft from this, then try to find an angle or a hook which can sink into the admissions committee; a good place to start is with an original and provoking opening paragraph. One of the worst things you can do with your personal statement is to bore the admissions committee, yet that is exactly what most applicants do. Admissions committees see thousands of “I have always wanted to be a…” opening paragraphs, so a good way to make the essay more interesting is to write about an anecdote or memorable incident that led you to choose the particular profession. This can help add drama, vitality, and originality to the statement. It is important, however, that the anecdote is related to the questions asked and not just a retelling of a catchy life drama.
After you have written the first, second, or third draft, there are another set of evaluative questions that you can work through to help you revise your essay.
* Does the opening paragraph grab your attention?
* Is the statement interesting or does it put you to sleep?
* Is it a positive portrayal? Is it upbeat and confident?
* Is it an honest portrayal?
* Have you answered all the questions thoroughly?
* Has anything relevant been omitted? Work or academic experience?
* Does the statement provide insight into your character?
* Is it well-written? Is the grammar, tone, and verb agreement perfect?
* Are there any typos?
For your final draft, be sure to avoid sloppiness, poor English, spelling errors, whining, manufacturing a personality, avoiding the questions that are asked on the application, high school experiences, personal biases about religion, ethnicity, politics, sexist language, revealing of character weaknesses, and arrogance.
The personal statement is extremely important in gaining admittance to graduate and professional schools. Although it can be frustrating to write an original and well-devised statement, through time and drafts it will be written. The ones that are good take time. The ones that are bad can sabotage your chances for success. It is also important that you show your drafts to a Writing Center tutor, your academic advisor, Career Planning advisor, and friends; they will help you write an essay that reveals the right balance of personal and academic characteristics and specifics.
Once you have developed a sense of the faculty’s interests and the department’s special features, you can make it clear in your application exactly why you want to attend that particular school. What is it about the department’s curriculum structure or general approach to the field that makes you interested in being a student there? Don’t waste your valuable essay space, or your reader’s valuable time, telling the reader how wonderful or prestigious their institution is; people on the admissions committee already know this. They want to know about you.
Nonetheless, if there are special programs or institutes at the school that seem appealing to you, briefly mention that you are interested in becoming part of them. For example, state that you “want to be a member of the XYZ Group for Blank and Blank Studies because …”, but don’t tell them how great, well respected, and world-renowned this part of the school is.
If, during your research on the department’s faculty, a faculty member strikes you as someone whom you might be interested in working with, indicate this in your essay; be concise and specific about why you want to work with this person in particular. A word of caution here: Do not try to use this as a way to “butter up” the admissions committee, because if there is any reason to believe that you are not sincere, your application may be adversely affected. Again, mention the person and how their work relates to your interest, but don’t load this statement with what might be interpreted as false or superfluous praise.
Personal Information
Some applications may ask you to give a personal history, telling about experiences that you have undergone which have led you to decide to pursue graduate education in a certain field of study. (If personal information of this sort is not required, then you are under no obligation to provide it.)
The information that could be included in a personal-type statement is limited only by your own imagination and life history, but you should be highly selective about what you include. There are two things to watch out for: (1) saying too much and/or (2) not saying enough.
Some applicants may ramble on about themselves in a manner that may appear self-indulgent and not very appealing to the committee. Remember, this is an application essay, not an autobiography. Conversely, some applicants tend to say too little, perhaps hesitating to promote themselves too explicitly or not knowing what about themselves would be interesting to people whom they don’t know. In such cases, perhaps focusing more on what you want to do than on what you have already done (let your record speak for itself) may help in getting beyond self-inhibition.
Generally, keep in mind that the points about your life that you highlight should be somehow relevant to both your own interest in the field of study, as well as to the concerns of the admissions committee. In judging what information to include or exclude from your essay, try to balance academic, work-related, and personal information in a manner appropriate to your situation, goals, and the application requirements.
Additional Considerations
If you have additional, relevant information about yourself that does not easily fit into the essay, or into any other section of the university’s application, you may want to include a condensed resume or curriculum vitae with your application package. This is especially applicable to those who have worked professionally since having graduated from school. Relevant items here might include work experience, publications, and presentations, as well as language and computer skills.
Also, if you have experienced times of great hardship or extenuating circumstances that have negatively affected your academic performance at any time, provide a short explanatory statement. This is another one of those places where caution should be exercised: you want to explain the cause of your poor grades, etc. without alienating the reader by overdoing it. Once again, be specific and concise.
Tips for Writing a Personal Essay for Your College Application
Do start early. Leave plenty of time to revise, record, and rewrite. You can improve on your presentation.
Do read the directions carefully. You will want to answer the question as directly as possible, and you’ll want to follow word limits exactly. Express yourself as briefly and as clearly as you can.
Do tell the truth about yourself. The admission committee is anonymous to you; you are completely unknown to it. Even if you run into a committee member in the future, he will have no way of connecting your essay (out of the thousands he has read) to you.
Do focus on an aspect of yourself that will show your best side. You might have overcome some adversity, worked through a difficult project, or profited from a specific incident. A narrow focus is more interesting than broad-based generalizations.
Do feel comfortable in expressing anxieties. Everybody has them, and it’s good to know that an applicant can see them and face them.
Do tie yourself to the college. Be specific about what this particular school can do for you. Your essay can have different slants for different colleges.
Do speak positively. Negatives tend to turn people off.
Do write about your greatest assets and achievements. You should be proud of them!
But…
Don’t repeat information given elsewhere on your application. The committee has already seen it-and it looks as though you have nothing better to say.
Don’t write on general, impersonal topics-like the nuclear arms race or the importance of good management in business. The college wants to know about you.
Don’t use the personal statement to excuse your shortcomings. It would give them additional attention.
Don’t use cliches.
Don’t go to extremes: too witty, too opinionated, or too “intellectual.”

