Wider reading/ research for personal statements

5

When on personal statements peoole mention “i’ve researched topic X”, what do people actually mean. I have a few topics i would love to look into but I really don’t know what universities are expecting of me. eg how many articles should i read, should i make any notes or try to come to my own conclusions? How much could I be asked to explain in an interview? Thanks :smile:

Reply 1

Ereza_SOAS

10

Original post

by Els.77

When on personal statements peoole mention “i’ve researched topic X”, what do people actually mean. I have a few topics i would love to look into but I really don’t know what universities are expecting of me. eg how many articles should i read, should i make any notes or try to come to my own conclusions? How much could I be asked to explain in an interview? Thanks :smile:

Hi,

Your personal statement is your chance to showcase your passion and interest for the course you intend to study so you should include any relevant experience and information you think is necessary. In terms of researching topics and different readings, I would suggest drawing on important things you have learnt from your research and explaining why it interests you. You could then link it to a reason why this new knowledge fascinated you enough to want to explore it further with your degree choice. Your personal statement shouldn't be a full summary of the research or readings you've done - universities are more interested in what you have learnt from that information or why you're interested in it. In an interview, they may ask you to expand further than what you would do in a written personal statement and with this, you can summarise a bit more. Explain exactly what you've learnt, how that information could be developed through further study and how you think your degree choice would allow you to expand your knowledge of that particular topic. I would also suggest balancing your practical experience with your research and readings in your personal statement to show that you're an all rounded individual 🙂

Best of luck!
EH

Reply 2

Lancaster Student Ambassador

Official Rep

18

Original post

by Els.77

When on personal statements peoole mention “i’ve researched topic X”, what do people actually mean. I have a few topics i would love to look into but I really don’t know what universities are expecting of me. eg how many articles should i read, should i make any notes or try to come to my own conclusions? How much could I be asked to explain in an interview? Thanks :smile:

Hi @El 23
When people say they have researched a topic, this will normally mean they have either taken a topic they currently enjoy studying and researched it beyond A Level teachings or alternativity it might be a topic not covered at A Level that you intrested in. Researching a topic can include a variety of activities including reading books, articles, listening to podcasts, documentaries ect. and i would recommend on keeping some notes about specific things in the topic you've learned and how you found these interesting as you can include these in your personal statement. When including this research in your personal statement you don't need to summaries the whole topic area, just which sections intrested you, maybe expand that your looking forward to studying these further at university and what skills you developed through the research. However, if you do get invited to an interview they may ask you to expand further on the topics your researched them to explain in more detail about what you learnt.
Hope this helps!
-Jasmine (Lancaster Student Ambassador)

Wider reading/ research for personal statements

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