The Student Room Group

Starting a personal statement with a quote?

Scroll to see replies

Reply 100
Avatar for Draconis
Draconis
2
The Lyceum
Lol yes, Turin Turumbar or something. I think Mormegil means black sword or dead sword or some such. Oh dear, the thread appears to be somewhat hijacked. :eek:


Yup, I will now proceed to back slowly out of the thread.
I quoted Winston Churchill in my PS for History. When I read it now I cringe so much, it's terrible, but I got offers from Warwick, Exeter, York and my other choices so it can't have been that awful. I still wish I hadn't though!
Good bloke
:biggrin: Ah! You are condemned from the evidence of your own writing. That is not a quotation. :no: That is a reference. :yep: :biggrin:

Which reminds me - the use of humour is not to be undertaken lightly in a selling document such as a personal statement. :no: It can so easily miscarry. But you got away with it! :biggrin:


Is it not? It quotes the lyrics of the song! :confused: Meh!

Yeah, it could have backfired very easily (especially that my PS started by discussing Tom & Jerry! :biggrin:), but it described my love of music much better than anything I could have written would have, so it was a risk worth taking. I'm still impressed that I got away with it! :biggrin: Though I had already met and spoken to the tutor I wanted to impress and I thought he'd see the funny side of it.

Maybe the moral of this story should be "Don't try this at home" :biggrin:
The_Lonely_Goatherd

Maybe the moral of this story should be "Don't try this at home" :biggrin:


Actually, this is one of the main lessons of this thread. A master, or someone with a real connection with the tutor, can pull off this kind of thing, but it is not for the average PS writer and can misfire dreadfully.
Reply 104
Avatar for andymt
andymt
11
"ah, music-a magic beyond all we do here" (Dumbledore, Harry Potter)
I think quotes are OK, so long as they avoid verging on the pretentious...
andymt
"ah, music-a magic beyond all we do here" (Dumbledore, Harry Potter)


:yep:
Reply 107
Avatar for sloaner
sloaner
I went with "all men by nature desire knowledge" - the internet told me Aristotle once said it. :smile: Pretentious yes, but it went down a STORM!

Well, it worked at least..
Prudy
Again.

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO.

Passion is one of the words never to use.


Why ever not?

"I'd like to think that, one day, I will be able to share my passion for History with students who give the subject the respect it deserves."

Or something similar. I even managed to fit 'zeal' in somewhere too!
Reply 109
Avatar for Prudy
Prudy
15
Ryanhickman90
Why ever not?

"I'd like to think that, one day, I will be able to share my passion for History with students who give the subject the respect it deserves."

Or something similar. I even managed to fit 'zeal' in somewhere too!

Why? Because: 1) It is the most overused word in PSs and 2) the admissions tutors presume you have a passion for the subject, certainly one that doesn't need stating. The 'passion' should come through in how and what you say, not just by saying you have passion.
Economics? Open with a really hard equation, and conclude with the answer. If that doesn't get you in, bribe them.
Prudy
Why? Because: 1) It is the most overused word in PSs and 2) the admissions tutors presume you have a passion for the subject, certainly one that doesn't need stating. The 'passion' should come through in how and what you say, not just by saying you have passion.


Meh - it's not such a big deal though, to be honest? I just thought it would be nice for them to know how I planned to pursue my 'passion' after university. And that sentence seemed to fit nicely - sharing a passion, is totally different to having a passion.

The word 'passion' no longer registers in my brain, it has been written too many times!
personally i feel using a quote is like saying 'i cant think for myself and have no opinions about what i am talking about' so i personally wouldnt do it
Reply 113
Avatar for kjc_us
kjc_us
14
Redpanda91
What's with the sudden rush of PS threads? :s-smilie:


It's all us desperate going-into-Upper-6thers who've just thought, "****, I'm supposed to have done my 1st draft and I'm back to school tomorrow!" :p:

Or maybe that's just me................ :cool:
There is nothing wrong with using a quote so long as it is relevant to what you wish to say and is properly integrated into your personal statement. If it is just a quote for the sake of it, then yes, it's pointless and amateurish. If it actually makes a point that you can run with in order to open up your personal statement, it can be very useful, e.g. if you're going to study english literature then you could open with a quote which observes the importance of literature to society. I know that I opened with a quote and it did not harm me in terms of the offers I received. At the end of the day it is your personal statement. If you really want to try and start with a quote, then go for it - but if you can't make it work [and you should check with a teacher about this] then abandon this idea in order to ensure you do produce a good personal statement.
kjc_us
It's all us desperate going-into-Upper-6thers who've just thought, "****, I'm supposed to have done my 1st draft and I'm back to school tomorrow!" :p:

Or maybe that's just me................ :cool:


It's not just you :smile: But I'm going into upper 6th too, scary... although I have done a second draft because I felt like it and was incredibly bored!
Don't quote something worth saying, say something worth quoting.
Original post by Redpanda91
What's with the sudden rush of PS threads? :s-smilie: Erm I wouldn't, got told off by a friend when I did it :p:


Well if you must know, people only have one month left to send their UCAS application. :tongue: :facepalm:
Original post by Boreism
Well if you must know, people only have one month left to send their UCAS application. :tongue: :facepalm:


Well done in resurrecting a 2 year old thread.:facepalm:

Quick Reply

Related discussions

Latest

Trending

Trending

Articles for you