Step 1: Research

Thu, 29 Oct 2009 23:03:49 +0000

Assuming you’ve been given a topic, or have narrowed it sufficiently down, your first task is to research this topic. You will not be able to write intelligently about a topic you know nothing about. To discover worthwhile insights, you’ll have to do some patient reading.
Read light sources, then thorough
When you conduct research, move from light to thorough resources to make sure you’re moving in the right direction. Begin by doing searches on the Internet about your topic to familiarize yourself with the basic issues; then move to more thorough research on the Academic Databases; finally, probe the depths of the issue by burying yourself in the library. Make sure that despite beginning on the Internet, you don’t simply end there. A research paper using only Internet sources is a weak paper, and puts you at a disadvantage for not utilizing better information from more academic sources.
Write down quotations
As you read about your topic, keep a piece of paper and pen handy to write down interesting quotations you find. Make sure you write down the source and transcribe quotations accurately. I recommend handwriting the quotations to ensure that you don’t overuse them, because if you have to handwrite the quotations, you’ll probably only use quotations sparingly, as you should. On the other hand, if you’re cruising through the net, you may just want to cut and paste snippets here and there along with their URLs into a Word file, and then later go back and sift the kernels from the chaff.
With print sources, you might put a checkmark beside interesting passages. Write questions or other thoughts in the margins as well. If it’s a library book, use post-it notes to avoid ruining the book. Whatever your system, be sure to annotate the text you read. If reading online, see if you can download the document, and then use Word’s Reviewing toolbar to add notes or the highlighter tool to highlight key passages.
Take a little from a lot
You’ll need to read widely in order to gather sources on your topic. As you integrate research, take a little from a lot — that is, quote briefly from a wide variety of sources. This is the best advice there is about researching. Too many quotations from one source, however reliable the source, will make your essay seem unoriginal and borrowed. Too few sources and you may come off sounding inexperienced. When you have a lot of small quotations from numerous sources, you will seem — if not be — well-read, knowledgeable, and credible as you write about your topic.
If you’re having trouble with research, you may want to read this Research FAQ.

