sample law school personal statement

Regardless of what university you feel like applying to, you must be prepared for whatever essay question they throw your way. Some universities give unique application essay questions designed to stimulate the creativity of students. If this eventuality arises, then it will be doubly important for you to be ready for wacky essay prompts.

Examples of wacky or unique essay prompts

The University of Chicago is famous for its wacky essay prompts. Examples of these are:

Essay question # 1 – How did you get caught? (Or not caught, as the case may be.)

Essay question # 2 – “Any law that uplifts human personality is just. Any law that degrades human personality is unjust” wrote the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., in his “Letter from Birmingham Jail.” What is human personality? Is it obvious what uplifts and what degrades it? Can law be justified on the basis of it? We want to hear your thoughts on justice as it relates to this human personality.

The University of Virginia also throws in its share of wacky application essays such as:

Essay question # 1 – Make a bold prediction about something in the year 2020 that no one else has made a bold prediction about.

Essay question # 2 – The past isn’t dead. It’s not even past. So says the lawyer Gavin Stevens near the end of Faulkner’s “Requiem for a Nun” To borrow Stevens’ words, what small event, either from your personal history or the history of the world, is neither dead nor past?

Tips in dealing with unique essay prompts or questions

Thoroughly understand the question. You can never answer an admission prompt if you don?t understand the question and that goes double for essay questions that are wacky. Don?t attempt to answer a question you don?t understand. Try to break down the sentences so you could have a smaller scale viewpoint of the prompt before advancing to the larger scale.

Other things to keep in mind when tackling wacky essay prompts

Make sure that the primary question is answered. With the proper words, you can give a simply stated answer to a complicated question. Answering wacky essay prompts is the same with answering any type of question. Formulate a plan. Rearrange the words in your head before finally putting them on paper.

Related links:

Tone in essays – How to improve the tone of your law school personal statement
Reading sample essays
Discussing motivations – Using motivation as content in structured essay
Weird college essays – Examples of wacky college essays
Common college prompts – About some of the common college prompts

Qualifiers are words or group of words that limit or modify the meaning of another word. They may come to qualify quantity, time, relative quality, or certainty.

Examples and purpose of qualifiers in grammar and writing

Some qualifiers include the words: rather, somewhat, possibly, quite, probably, some, sometimes, now, , I guess, I think, and many others. Qualifiers communicate a person?s commitment to a statement. For example, absolute qualifiers such as “all” leave no room for doubt, emphasizing the point made by the person. In the same way, a relative qualifier leaves a distinct possibility for the opposite. In short, qualifiers are the ones that communicate the degree of the word it qualifies.

Pros and Cons of using qualifiers

Qualifiers are capable of making you sound decisive as well as uncertain. This would mean that with the right qualifier you could make yourself sound confident and certain, while the wrong ones will incite doubts from the reader.

Using qualifiers, especially the relative ones, can be detrimental when you are aiming to convince a reader. For personal statements, “sometimes” and “somewhat” lessen the impact of your claims, while absolute qualifiers can intensify the impact of the statement.

Tips in effectively using the right qualifiers

When using qualifiers for personal statement, you should always avoid using the ones that limit your statement. Some of these words are quite, possibly, rather, somewhat, and sometimes. Limiting qualifiers give the impression that you are not sure about what you are saying and would therefore need a “safety net” in the event someone challenges your statement.

As opposed to limiting qualifiers, absolute qualifiers communicate certainty. Words such as all, none, never, and always establish your position on a statement and convey confidence as well as a positive attitude.

When forming essays, be very aware of your choice of qualifiers. Read your composition several times and ascertain that you are giving off a positive attitude.

Related links:

Improving personal statements – All about improving your personal statement
Common essay mistakes – All about mistakes to avoid in personal statements
Scolarship and essays – All about polishing your personal statement for a scolarship
Unnecessary qualifiers – Guide to using qualifiers and avoiding common mistakes
Improving your writing – How to improve your writing skills

What you must bear in mind when writing a personal statement for the college of your choice is that you your essay must stand out. There are thousands of applicants vying for the same spot and you have to get ahead of them by turning your personal statement into something that automatically grabs attention.

Basic parts of an essay

An academic essay has three main parts, the introduction, the body, and the conclusion. The introduction is the part where you state your case. It would be the bait to spark interest from the reader and so, it should be engaging in itself. The body is where you expand on the introduction. This is where you list down your accomplishments, qualifications, and motivation, making you eligible for a spot in their college. Conclusion is the wrap up; it should talk about the impact of your experience to your application, inspiring the reader to think about the wide range of possibilities if you are accepted.

