Tips on writing a strong personal essay

2. EducationUSA can help you every step along the way.
5 Steps to U.S. Study
1.Research Your Options
2.Finance Your Studies
3.Complete Your Application
4.Apply for Your Student Visa
5.Prepare for Your Departure

3. Every little piece counts. And every university is different.
The “Application Package” for the U.S.
• Application Fee and Form – Your answers to questions and lists.
• Statement of Purpose and other Essays
• 2-3 Recommendation Letters
• Official Academic Records/Transcripts
• Exams (SAT/ACT, GRE, GMAT) Scores sent from testing agency.
• TOEFL iBT (or IELTS) Results sent from testing agency.
• Writing Samples, Research Papers, Portfolio, Other
• Curriculum Vitae or Resume
• Financial Aid Form and Documents as Proof
• Interview

4. The Importance of the Personal Essay
U.S. colleges and universities look at application
packages holistically.
The personal essay(s)/statement are the one place for tr
ue student voice.
This is the where your achievements, goals, unique cont
ributions, and character all come together.

5. The Importance of the Personal Essay
For Undergraduate programs, the personal
statement shows your personality and how well
you fit the college or university as a whole.
For Graduate programs, the statement of purpose
expresses why you wish to follow a certain course of
study and what your primary goals are in applying
for that particular degree and department.
• Present any past experience in the relative field.
• Explain the triggering point to make you select this field.
• Introduce how you fit into the particular program.
• Emphasize your future goals.

6. You Will Be Writing Many, Many Essays
• 1-2 “Dream/Reach” Schools (25% or less)
• 2-3 “Mid-Range” Schools (25-70%)
• 1-2 “Plan B” Options (70+% or local)
_________________
5-10 colleges and universities
You want to be excited about the colleges and universities on
your list. Do your best on every essay.

7. Telling Your Story

8. Show Them That You Are
an Amazing Person and
Ready for this Challenge
in the U.S.

9. Know the Purpose of Each Essay
Read and understand the
verbs in the essay prompts
(analyze, connect, distinguish, describe) to
fully grasp their purpose.
Remember that the university chose these
questions and word limits for a reason. Stick
to them!
Every sentence written must relate to your
answer to their question.

10. Examples of Prompts
• Choose or discuss a quotation or a personal motto
that reflects your values and beliefs and tells us
something about the kind of person you are.
• Indicate a person who has had a significant
influence on you and explain that influence.
• If you were given one year to spend in service on
behalf of others, what would you choose to do?
• What field of study do you wish to study? And
why?

11. Weak essays make claims
-- and that’s it.
Well-written essays have
an abundance of evidence
in their body paragraphs.
Show them,
don’t tell

12. Organize, Organize, Organize
The best essays have a system of organization with an introduction
paragraph, conclusion paragraph, and 2-4 body paragraphs in-
between.
Introduction Paragraph
ending with THESIS Sentence
Conclusion Paragraph
Body #1
Clear
Topic
Body #2
Clear
Topic
Body #3
Clear
Topic

13. Grab the Admission Officer’s Attention
The introduction paragraph should be designed
to attract the reader's attention and give him/her an
idea of the essay's focus.
Think of the opening scene to a movie.
"A good introduction paragraph does many things.
It attracts the reader's interest, states or points
toward the thesis, and takes the reader smoothly
into the body paragraphs." (Brandon, 2005, P.85)

14. The Top 5 Most Overused
Personal Statement Opening
Sentences are…
1. I am currently studying at ... (464 times)
2. I have always been interested in ... (309 times)
3. From an early age, I have ... (292 times)
4. _____ is a very challenging and demanding career ... (275 times)
5. For as long as I can remember I have been fascinated with ... (196
times)

15. Thesis Sentence
The thesis sentence is
• found in the opening paragraph.
• conveys your answer to their question.
• indicates how your main idea will be
supported.
Repeating the prompt is the refuge of students
that lack either originality or confidence.
To avoid this, answer with insight.

16. Organize, Organize, Organize
Body paragraphs develop in one of these ways:
Chronologically: in the order of how events happened.
Cause and effect: showing the strategies you have used and the
effects they created.
General to specific: looking broadly through a telescope, then
focusing under a microscope, noticing the small details contributing to
the big picture.
Compare and contrast: starting with what unites ideas and
moving to appreciate the differences between them.

17. Instead of listing what you
have done, talk about why
or how you did those
things.

18. Address Any Relevant Weaknesses
• Talk about one or two “red flags” or anything in
your file that will make the admissions officer
question your capacity. Keep this part short.
• Describe skills, experience and plans to overcome a
related challenge should it arise in the future.
• Stay positive and proactive. Rather than
complaining about your circumstances or blaming
others, show evidence of your action and
resilience. 80/20 Rule

19. Do not get too personal about
religion, politics, or your lack of
education.

20. Transition words/phrases connect
sentences and paragraphs.
They help steer the reader.

21. Transitions indicate time, examples, exceptions,
comparisons, and sequences,
plus a whole lot more.
Examples: since, then, before, hence, likewise, in
brief, therefore, to summarize, consequently, until
that time, ultimately, contrary to, in conclusion,
nevertheless, immediately following, to illustrate, on
the other hand, because, yet,…

22. End Strong
The conclusion paragraph brings closure to
the reader, summing up your points or
providing a final perspective on your topic.
Never introduce a new topic.
“Your concluding paragraph should give the
reader the feeling that you said all you want
to say about your subject." (Brandon, 2005, P.87)

23. Writing Counts

24. How To Start
Brainstorming Clustering Free Writing

25. Avoid Common Writing Mistakes
Contractions (it's, she'll, didn’t,): Use the full form.
Slang or Colloquial language (kid, a lot of/lots of, cool).
Ambiguous and overused words (meaningful, community, beautiful,
challenging, invaluable, rewarding)
Phrasal Verbs and Vague words (get away with, put in, went, nice, thing): Your
writing needs to be more precise and vivid.
Words you are unfamiliar with / Trying to impress
 Overuse of brackets or exclamation marks; direct questions to the reader;
use of “etc.”
Run-on sentences or unchanging sentence structure
Mistakes in spelling, punctuation, capitalization and grammar
Repetition of ideas, words or phrases

26. Use technical terminology
where appropriate. Write
clearly and interestingly, yet
also speak in a voice
appropriate to your age and
field.

27. Punctuation is Important!
Comma ,
Colon : and Semi-colon ;
Period .
Dash – and Slash /
Parenthesis ( ) and Brackets [ ]
Question mark ? and Exclamation mark !
Quotation marks “ ”

29. Remember that the essay should be all your
own work, and not plagiarized
The Copy-Catch System checks each
statement against a vast library
to find similarities.
It simply is not worth trying to
copy any part of your essay!

30. Take your research seriously. You have many free tools to help.
Global network of centers & information on the
5 Steps of US Study
EducationUSA
AMIDEAST
Information on testing, test prep, and
fields of study.
College Board, Peterson’s & Niche
College Board/Magoosh
Fantastic tools and resources for
undergraduate study, incl. SAT & GRE
College search Engines
College Confidential/ QUORA
Student Blogs.
The Princeton REVIEW
Student Reviews.
US Department of Education/CHEA
Database of accredited American education
institutions.
Search Tools and Resources
US EMBASSY CAIRO
Information on Student Visas and list of exchange
programs.
NUMBEO, FOREIGN CREDITS,
Cost of Living comparison, GPA calculator, and more.

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