How to write a good resume

Thu, 29 Oct 2009 23:03:41 +0000

Having an effective resume is the first step toward getting a job. Although, most young job seekers may not think that they have enough job experience to put in a resume one can be written that will highlight experience in such a way as to tempt the most discriminating employer. Conversely, experienced job seekers often try to put too much into their resume. Knowing how to write a good resume requires knowledge of the client, their experience, and the industry they wish to enter that will give them the best chance of landing a preferred position. This article will give examples of different types of resumes from how to present personal information to what extras should be included. The best way to write your resume will be explained below.
Personal Information
First, how do you arrange personal information so that it gives a good opening, but doesn’t detract from the rest of the resume? The potential employer wants to know your name so make sure that it is at the very top (usually center aligned), in a very large clear font and bolded. Like this:
John Doe
When the hiring party is flipping through the resumes that they have received, you want them to see yours to the exclusion of all the others.
The remainder of you personal information should be muted. Human Resources should know how to get in touch with you without having to search for that information. Some resume writers put that in formation at the bottom of the resume, but directly under the name is the preferable spot. Like this:
Any Street, Any City, ST Zip Phone Number Email Address
Other items can be added to this, but keeping it simple is the best advice. If they need more means of reaching the person they will request a cell phone number, etc. later.
Objective
This is a one sentence description of the type of job that the employee is seeking and is an essential part of knowing how to write a good resume. It is better to make sure that it is as complete and succinct as possible. The Objective should only be one line long, but at the most two.
Qualifications
A list of the persons various qualifications is most common with either a Functional or Combined resume. This is a bulleted list of the various skills that the employee possesses. These are also generally targeted to the Objective of the resume. The section will look like this:
* -Outstanding interpersonal and communication skills to develop a positive rapport with clients. Experience working with a diverse population encompassing clients, staff, and management.
* -Experienced in case management for children, teens and adults in the areas of health and developmental services. Proficient in performing initial evaluation, assessments, and service recommendations.
* -Ability to coordinate community service networks, collaborate with health service organizations, professionals for appropriate treatment options, and assistance.
* -Skilled in managing budgets, staffing and scheduling, and supervision for a variety of programs.
* -Excellent work ethics and strong time management skills. Flexible in working various schedules.
Education
This is an important piece of information for an employer, but it may not be as relevant as experience. Education and experience should follow one another but the order will be determined by the type of resume. In most chronological resumes, experience will come first. The exception to this is when the job requires a certain amount of education. For example, a counselor must have at least a Master’s Degree for most positions. The writer would want to put all education first in this case. Only include post-secondary (after high school) education unless this is a first time job right after high school.
Experience
Place the Experience before or after the Education piece as required by the type of job or level of either. This means that if the person has been obtaining an Education, but has very little relevant job experience, then list Education first. Experience is best listed first when the job requires a great amount of Experience or the person applying for jobs does not have a lot of relevant education.
When listing the Experience make sure that you have enough information that the potential employer can see why this is included. There should be at least two bullet points describing specific experiences gained while employed at that place of business. Following is an example:
Mental Health Counselor 2003-2007
COMMUNITY RESEARCH FOUNDATION - TURNING POINT CRISIS CENTER
* -Performed team leader responsibilities managing a shift of up to four other counselors and eleven residents which included assigning staff for client care, interfacing with outside agencies, determining referral appropriateness, and managing immediate crisis.
* -Completed the San Diego County clinical intake process for potential residents and subsequent discharge upon completion of treatment.
* -Created, implemented and facilitated groups on ADL issues, relationships, drugs and alcohol, and various topics related to mental health.
* -Assisted fellow counselors and residents with crisis management issues by determining the severity of the incident and taking actions from using nonviolent crisis intervention to utilizing outside law enforcement agencies.
-This lists the title, the timeframe of employment, the former employer, and then the bulleted Experience that is appropriate to the job sought. Remember every specific Experience does not have to be listed; only those that apply to a specific job type.
Miscellaneous (Conclusion)
Some people do not think that their resume is full unless they have included a few extras. These may be awards, certifications, skills and etc. These can be listed in separate sections or under a heading such as that given above. Sometimes these are important to list because a job will require certain certifications or skills. These can also be a good way to raise the potential employer’s eyebrows. Remember that learning how to write a good resume can be an effective way to assist someone (maybe even yourself) find that dream job.