Tips in organizing the structure of your essay

Tip 1: Focus on a theme. This would help narrow down your discussion, focusing your essay on a topic and letting it evolve from there.

Tip 2: Start with an outline. List down the things you want to discuss and the order you want to discuss them. This will give you an overview of the whole essay and would allow you to simplify what would have been a difficult discussion. Once you have broken down the topics, then you might start from there, all the while keeping your mind on the main theme.

Tip 3: Turn it into a story. Don?t string together sentences in a random order. Instead, make it sound as though you are a storyteller on the verge of relating a compelling story. Link them together using words like although, therefore, or hence. This is a simple yet effective approach that would allow you to form arguments and conclusions, while still maintaining the pretense of a story.

Tip 4: Personalize the essay. Avoid using the word “we” and focus more one you’re beliefs. Compose it in the first person, emphasizing your personality in the article.

Proofreading the structure of your Essay

Read your essay once, leave it for a few hours, come back and read it again. This would allow your brain to be open to more ideas regarding your essay. Be very aware of the movement of your story as well as spelling and grammar. If you find it difficult to proofread your own work, then try asking a friend to read it for you. Redrafting is not a crime. You might want to check out online personal statement samples to be able to compare and edit your work as you see fit.

Related links:

Discussing motivations – All about motivation as content in structured essay
Tone of essays – All about increasing the quality of your personal statement
Mistakes to avoid – Mistakes to watch out for when structuring essays
Essay writing tips – How to write great admission essays
Essay structure – On how to structure your essay

If you are planning on applying for law school, as early as possible you should be able to present yourself to the respective admission committee of your chosen school as someone who has the makings of a good lawyer. What the admission committee seeks from applicants vary from school to school. They might require high scores in admission tests, transcripts, or letters of recommendation, and the like. One sure requirement is writing your law school personal statement.

Importance of having strong arguments in your application essay

Your application essay should convince the admission committee that among all other applicants, you deserve a slot in their university. Your argument should be strong; it should be justified, pointed clearly, and directly stated.

How to support your arguments

When it comes to persuasion and making an argument, you should be clear on what you are claiming. You should show in your essay that you know your topic well, and that your claim is based on facts and that you have supporting evidence. There are different kinds of evidence that you can use. Expert testimonies are examples of strong evidences. These can either be facts, informed opinions, and speculations. To be able to gather these evidence, you should research and consult with experts.

Statistics is another form of evidence, and so are examples. Examples can strengthen statistics. By also giving specific examples, you become more persuasive. You can also incorporate personal or anecdotal experience and analogies to not only make your points clearer, but to support them as well. However, you should use these types of evidence sparingly. The secret is to use logic to connect all the evidence and weave them into a seamless argument in your essay.

Other tips for a persuasive essay

Structure and organization are integral components of an effective persuasive essay. No matter how good your evidence are, if you are not able to write an interesting introduction, a coherent and substantial body, and a strong conclusion, all your efforts in making your argument are futile. Focus on improving your structure and organization as well.

Related links:

Personal Statement Tone – Improving the tone of your essay
Law School Essays – Using sample law school essays as guides
Law School Motivation – Discussing motivations in your essay
Personal Statement Mistakes – Spotting mistakes in your essayConvincing Personal Statements – How to write convincing personal statements

Law Admission Essays – All about law school admission essays
Best Admission Essay – All about writing the best admission essay
Law School Essay – All about law school admission essays
Admission Essays – All about writing your admission essay
College Persuasive Essays – Difference of college persuasive essays from other essays

Did you ever wonder why it’s called personal “statement” instead of just application essay?  Well, this is because your application essay should have the same elements of a compelling speech.  If you’re geared toward becoming a lawyer, then you should put more effort into your personal statement.  Why?  Because writing is second nature to legal professionals.  Lawyers make legal correspondences and have to explain their arguments in details, especially when engaging in legal battles.  If you can’t make a persuasive law school personal statement now or convey your message clearly, can you defend other people’s rights or convince the jurY in the near future?

Here are three simple tips that are sure to create a great impact on your personal statement.  With these in mind, good essays can turn into golden tickets to law school admission.

Always be positive

Nobody wants to hear what cannot be done.  So instead of dwelling on the negative, focus on solutions or propose something that should be done.  This is especially helpful when presenting your views or position on certain issues, be it personal or political topics.  When you express yourself using a positive language, you come off as enthusiastic, objective, and reasonable.  Even if you express your own convictions, you won’t sound too arrogant or offensive.

Using a positive voice will also encourage readers to act on your behalf or at least hear out what you have to say.

