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personal statement spacing

abcd1990

hi, i was just wondering if anyone knew what unis think about the line spacing inbetween paragraphs. i havent got enough lines to leave a gap after every paragraph so i was going to just start on a new line for a new one (like this)

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is this ok?

Reply 1

Good bloke

19

Not again. Just go here to see all the relevant points discussed:
http://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?p=9980728#post9980728

Reply 2

recneps

10

However, Unis know that ucas doesnt allow suitable paragraph spacing and will not be put off by a statement if it doesnt have breaks. If you're going to waste lines like that, only allow yourself two main paragraph breaks (e.g. 3 main paragraphs). Otherwise you're going to waste lots of valuable lines.

Reply 3

city_chic

13

Mine's like that. It's fine.

Reply 4

Good bloke

19

recneps

However, Unis know that ucas doesnt allow suitable paragraph spacing and will not be put off by a statement if it doesnt have breaks. If you're going to waste lines like that, only allow yourself two main paragraph breaks (e.g. 3 main paragraphs). Otherwise you're going to waste lots of valuable lines.

My head is becoming quite sore from banging it against this brick wall. :banghead:

The university admissions tutors (three of them, at different times) I was discussing the subject of personal statements with over the summer wouldn't agree with this advice. None of them welcomes another amorphous mass of text. One even said her reaction to one with properly structured and presented paragraphs might be that she would be tempted to make an immediate offer in celebration of being able to read it comfortably for a change!

And, of course, UCAS does allow suitable paragraph spacing. It just counts against the available characters you have to use, so lazy people are penalised. :soap:

What I (and others) said in the thread I linked to above reflects this.

I'm not saying that a poorly-presented PS will mean you won't get offers, but I am saying that a good one will give you a competitive edge and show the decision-makers how well you can prioritise things (amongst other things). And a badly-presented one could tip the balance against you.

When listening to those who say "Well don't worry because I didn't put in lines between paragraphs either", I always think of my grandmother's advice which was "Just because they put their head in the fire you don't have to".

But, hey!, it's your decision to make - not mine.

Reply 5

Good bloke

19

There are even some vindictive people, so arrogant that their application is brilliant with no clear paragraphs, that they are motivated to send neg rep such as Wesetters' "Lazy, huh ? Charming. Or perhaps we just don't agree with you. Enjoy"

That's fine, as I said earlier - it is your application.

Reply 6

chongy

I know a lad that got into Oxford last year who wrote his personal statement like you have presented yours, without lines between the paragraphs. It may look nicer with lines between the paragraphs, but it isn't necessary - even if admissions tutors prefer it. If an admission tutor makes the decision on whether to offer you a place or not purely down to how you have spaced your paragraphs, then perhaps you shouldn't be going to that uni? It is their job, is it not, to read the contents of somebody's personal statement to make the decision, not whether they have spacing in their paragraphs to make that decision.

If I were an admissions tutor, I would ask why there are lines between paragraphs. It would suggest that there is an inability to talk at great length about your subject and why you want to study it. It would actually put doubt in my mind about the applicant's suitability for the course. You can argue both ways against "lines or no lines".

Indeed, I have just looked at a copy of my personal statement from last year that had no line breaks between paragraphs. It looks fine. There is clearly paragraphs in the text, and its not too hard on the eye. I really don't see the problem. If you don't use paragraphs at all, however, then perhaps you should go back and do your English GCSE again. lol

Reply 7

city_chic

13

chongy

I know a lad that got into Oxford last year who wrote his personal statement like you have presented yours, without lines between the paragraphs. It may look nicer with lines between the paragraphs, but it isn't necessary - even if admissions tutors prefer it. If an admission tutor makes the decision on whether to offer you a place or not purely down to how you have spaced your paragraphs, then perhaps you shouldn't be going to that uni? It is their job, is it not, to read the contents of somebody's personal statement to make the decision, not whether they have spacing in their paragraphs to make that decision.

If I were an admissions tutor, I would ask why there are lines between paragraphs. It would suggest that there is an inability to talk at great length about your subject and why you want to study it. It would actually put doubt in my mind about the applicant's suitability for the course. You can argue both ways against "lines or no lines".

Indeed, I have just looked at a copy of my personal statement from last year that had no line breaks between paragraphs. It looks fine. There is clearly paragraphs in the text, and its not too hard on the eye. I really don't see the problem. If you don't use paragraphs at all, however, then perhaps you should go back and do your English GCSE again. lol

I completely agree.

Reply 8

Laevis

13

chongy

I know a lad that got into Oxford last year who wrote his personal statement like you have presented yours, without lines between the paragraphs.

Good bloke's grandmother

Just because they put their head in the fire, you don't have to

chongy

If an admission tutor makes the decision on whether to offer you a place or not purely down to how you have spaced your paragraphs, then perhaps you shouldn't be going to that uni? It is their job, is it not, to read the contents of somebody's personal statement to make the decision, not whether they have spacing in their paragraphs to make that decision.

If you can't be concise enough to put only what is relevant and in a clear and structured manner, then perhaps you aren't the most ideal candidate anyway. Clarity and efficiency of communication are improved by paragraph breaks.

chongy

If I were an admissions tutor, I would ask why there are lines between paragraphs. It would suggest that there is an inability to talk at great length about your subject and why you want to study it. It would actually put doubt in my mind about the applicant's suitability for the course. You can argue both ways against "lines or no lines".

That's probably why you're not an admissions tutor :p:

Like you say, though, there is more than one way of looking at it ;yes; I just think Good bloke is spot on in his assessment :yy:

OP- If i were in your position, which, incidentally, i was, i would definitely remove that one superfluous sentence to make characters/lines available to insert paragraph breaks but it is entirely your choice. Good luck :smile:

Reply 9

Gymnosopher

Yeah I agree with the no lines argument - though reading t'other argument made me a little anxious that I had left none.

My statement this year was 4997 or 4993 and used 45 of 47 lines. I started a new line for new paragraphs but didn't leave spaces, so there would have been room to put in 2 spaces after intro and before outro - but I figured it's make the central block of text look like I'd meant it as one para. And I agree, it could look like I've not filled my space -who knows, they may be informed asto your character count anyway- or just been a pointless effort..

Reply 10

9mm

12

If the paragraphs are very very clear without the use of line breaks, then I'd think that's fine as the admissions tutors will be able to see clearly where a paragraph starts/ends. Otherwise, if you can, then line-breaks would be a big plus. I personally didn't leave line breaks, but that's only because I did 11 drafts and couldn't shorten it any further and also because it's really obvious where each paragraph ends as the last line is only occupied by 10-30 characters (including spaces) at most.

personal statement spacing

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