personal statement final10[1]

8/10/2019 Personal Statement FINAL10[1]

1/33

1

The Personal Statement:Strategies for Supporting

Students

UC Counselor Conference 2010


2/33


3/33

3

Purpose of the

Personal Statement


4/33

4

Purpose of the Personal Statement

Part of UCs comprehensive review

process

Opportunity to provide information thatsupports and augments the review

process

Enables applicant to make the best casepossiblefor admission


5/33

5

Adds clarity, depth and meaning to

information collected in other parts of the

UC application

Completes the application for admission

An admission decision will never be based

on the content of a personal statement

alone

Purpose of the Personal Statement


6/33

6

A Message from UC Faculty

While it is acceptable to receive feedback

or helpful suggestions, applicantspersonal statements should reflect their

own ideas and be written by them alone


7/337

Understanding the Task


8/33

8

The Instructions

Three rationale statements and

questions (prompts)

Your World

Potential to contribute

Word limits

Two Responses: 1000 word maximum Recommended minimum of 350 words


9/33

9

The Prompts

Rationale statement: provides context

for the response

Question: provides direction of the response

(Rationale statement available only for Prompt #2


10/33

10

Question:

[Freshman Applicants] Describe the world you come

fromfor example, your family, community or school

and tell us how your world has shaped yourdreams and aspirations.

Prompt #1


11/33

11

Potential to Contribute (#2)

Rationale:

The University welcomes the contributions

and experience each student brings to thecampus learning community. This question

seeks to determine an applicants academic

or creative interests and potential to

contribute to the vitality of the University.


12/33

12

Potential to Contribute (#2)

Question:

Tell us about a personal quality,

talent, accomplishment, contributionor experience that is important to you.

What about this quality or

accomplishment makes you proudand how does it relate to the person

you are?


13/33

13

Preparing Students to Write


14/33

14

Necessary Skills

Think critically: even though students will

be writing about themselves, they need to

step back and look at their experiences

from the outside

Write analytically: writing analytically

means answering why?

Follow a writing process: brainstorming,

drafting, feedback, revising, proofreading


15/33

15

Important Strategies

Think like an admissions reader

Choose the extended prompt strategically

Know the difference between a short-

answer response and an extended

response


16/33

16

You Can Help Students

Understand the role of the personal statement in

the admissions process

Recognize the relationship between reader and

writer

Understand the reading and writing tasks of the

personal statement

Use a writing process

Obtain appropriate feedback


17/33

17

Before Writing, Students Should

Prepare a writing timeline

Complete the UC application

Use the Levels of Questions strategy forthe application

Determine the extended-response

question


18/33

18

Why ask questions of the application?

Important to think critically about the

applications content

Helps students recognize personal and

academic experiences as worthy of reflectionand analysis

Connects the issues raised by the application

to the responses provided in the personalstatement

Helps students fulfill the reader/writer pact


19/33

19

The Reader-Writer Relationship

When readers read critically (as admissionsreaders will do), they are asking questions, makingobservations and constructing interpretations of theinformation they are reading.

A writer fulfills the pact with the reader byaddressing these questions, observations andinterpretations in the personal statement. Students

can anticipate many of these questions,observations and interpretations by becomingcritical readers of their own completed applications.


20/33

20

Levels of Questions Strategy

Level one: Whatdoes it say?

Level two: What doesit mean?

Level three:Why/how does itmatter?

Answers to L1questions providedetails in paragraphs

Answers to L2questions are topicsentences ofparagraphs

Answers to L3questions are thesisstatements of essays


21/33

21

From Prompt to Topic to Thesis

Understand the key terms in the rationalestatement and question

Students should know their own questionsand possible questions readers may raise

Develop a topic the subject area thatwill be discussed in the response

Draft a thesis a point of view on the topicthat addresses why


22/33

22

Our question: How have you taken

advantage of the educational

opportunities you have had to prepare

for college?

Your topic: The role of Pre-College

Academy in academic preparation

Your thesis: Asserts why and

how PCA was a significant

preparation experience

Question/Topic/Thesis Example


23/33

23

Determine Response Topics

What topic will each response focus on?

One topic per prompt!

Is this topic the most persuasive? Does itanswer the most pressing questions related tothis prompt?

The prompt with the most questions associatedwith it should be the extended response.


24/33

24

Short-Answer Strategies


25/33

25

Readers Want

Responses that get right to the point

Specific, concrete examples and language

Adherence to word restrictions

Responses that complete the application


26/33

26

Tips for Short-Answer Reponses

Avoid irrelevant

background

information

Understand meaningof key words

Ensure that response

addresses what theprompt asks for

Make sure each

sentence advances

the argument

Avoid a collection offacts or examples

Use concrete details and

make them clear, richand meaningful


27/33

27

Extended-Response

Strategies


28/33

28

Readers Want

Organization and clarity, provided by a

persuasive thesis, analytical topic

sentences, well-chosen examples

A response that supports and completes

by clarifying and contextualizing the

information in the application


29/33

29

Thesis Statements

Concession (optional)

Assertion

Reasons

Significance

The but to the yes

Although

The argument

This

The synthesis of

supporting points

Because

The so what of the

argument; implications

As a result


30/33

30

Sample ThesisPrompt 2 (Extended)

Although I do not plan to major in veterinary

science,my experiences raising and caring for

animals have helped me understand how

important animals are to human well-being.Because I have seen the result of human

disregard for other forms of life, I am better able

to appreciate the importance of ethical treatment

for all.As a result, I will be able to contribute myknowledge of animal preservation and my skill

as an organizer to the campus environment.


31/33

31

Writing Process

Brainstorm using levels of questions

Draft

Get feedback give readers at least aweek to respond

Revise for organization, clarity and

meaning

Proofread


32/33

32

How to Give Feedback to Students

Request the application and the personal

statement, not just the statement

Ask students to provide you with a list ofquestions they would like you to answer

Comment on ideas and the level of

persuasiveness, not grammar Help students find readers who resemble

their target audience


33/33

33

Additional Resources for Students

Online UC Personal Statement Tutorial for

Students at www.ucgateways.org

Six lessons that guide students through

brainstorming, drafting, getting feedback and

revising

Activities to help students start early and stay

on task

Developed by EAOP admissions preparation

specialists

personal statement final10[1]

Documents