Citations in personal statement?

maggie.02

I'm writing about a very niche topic, and I'm including a short background paragraph in my essay. Do I need to/should I include a citation for this information? My gut is saying no, but if it's information that didn't come directly from me I don't want to end up plagiarizing.

darien.ross

I think its better safe than sorry and the admissions person that will be reading it will be more impressed by someone who did include a citation versus someone who plagiarized information. I also was wondering this for my own admissions essay, and I'm just going to include a simple MLA citation. It is better to wow them and be over the top, in my opinion, than to end up getting points docked from your essay because of a simple issue like citation.

zoodles72

I'm going to go against the other commenter and advise you not to add a citation to your personal statement. Your personal statement should be written in narrative form as though you're trying to convey an impactful story to the admissions committee. You want to shy away from any writings conventions that would make your personal statement less personal and more academic. I'd encourage you to think about the section you feel needs a citation and see if you're able to reframe what want to convey as though you were telling a story instead of regurgitating a research article.

ebuckner

I heard two AdComs advise against this somewhere. I am pretty sure it was the Personal Statement episode from the "Navigating Law School Admissions" podcast. I would check it out.