Writing etiquette for Personal Statement

Should you use "it is" instead of "it's", and "I am" instead of "I'm"?

To what extent should you make use of humour?

Thanks

Reply 1

Damask-

16

Some people will say yes, but I'd say sometimes it sounds unnatural to have "it is" rather than "it's." As long as the writing style is relatively formal, you should be able to get away with some contractions.

As for humour, [Simon Cowell voice] it's a no from me.

Reply 2

username941859

18

I would never use it's or any contraction, as I would never use them in any academic piece of work or formal letter. Contrary to the above poster, I do not think that using it is sounds unnatural. The personal statement is supposed to be a formal piece of writing that conveys your interest in a subject. As for humour, it generally has no place in a PS

Reply 3

ChaoticButterfly

20

What are the point of personal statements anyway??

They just seem to be a load of pretentious waffle. Nothing like how you will eventually wright a CV :confused:

Reply 4

Smaug123

15

Original post by ChaoticButterfly

What are the point of personal statements anyway??

They just seem to be a load of pretentious waffle. Nothing like how you will eventually wright a CV :confused:

To get you into university. Many people don't have enough for a full-blown CV at uni-applying time, so a PS is the replacement.

Reply 5

shivishivi

OP

Original post by Damask-

Some people will say yes, but I'd say sometimes it sounds unnatural to have "it is" rather than "it's." As long as the writing style is relatively formal, you should be able to get away with some contractions.

As for humour, [Simon Cowell voice] it's a no from me.

Okay thanks, that's what I was doing, but thought I may be too casual by using "it's".

Original post by Calllu-m

I would never use it's or any contraction, as I would never use them in any academic piece of work or formal letter. Contrary to the above poster, I do not think that using it is sounds unnatural. The personal statement is supposed to be a formal piece of writing that conveys your interest in a subject. As for humour, it generally has no place in a PS

Oh... Well two contradicting comments, nice :s-smilie:

. I see what you mean, I think I'll stick to being formal and using "it is" unless it sounds strange in the situation. Thanks

Reply 6

ByronicHero

20

I would use whichever one I decided sounded better at the time.

This said, I think the balance of risk suggests that you should err on the side of being formal.

Reply 7

username941859

18

Original post by ChaoticButterfly

What are the point of personal statements anyway??

They just seem to be a load of pretentious waffle. Nothing like how you will eventually wright a CV :confused:

*write

A PS is not supposed to be like a CV. A PS is supposed to convey your interest in a subject area and you're desire to study said subject.

Reply 8

ChaoticButterfly

20

Original post by Calllu-m

*write

A PS is not supposed to be like a CV. A PS is supposed to convey your interest in a subject area and you're desire to study said subject.

Reply 9

silentshadows

14

Original post by Calllu-m

*write

A PS is not supposed to be like a CV. A PS is supposed to convey your interest in a subject area and you're desire to study said subject.

Ah, the irony.

Reply 10

Scott.M

12

Hai dar I wanna go to ur uni pal.

I hear you have bare blonde bitches not afraid to show a bit of leg and the nightlife is class man.

Ty.

Humour is fine in a personal statement, in-fact I'd dare say when trying to gain entry to dental/medical school it'd help as it shows a bit of personality, which is what they look for. So is using something like it's instead of it is (saves on the word count at the end of the day).

As long as they read it and think, "Here is a respectable person" rather than "Here is a daft see you next tuesday" you'll be fine. :smile:

Obviously that's all just my personal opinion though, your school's careers adviser would be the best person to ask.

Tbh though unless you're aiming for a very prestigious university/medical school/dental school, I don't think they even read your personal statement, and care only about the grades.

What course and unis are you applying to?

Reply 11

Acidy

18

I too am in the process of writing a personal statement for 2015 university entry although I am yet to start :smile:

.

The statement will most probably be read by the department you which to apply to which will be made up of academics in your subject area. Given this I intend to make it sophisticated and formal. I'm sure you could imagine yourself having a PH.D a level of such high education, you would be able to spot the fallacies in personal statements easily, some which they're probably not use to.

The rule of thumb should be to keep it as formal as possible. You get one chance to apply to the university and so unless you're achieving over 90% UMS or a high standard as such it's probably best to keep a more formal tone.