You're sitting in front of the computer screen. Your word proce ing program is open, but the screen is blank. You've been staring at it for what seems like an eternity. You don't know where to start or where to go. What are they looking for? How are you su osed to write it?
The cause of your frustration? An a lication e ay. You can write a lication e ays in many different ways, but the human interest story provides an effective model for writing your e ay and easing your frustration. You read human interest stories in new apers and magazines all the time. They are popular and effective because they engage the reader's interest, persuade him or her of the writer's point of view, and sell periodicals. Similarly, an a lication e ay or personal statement must engage the admi io staff, convince them of your viewpoint, and sell you.
Human interest stories typically have the following structure: lead, thesis, body, conclusion. Using that structure for your personal statement provides you with a framework around which to build your e ay.
Begin with a lead, also called a hook. A lead is usually a brief anecdote, a question, a startling statistic or quote, or a gri ing description of a scene. The lead has a very important job: hooking the reader. Any writer will tell you that the first few lines of an article, ad, or letter determine the succe of that piece. And the same is true for your e ay. Put your most interesting tidbit at the begi ing.
Now that you have the reader's attention, tell him/her the point of your e ay--the thesis. The thesis can be a one-sentence summary or road map of your personal statement. It typically follows the lead and introduces the body, the longest section of your paper.
The body provides evidence to su ort your thesis. In writing the body avoid generalities and platitude give concrete examples from your life. Writing about ecific experiences has a number of advantages:
ecifics keep the reader's attention more effectively than generalities. Drawing on situatio in your life will distinguish you from other a licants who superficially may be very similar to you.
All good things must end; so too must your e ay end with a conclusion. The conclusion ties up the e ay by briefly referring back to the lead, restating the thesis, and if relevant, mentioning some long term goals.
Lead, thesis, body, conclusion. That is the structure of a succe ful human interest story and personal statement. After all, the effective personal statement really tells a human interest story--a human interest story about you.
