action checklist
- Write first, reflect later. It's hard to develop a message in the abstract.
- List your ideas, then pick the one that appeals most to you.
- Enlist help. It's hard to be objective about your writing -- especially when you're writing about yourself.
- Write your message down, then refine it.
Find your message
get on message
Like sales pitches, personal statements need a message -- a thesis, theme, focus, main point, moral of the story, the big idea.
Developing and presenting your message is the number one most important rule about writing. Remember this rule well, whether for your personal statements or for your future college or graduate school assignments.
Have a message: one, and only one.
You want your reader to remember your message when s/he is done reading your essay. It is the one idea you want to convey about yourself. Essentially, your message is your personal statement.
what is your message?
Most people don't come up with a message by just thinking about it. Most people figure out what they're trying to say by saying it. In my experience, a person who writes from the heart and takes the personal statement seriously always has something profound to say about him- or herself.
Two (of many) ways to find your message:
- Have someone else read your essay and ask that person to identify the most interesting, striking, or exciting thing you had to say.
- Read the last paragraph of your completed essay. If you have a clear message to convey, chances are it's in there.
- Look for key phrases that signal a main idea -- "In summary," "At the end of the day," "When it's all said and done," "In conclusion," etc.
stay open to new ideas
The best ideas sometimes creep up on you unexpectedly, and you may reject them at first glance. Or maybe the idea you came up with seems too bold, boring, audacious, or weird. Sometimes, someone else will spot an idea, and you feel like they're telling you what to say. Stay open and flexible to new ideas; play with them for a little while; let them grow on you.