Lesson Six: Editing and Revising

Thu, 29 Oct 2009 23:00:14 +0000

Introduction
“If one thing could be perfect, it should be the essay.” - Admissions Officer
Writing is not a one-time act. Writing is a process. Memorable writing comes more from rewriting than it does from the first draft. By rewriting you will improve your essay — guaranteed. If you skimp on the rewriting process, you significantly reduce the chances that your essay will be as good as it could be.
Once you have taken a break from your essay, come back and read it through one time with a fresh perspective. Analyze it as objectively as possible based on the following three components: substance, structure, and interest. Do not worry yet about surface errors and spelling mistakes; focus instead on the larger issues. Consider reordering your supporting details, delete irrelevant sections, and make clear the broader implications of your experiences. Allow your more important arguments to come to the foreground. Take points that might only be implicit and make them explicit.
In order to figure out where revisions are necessary, you are going to need as many different sets of eyes to read your essay as possible. Whether it is you or one of your friends, family members or teachers, these questions will help guide your revision process.
When editing, make sure to pay careful attention to:
*Substance
*Structure
*Interest
*Proofreading
SUBSTANCE
Substance refers to the content of the essay and the message you send out. It can be very hard to gauge in your own writing. One good way to make sure that you are saying what you think you are saying is to write down, briefly and in your own words, the general idea of your message. Then remove the introduction and conclusion from your essay and have an objective reader review what is left. Ask that person what he thinks is the general idea of your message. Compare the two statements to see how similar they are. This can be especially helpful if you wrote a narrative. It will help to make sure that you are communicating your points in the story. Here are some more questions to ask yourself regarding content.
* Have I answered the question asked?
* Do I back up each point that I make with an example? Have I used concrete and personal examples?
* Have I been specific? (Go on a generalities hunt. Turn the generalities into specifics.)
* Could anyone else have written this essay?
* What does it say about me? After making a list of all the words you have used within the essay — directly and indirectly — to describe yourself, ask: Does this list accurately represent me?
* Does the writing sound like me? Is it personal and informal rather than uptight or stiff?
* Regarding the introduction, is it personal and written in my own voice? Is it too general? Can the essay get along without it?
* What about the essay makes it memorable?
STRUCTURE
* To check the overall structure of your essay, conduct a first-sentence check. Write down the first sentence of every paragraph in order. Read through them one after another and ask the following:
o Would someone who was reading only these sentences still understand exactly what I am trying to say?
o Do the first sentences express all of my main points?
o Do the thoughts flow naturally, or do they seem to skip around or come out of left field?
* Now go back to your essay as a whole and ask these questions:
o Does each paragraph stick to the thought that was introduced in the first sentence?
o Does a piece of evidence support each point? How well does the evidence support the point?
* Is each paragraph roughly the same length? Stepping back and squinting at the essay, do the paragraphs look balanced on the page? (If one is significantly longer than the rest, you are probably trying to squeeze more than one thought into it.)
* Does my conclusion draw naturally from the previous paragraphs?
* Have I varied the length and structure of my sentences?
INTEREST
Many people think only of mechanics when they revise and rewrite their compositions. As we know, though, the interest factor is crucial in keeping the admissions officers reading and remembering your essay. Look at your essay with the interest equation in mind: personal + specific = interesting. Answer the following:
* Is the opening paragraph personal?
* Do I start with action or an image?
* Does the essay show rather than tell?
* Did I use any words that are not usually a part of my vocabulary? (If so, get rid of them.)
* Have I used the active voice whenever possible?
* Have I overused adjectives and adverbs?
* Have I eliminated clich?s?
* Have I deleted redundancies?
* Does the essay sound interesting to me? (If it bores you, imagine what it will do to others.)
* Will the ending give the reader a sense of completeness? Does the last sentence sound like the last sentence?
PROOFREADING
When you are satisfied with the structure and content of your essay, it is time to check for grammar, spelling, typos, and the like. You can fix obvious things right away: a misspelled or misused word, a seemingly endless sentence, or improper punctuation. Keep rewriting until your words say what you want them to say. Ask yourself these questions:
* Did I punctuate correctly?
* Did I eliminate exclamation points (except in dialogue)?
* Did I use capitalization clearly and consistently?
* Do the subjects agree in number with the verbs?
* Did I place the periods and commas inside the quotation marks?
* Did I keep contractions to a minimum? Do apostrophes appear in the right places?
* Did I replace the name of the proper school for each new application?
* Have I caught every single typo? (You can use your spell-checker but make sure that you check and re-check every change it makes. It is a computer after all.)

