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Has any particular college class helped you with writing your personal statement

_oshun1__oshun1_ Alum Member
in Law School Admissions 3652 karma

Although I majored in philosophy (lots of writing), I'm terrible at writing about myself. I was thinking about signing up for a creative writing class at a community college over the summer.

Does anyone else have this issue and what helped you get better at writing about yourself?

I have written many drafts of my PS and they all ended up being too broad or too specific and just overall terrible :'(

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Comments

  • akistotleakistotle Member ⭐ 🍌🍌
    edited June 2017 9382 karma

    I am a terrible writer, but I just finished writing a somewhat decent personal statement. I have a specific reason why I want to become a lawyer and a story to tell, so I wrote a messy draft and kept polishing it. I think all you have to do is to write a story about yourself and why you would like to go to law school.

    I do not know anything about the creative writing class that you are planning to take, but if it is not specifically designed for writing personal statements for law schools, I think it will be waste of time/money (unless you are interested in becoming a creative writer for other purposes.)

    @"surfy surf" said:
    I have written many drafts of my PS and they all ended up being too broad or too specific and just overall terrible :'(

    Has anyone critiqued your statement and made suggestions?

    I don't want to be someone who is always pushing for a 7Sage course (Disclaimer: I am not getting paid), but 7Sage offers Admission Courses which can help you with your writing process.
    https://7sage.com/admissions/enroll/
    If you are interested, it is definitely worth the price! ;) (Ok, I admit I have received a gift card from 7Sage for being active on this Forum, but I'm definitely not getting paid to promote this!)

  • TheMikeyTheMikey Alum Member
    4196 karma

    I'm not sure if any college class can really help you with that. the closest thing can maybe be having a professor help you out, proofread it, etc.

    yeah, 7sage does have an admissions course that can help you with the PS process. I haven't looked at it yet, but I definitely will be some time this summer.

  • Achen165Achen165 Member
    656 karma

    Hey, IMHO, no, an intro to creative writing class will probably not help you write your P.S. I have my B.A. in English (the most writing oriented subject of them all--- and I took creative writing courses at my university), and in many ways, find writing my P.S. difficult. Many tell me that I am a great writer--- and I still get stuck writing a P.S. Because it is a statement of purpose, you need to do some self reflection and think about events in your life and how they have shaped and molded you, as well as what motivates your desire to do law. The content needs to be strong. Revising mechanics, grammar, and organization are actually the easier parts. The biggest challenge is the subject, knowing exactly what to write-- I would advise you to do some research, look at top P.S.'s and watch the 7Sage Webinar archive for Writing your Personal Statement in the toolbar (Discussion/Webinar Videos). Write and revise a million times. I am sure that there are plenty of 7Sage users, including myself, who would help you with the revision process.

    My personal belief is that the core of good writing emerges from refined and methodical thought. It is a communicative transcription of what goes on in your brain. So I implore you to think deeply about yourself, what motivates you to go to law school, and do some self-discovery or re-discovery to tell a really good story. Best of luck.

  • AlexAlex Alum Member ⭐
    23929 karma

    As others have mentioned above me, the personal statement parts of the CC you have are extremely helpful. Also, if you find yourself having trouble even after watching those you should consider enlisting the help of a pro like @"David.Busis" to help you edit your essays.

  • David BusisDavid Busis Member Moderator
    7355 karma

    Check out the Admissions Course or Edit Once! https://7sage.com/admissions/enroll/

  • nicole.brooklynnicole.brooklyn Alum Member
    341 karma

    I would check if your school's writing center offers free essay editing appointments before signing up for a CW intro course. I was a CW major... at my school, the CW grad students worked at the writing center and taught the intro courses. Writing center appointments were 1-on-1 and free, though.

  • AlexAlex Alum Member ⭐
    23929 karma

    @"nicole.burdakin" said:
    I would check if your school's writing center offers free essay editing appointments before signing up for a CW intro course. I was a CW major... at my school, the CW grad students worked at the writing center and taught the intro courses. Writing center appointments were 1-on-1 and free, though.

    That's actually quite a brilliant idea! I know my uni also offered a free writing center and although I never attended, I can't imagine it would hurt to have another set of eyes proof read it.

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