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Over line limit for UCAS Personal Statement
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izzy4509x
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Hi so im on my fifth draft for my personal statement. Its 3921 characters which is within the character limit but its 48 lines which is over the 47 line limit. Ive already had to cut the paragraph space between the introduction and next paragraph to give me an extra line but i cant think how to shorten it anymore since what im saying is relevant/to the point so idk what to cut out
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D_Rkman
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#2
I would recommend highlighting your longest sentences and try to reword them on a different document, do a few for each sentence and select the best one once you're done.
Focus on synonyms that might convey the same meaning but in fewer words.
You could also try cutting some adverbs, I have found that some adverbs may not add much in terms of impact of the overall personal statement. For example, "I am a very hard worker" vs "I am a hard worker". This is just an example, personally I wouldn't state "I am a hard worker" on a personal statement.
Focus on synonyms that might convey the same meaning but in fewer words.
You could also try cutting some adverbs, I have found that some adverbs may not add much in terms of impact of the overall personal statement. For example, "I am a very hard worker" vs "I am a hard worker". This is just an example, personally I wouldn't state "I am a hard worker" on a personal statement.
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artful_lounger
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Reformat it to remove some of the line breaks. See if you can combine two shorter paragraphs into one longer one.
I think in the end I just deleted a couple line breaks somewhat arbitrarily, it looked a little uglier stylistically but I still got an offer so, no harm done really...
I think in the end I just deleted a couple line breaks somewhat arbitrarily, it looked a little uglier stylistically but I still got an offer so, no harm done really...
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Interrobang
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Remove any reference to your A Levels if they are still mentioned, and you can remove or at least significantly reduce talk on your hobbies. You should keep line breaks in really as it makes it far easier to read
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University of Salford
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(Original post by izzy4509x)
Hi so im on my fifth draft for my personal statement. Its 3921 characters which is within the character limit but its 48 lines which is over the 47 line limit. Ive already had to cut the paragraph space between the introduction and next paragraph to give me an extra line but i cant think how to shorten it anymore since what im saying is relevant/to the point so idk what to cut out
Hi so im on my fifth draft for my personal statement. Its 3921 characters which is within the character limit but its 48 lines which is over the 47 line limit. Ive already had to cut the paragraph space between the introduction and next paragraph to give me an extra line but i cant think how to shorten it anymore since what im saying is relevant/to the point so idk what to cut out
I'd recommend getting someone to read over your personal statement for you. For one - this is just really helpful, they'll notice things you might have missed (it's SO easy to read something as you intended to write it) but they also might notice things that can be cut, sentences that can be shorted, words which aren't needed etc so could be a great help getting rid of that extra line!
Good luck with it
Rowan
- University of Salford Rep
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BubblesBB
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(Original post by izzy4509x)
Hi so im on my fifth draft for my personal statement. Its 3921 characters which is within the character limit but its 48 lines which is over the 47 line limit. Ive already had to cut the paragraph space between the introduction and next paragraph to give me an extra line but i cant think how to shorten it anymore since what im saying is relevant/to the point so idk what to cut out
Hi so im on my fifth draft for my personal statement. Its 3921 characters which is within the character limit but its 48 lines which is over the 47 line limit. Ive already had to cut the paragraph space between the introduction and next paragraph to give me an extra line but i cant think how to shorten it anymore since what im saying is relevant/to the point so idk what to cut out
The one sure way to cut is to look at the last line of every paragraph. If you see that last line with one or two words only, paraphrase the last sentence to get the 2nd last line to absorb those one to two words. It worked for me, without me having to lose my mind about making huge edits. I did a couple of these and was even able to put my "IB EE" back to "Extended Essay" in full.
My concern is that I have read my PS so many times, I think I have become numb. I feel that I have to stop looking at it now and read it again before I submit. After paring it down so much from my original draft, I wonder if I am still conveying the messages I first intended! (Will be approaching a few teachers at school to read it when school reopens)
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