Jul
31
The ultra-competitive law school admissions process can doom an applicant who makes even minor mistakes in his or her personal statement. It`s not that admissions officers are heartless. Rather, mistakes in persuasive writing, a critical legal skill, tend to register and differentiate similarly credentialed applicants. How can you ensure your personal statement isn`t “differentiated” into the rejection pile? In truth, you can`t. But you can increase the odds by avoiding these seven damaging, but common, law school personal statement mistakes.
1. Straying from relevancy
“How does this help make my case for acceptance to law school?” Ask this question of each element of your personal statement–content, structure, style, and mechanics–and you`ll be less likely to drift off point and receive the dreaded thin envelope. And give the query extra thought if you`re convinced your personal statement is interesting, even compelling. That`s because interesting but irrelevant prose is easy to overlook.
2. Highlighting ideas and opinions instead of your actions
Before you expound, explicate, or enlighten, remember that law schools want applicants with meaningful accomplishments. Such candidates are likely to make important academic and professional contributions, so the thinking goes. Thus, whatever your themes and topics are, make sure the predominant focus is on your actions. For example, if you`re writing about biofuels and food security, leave the contentious debate to the pundits and describe the concrete actions you took to investigate, analyze, and address this emerging issue.
3. Employing generalities instead of vivid personal details
If your personal statement contains bland generalities, you`ll bore admissions officers and diminish your chances. After all, would you rather read “road travel is tough in Cambodia” or “the crater-pocked road to Siem Reap rattled my makeshift filling loose”? The latter is better because vivid personal details hold attention and offer telling insights about the writer. That`s one of your goals, so closely review your personal statement and transform generic descriptions into vivid details grounded in your personal experience.
4. Appearing insincere
Your credibility and odds will suffer if your personal statement appears insincere. For example, stressing the public good you intend to do with your law degree, even if heartfelt, may seem disingenuous because most graduates practice law at private, for-profit firms. Likewise, avoid dramatic revelations for becoming a lawyer–the “I-knew-right-then” variety. In short, guard against the mere appearance of insincerity.
5. Failing to generate immediate interest
Admissions officers read thousands of personal statements while short of time and, occasionally, sleep. Giving a cursory read to a personal statement with a humdrum beginning is not difficult to imagine. That`s why you should focus extra attention on the first few sentences of your personal statement. If they don`t instantly capture attention–ask several unbiased, thoughtful readers–you have more work to do.
6. Wordiness
Wordiness in a law school personal statement is ruinous. It kills the interest a compelling introduction creates; saps the attention smooth transitions maintain; and poisons forceful writing. If that`s not enough to persuade you to write more concisely, remember that admissions officers uniformly value succinctness.
7. Weak structure
The content is on point, the mechanics are flawless, the style is fine, but something is lacking. It may be that your personal statement has a weak structure. By sensing the problem, you`re miles ahead of oblivious applicants. The next step is to examine the logical progression of your personal statement. Does each sentence, paragraph, and transition advance a cohesive, reasoned argument for your candidacy? If not, spend the necessary time improving the chain of logic of these structural elements.
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