Avoid qualifiers

An outline will help you get started the right way.  You’ll then know what to write about and what to focus on.  With a clear thought on things you want to convey, you won’t make the mistake of sounding too unsure.  For this reason, you should avoid words like “rather,” “possibly,” “quite,” and “probably.”  How can you convince your readers if you lack confidence in what you’re saying?  Didn’t you give your ideas much thought?  This will be the impression the admissions panel will get from your personal statement when you use qualifiers.

Vary your sentences

Even with great ideas or stories to tell, if lines flow the same, the admissions officer will easily get bored and may refuse to go over the whole thing.  Although your law school personal statement is a serious matter, it doesn’t mean that you can no longer be creative.  Express yourself better by improving the flow of your thoughts.  Varied sentence structure can add more life to your essay.  Use simple, compound, and complex sentences.  Also use transitions to give readers warning signs to where your paragraphs or sentences are heading.

Grab a sample law school personal statement to serve as your guide.  You have to see for yourself what makes a compelling speech or persuasive writing piece.

Using a Sample Law School Personal Statement as a Guide for Your Scholarship Essay

When applying for scholarships, you will most likely be required to submit a scholarship essay.  These essays are a standard requirement of every graduate school or any fellowship that gives out scholarships to qualified students.  Scholarship essays are basically personal statements that serve to demonstrate your qualifications, past experiences, interests, and your motivations in applying for the said scholarship.  One of the best guides in writing an effective essay for your scholarship is a sample law school personal statement.

The scholarship essay and the law school personal statement

A sample personal statement for law school basically covers your reasons for attending the said law school, your qualifications in pursuing law studies, and the relevant experiences you have had which makes you a more qualified candidate.  In other words, a law school personal essay should be a reflection of your qualities and qualifications.  Writing an essay for your scholarship application is no different.  This essay should serve as your introduction to the selection board.  While an excellent personal statement will not automatically win you a scholarship, submitting a poorly written one can deter your chances of being shortlisted.

What you should include in your personal scholarship essay

Your chances in getting a scholarship are dependent on a number of factors.  The selection committee will have to evaluate your transcripts, recommendations, annual family income, and, of course, your personal essay.

More than a simple recount of your qualifications and achievements, your scholarship essay should have a theme and a voice.  To make it unique from the rest, your essay must also contain stories and examples.  Different scholarship organizations provide different instructions, so make sure you follow the instructions clearly.  Proofreading your essay will also help you achieve a well-written and error-free piece.

Since these essays are basically personal, there is no specific format which you can follow. However, you can use sample personal statements as guides when writing your scholarship essay.

Finding helpful sample personal statements

A sample personal statement for law school can be found on the web.  Many colleges and educational institutions online provide sample personal essays for those who in search of valuable guides.  Nonetheless, a critical examination of these personal statements is very important.  You need to make sure that you are following an infallible guide, and not one that has loopholes in content or grammar.

Personal statements can be written using two approaches.  You may use the more conventional or mechanical approach, wherein you will focus on your motivations, qualifications, relevant experiences, and your reasons in applying at the school.  The second approach is being referred to as more anecdotal in style.  Here you will use a more creative way in highlighting your strengths, through the use of stories, examples, and anecdotes.

Writing your scholarship essay can be considered as one of the more difficult, but nevertheless highly important, aspects in your application.  With the help of a sample law school personal statement, however, you can pick up certain pointers in making your scholarship essay stand out from the rest.

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Skimming, Reading Critically, and Scanning a Sample Law School Personal Statement

One of the best things that you could do before you write your personal statement for law school is to read admissions essay samples.  Read on and find out why you should do it and how to do it right.

Why read a sample law school personal statement

Admissions officers, experts, and professors recommend that you read several samples of law school personal statement.  Doing this would give you idea on how to structure your own essay.  You can actually use these sample essays as models when you write your own.  But make sure that you only use excellent sample admissions essays as models.  Below are the ways on how you should read a sample law school personal statement so you can get ideas from it.

How to read critically, skim and scan the sample admissions essay

There are various strategies for reading.  One of them is skimming.  When you skim, you go through the whole pages, trying to get the essentials in the materials.  Another way is scanning.  Scanning is going quickly through the materials, but this time, you look for something specific.  Critical reading, on the other hand, requires time because it involves thorough reading and careful analysis of the materials.  When reading, you have to pay attention to the structure and style of the writer in order to get ideas on how you should write your own essay.

How to start your essay

Before you brainstorm for the topic or theme of your admissions essay, you should look for many excellent samples of admissions essays online.  You can also approach your friends or professors who have been into law school.  Ask them if they could let you read their personal statement samples.  First you should skim the essays to know what the topics of thesis statements of the essays are, then you should scan the sample essaye for specific information, and then you have to read them carefully and thoroughly.  When reading the sample personal statement, take note of the its structure.  Ask yourself what makes this specific essay attention grabbing.  You also have to study how the theme was used effectively and how the topic was developed.  Take note of how the writer used the connectives effectively to maintain the smooth flow of the sentences.

