This is a long post. But expect to learn the following:
- How to start writing your Law Personal Statement from scratch
- How to structure your Law Personal Statement
- What to include
- What to omit
- How to avoid major errors, and make your Personal Statement more likely to land you an interview, which is pretty much its sole purpose.
Since 2006 I have helped people write PS’s for
their UCAS applications in Medicine, Life Sciences, and Law. The service I used to help with is no longer
available online, so here I offer some of my top tips for Law.
There’s bad news, bad news, and bad news
Firstly, the bad news. Your PS will take a very long time to write
if you’re an Undergraduate applicant. If you are heading for post-graduate
degrees such as the Graduate Diploma of Law (GDL) then you can rattle one off a
little quicker and should be applying through LawCabs.
Secondly, the bad news. You have a word limit on UCAS. If you’re
concise and to the point, you won’t need all this space. Most PS’s I helped
redraft that were successful were about three lines short of the maximum!
Finally, the bad news. Competition for places is fierce and
Admissions Tutors have more than enough PS’s to read. You must grab their
attention and lock it in to avoid the great content you’ve put in being missed.
Your Personal Statement is exactly that – it
is a series of statements that are about you
personally. You shall not dwell on everything you did on
your placements, or exactly what the topic of that article you read on the Law
Society website. That’s for interview. What you do need to focus on is how did it
affect you.
How to Start Your Personal Statement
Show your hand right away, make your point
then get on to the next. The first two
lines are the most important, closely followed by the last two lines. You will likely rewrite these several times.
Do not begin by setting the scene – you
aren’t a Barrister yet, so no “It was
about a four o’clock in a wonderful upper east side town house, on a beautiful
Sunday afternoon in June. The
butterflies were flitting and bluebells were in bloom…”
Address the question: Why do you want to
study Law. That’s all they want to know
right now. Answering other questions
comes later. Give your reason. This is
your unique selling point so don’t just lift it from an example you saw online.
Talking About Legal/Non-legal Experience
Next move on to outline how your interest
came about. What did you read/experience. State it briefly, finishing each bit
with how it affected you. Focus more on
you, not on what actually happened. Just give the highlights and save the
elaboration.
If you have any particularly unique points
(Entrepreneurial undertakings that have a quantifiable success, for example),
they should be included in this section. The degree of their relevance to Law
determines whether it is included before work experience or after.
Examples would be
“During
a one week work experience placement at Obsorne, Cowell & Walsh LLP, I
[what did you do – one line max]. I
learnt [what did you learn – two/three lines max]. This [how did it help you decide to study the Law, and/or to become
a Lawyer – no more than a line].”
“A further placement at Calvin and Klein LLP showed me [one or two
things you learnt about Law and again for the legal profession]. I learnt [what did you learn – two/three lines max].”
“I read [whatever you read that’s legal] regularly. This allows me
to [how it influences your decision to study Law and arrange the work
experience you’ve had – one line max, this is never the
most interesting part and will only be skim read anyway].”
“Working as [job title] at [company name] has allowed me to [what
skills have you acquired in this job relevant to Law – communication skills,
responsibility etc].
You’ll be able to find something. Whatever you do, don’t say “I have been
unable to arrange work experience” because you’ve just shot yourself in the
foot. If you haven’t done any just don’t
mention it. Not everyone can secure work experience, and if you are one of those
people, you should make it clear in other ways you know what a legal career, or
at the very least studying Law, entails.
Your Achievements, Societies and Hobbies
Write a little about your achievements – even
if it’s only Grade One Flute. Really try
and sell yourself. Talk about your
hobbies and interests. A well-rounded
applicant is usually a successful applicant.
For example
“I successfully completed the Platinum Duke of Uranus Award in
2000. I was able to develop my skills in
[two or three skills relevant to Law]…”
“I am a volunteer at [name], where I [what you do that is relevant
to skills appropriate to Law]…
“In my spare time I enjoy…”
If you are a prefect or have special
responsibilities at School or College, this is also the place to mention
them. Just put it in as a statement,
don’t make a big fuss about it.
Should you have space, it is good to include
the year of when you started your volunteering/part time job and use the
continuous present tense if it is on going.
The Ending
Arguably just as important as the
introduction. Another unique point is
needed – you have answered the question “why do you want to study Law” in the
first paragraph. This is the place to answer “why do you want to pursue a legal
career” [IE: be a Lawyer]. But don't leave it at that. Your closing statement should be one final thing about you.
Alternatively, and just as strong, is to use
the last two lines to outline why you believe you would be an asset to the
legal profession. Choose some qualities
about yourself you have developed in your positions of responsibility and state
them here without frills. Just make sure
they are related to Law.
You do not then need to make a grand
conclusion, summing everything up in one.
If you try then there is danger your last words are going to be skim
read or just ignored.
The Commandments of a Personal Statement
Thou shalt not bear false witness
To avoid any
podiatric-buccal-masticatory-implantation moments at interview don’t say you
have done things or read things that you haven’t. You might end up talking to a
specialist or author in that area!
Everything in your PS is up for questioning.
Thou shalt not write a story
See the points about bad news. The passive tense is not appropriate here.
Thou shalt use correct punctuation
Law requires a high attention to detail. Your SPAG must be immaculate and
uniform. Don’t change half way
through. Get someone to proof read. Errors in SPAG are entirely avoidable in the
days of MS Word, and just look sloppy.
Thou shalt make thy statements personal
If it doesn’t say something or lead to
something positive about you, leave it out.
This is neither a letter nor a novel.
Thou shalt be of humble countenance
Sell yourself, but don’t use loaded
words. It makes for a stronger interview
if you allude to something clearly in your PS then at interview really ‘wow’
the panel with exactly what it is all about and how incredible it is (not using
those words of course).
Thy writing style shall be concise
Lord Denning got away with being verbose. You
won’t. Make your points and move on to
the next. That’s how they’ll be reading
it. Your PS might end up being formed of very short sentences, but that’s
fine. The aim is to give the reader
enough to remember as they’re reading through.
Thine language shall be varied
Try and avoid starting most or any sentences with "I" and using the same nouns repeatedly. Of course there are times you can't avoid reusing verbs and nouns over again, there is always an alternative. "Learnt" could become "appreciated" for example.
Thy Personal Statement shall be specific
If you’re applying for Law, talk about Law. If you’re applying for related subjects too (Theology, History, PPE, English etc) but still want a chance at getting in to study Law, the focus should be primarily Law, but the inclusion of your interest in the
other subjects you’re also applying for can be extremely helpful in your
application and interview. Ensure what you include about it is all positive and
helpful for Law.
Thou shalt not say ‘thank you’ at the end, lest thy foot be cast
against a stone
Just don’t do it. Use the space to talk about yourself, this is
your only chance to!
Confidentiality Advice
Never send anyone your Personal Statement
over the internet, you do not want them to plagiarise or distribute it, which
would be a disaster for your application.
If you want some help by all means comment.
No comments:
Post a Comment