Lesson Four: Transitions and Essay Clich?s

Thu, 29 Oct 2009 23:00:01 +0000

Applicants often ignore transitions to their own detriment. A good essay must use transitions within paragraphs and especially between paragraphs to preserve the logical flow of the essay. An essay without good transitions is like a series of isolated islands; the reader will struggle to get from one point to the next. Use transitions as bridges between your ideas. As you move from one paragraph to the next, you should not have to explain your story in addition to telling it. If the transitions between paragraphs require explanation, your essay is either too large in scope or the flow is not logical. A good transition statement will straddle the line between the two paragraphs.
You should not have to think too much about how to construct transition sentences. If the concepts in your outline follow and build on one another naturally, transitions will write themselves. To make sure that you are not forcing your transitions, try to refrain from using words such as, “however,” “nevertheless,” and “furthermore.” If you are having trouble transitioning between paragraphs or are trying to force a transition onto a paragraph that has already been written, then this may indicate a problem with your overall structure. If you suspect this to be the case, go back to your original outline and make sure that you have assigned only one point to each paragraph, and that each point naturally follows the preceding one and leads to a logical conclusion. The transition into the final paragraph is especially critical. If it is not clear how you arrived at this final idea, you have either shoe-horned a conclusion into the outline, or your outline lacks focus.
If you are confident in your structure, but find yourself stuck on what might make a good transition, try repeating key words from the previous paragraph and progressing the idea. If that doesn’t work, try this list of common transitions as your last resort:
If you are adding additional facts or information:
as well, and, additionally, furthermore, also, too, in addition, another, besides, moreover
If you are trying to indicate the order of a sequence of events:
first of all, meanwhile, followed by, then, next, before, after, last, finally, one month later, one year later, etc.
If you are trying to list things in order of importance:
first, second etc., next, last, finally, more importantly, more significantly, above all, primarily
If you are trying to connect one idea to a fact or illustration:
for example, for instance, to illustrate, this can be seen
To indicate an effect or result:
as a result, thus, consequently, eventually, therefore,
To indicate that one idea is the opposite of another:
nonetheless, however, yet, but, though, on the other hand, although, even though, in contrast, unlike, differing from, on the contrary, instead, whereas, nevertheless, despite, regardless of
When comparing one thing to another:
In a different sense, similarly, likewise, similar to, like, just as, conversely.
EXERCISE #7: TRANSITIONS
Connect the following sentences using an effective transition, when needed. (In some cases, the two sentences will be able to stand without a transition.)
1. Ordinarily, I took my responsibility seriously and would write down classmates’ names to preserve the silence and decorum of the school environment.
When a different teacher walked in, a teacher known to punish too hard and painfully, I decided to save my friends from his hard strokes, and I erased all the names.
2. Despite the windy conditions and below freezing temperatures, I could not tear myself away from the awe-inspiring beauty of the cosmos.
Despite the frustration and difficulties inherent in scientific study, I cannot retreat from my goal of universal understanding.
3. But the sadness with which she responded, stating, “He died when he was a baby,” convinced me that it was true.
It affected me as nothing ever would again.
4. Finishing the test in an unspectacular six minutes and five seconds, I stumbled off the erg more exhausted than I had ever been. That night, I went home and caught a cold.
Had I followed my survivalist and rationalist instincts, I would have quit rowing then and there;
5. Immediately, I realized that I must dedicate my life to understanding the causes of the universe’s beauty.
The hike taught me several valuable lessons that will allow me to increase my understanding through scientific research.
6. After my grandfather’s death, I began to understand and follow his sage advice.
I pulled out a picture of my grandfather and me at Disneyland.
7. Often, she had to work from dusk to dawn living a double life as a student and a financially responsible adult.
My mother managed to keep a positive disposition.
8. In addition to working and studying, she found time to make weekly visits to terminally ill and abandoned children in the local hospital.
My mother developed the value of selflessness.
9. My mother made me learn Indonesian, the official language of our country.
Also, she wanted me to develop interests in various academic and extracurricular fields.
Answers:
1) However; 2) Similarly; 3) The shock of this revelation at such a tender age; 4) That was three seasons ago. 5) In addition; 6) To cope with his passing; 7) Despite the burdens she faced; From her experiences during college; 9) My mother did not only want me to have a broad knowledge of languages.
Top 10 Essay Clich?s
According to the Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary, a clich? is “a trite phrase or expression,” “a hackneyed theme, characterization, or situation,” or “something that has become overly familiar or commonplace.” The last thing you want in your essay is any of the above. Clich?s make your writing appear lazy, your ideas ordinary, and your experiences typical. Arm yourself with the list below and eradicate these and other clich?s from your writing.
1. I always learn from my mistakes
2. I know my dreams will come true
3. I can make a difference
4. _________ is my passion
5. I no longer take my loved ones for granted
6. These lessons are useful both on and off the field (or other sporting arena)
7. I realized the value of hard work and perseverance
8. _________ was the greatest lesson of all
9. I know what it is to triumph over adversity
10. _________ opened my eyes to a whole new world