What to remember when using a sample personal statement

When you use a sample personal statement as model, you have to avoid plagiarizing the work of the writer.  You should keep in mind that you are only using the sample personal statements as models.  You only have to get ideas regarding the structure and style of the essay.  In the end, your personal statement is still about you.  This is why you have to write as uniquely as possible.

After you have made sure that the content of your essay is attention grabbing, you then have to ensure that the grammar and other technical aspects of your personal statement are impeccable.  It is also advisable that you let a law professor read your essay because, more than anyone else, a law professor can give you helpful suggestions and tips if your essay needs revision.

Photo Credit : Anoto Group

Effectively Discussing Your Motivations in Your Essay with the Help of a Sample Law School Personal Statement

The members of admissions committees look for a certain factor that could make them decide if you make or break your chances of getting into law school.  You don’t have to write about a near-death experience or a tragic incident in your life in order to grab the attention of the admissions officers.  Showing your passion and motivations for the field that you are applying to, if done effectively, will make them notice your admissions essay.  According to some experts, among the most compelling essays are the ones that discuss about the applicants’ motivations.

Why talk about your motivations

One of the secrets of a successful person is a good dose of motivation.  Motivation is actually the driving force that can help one go on even when adversity arises.  If you are motivated, chances are, you won’t easily give up when obstacles come your way.  This is why, for some admissions officers, a person’s motivations are a plus.  So if you are a motivated person, use this virtue to get better chances of obtaining admissions into the law school that you dreamed of.  Below are some tips that you should keep in mind when writing about your motivations in your personal statement for law school.

Tip #1:  Be honest in writing your essay

There are applicants who think that in order to get their essays noticed, they have to make it grandiose to the point that they manufacture information about themselves and their experiences.  Always remember that the people in charged of reading your essay are experts in the field.  So for sure, they can see through your lies.  It is important, therefore, that you do not sacrifice sincerity for a melodramatic essay.  Even if the events or the instances in your life that motivate you to pursue a study law is not grandiose, moving, and life-changing, you can still use it to get better chances of getting admissions.  Just focus on how this little spark of motivation can eventually grow into a flame.  What is important is you don’t manufacture passion, desire, and motivation. Just write in your own voice and be very natural with it.

Tip #2:  Strive for uniqueness

Uniqueness should be one of your goals in writing a personal statement.  Many applicants would also talk about their motivations in entering law school.  But you can still have an edge over these applicants if you just make an effort to make your admissions essay unique.  One of the ways to do this is by presenting a four-dimensional picture of yourself.  This means you have to include not just your strengths but also your weaknesses.  Uniqueness can also be achieved if you take a risk sometimes.  This means that you could try something new and creative when writing your essay.

Tip #3:  Be clear and concise

Clarity is also very important.  Your personal statement is your chance to tell the committee about the things that you won’t be able to show on your resume and test scores.  So make sure that you state everything clearly.

You can read a good sample law school personal statement in order to give you an idea on how to write your own.  There are available essay samples online.

Photo Credit : Orin Optiglot

Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law

If you’re planning to pursue a JD degree, the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law is a good choice. The college opened its doors to aspiring lawyers and legal educators in 1964 and received its current name on 2006 in recognition of US Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor. As a major department of the Arizona State University, the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law offers not just JD degrees but also hybrids like JD-MD, JD-PhD in Law and Psychology, JD-PhD in Justice Studies, JD-MBA, and a two-year MLS (Masters of Legal Studies). To learn more about the legal educational institution, visit its official website.

Baylor Law School

The Baylor Law School is the oldest law school existing in the state of Texas. The school was founded in 1857 and has since been a provider of top-notch legal education with a strong underlying Christian commitment. The graduates of Baylor Law School are remarkable and well-known for their excellent services as part of the federal and local government. Many of the alumni of Baylor Law School, with their education and training, pursued careers in public service and became senators, congressmen, judges, justices, and ambassadors. For more information on Baylor Law School, just visit its official site.

Ave Maria School of Law

Just like Baylor Law School, the Ave Maria School of Law integrates a Roman Catholic perspective with legal instruction. Located in Ann Arbor and established in 1999, the Ave Maria School of Law was granted full accreditation by the American Bar Association in 2005. The school offers degrees with specialization in philosophy and ethics as well as courses on Dignity in the Workplace, Papal Teaching and the Law, and Alternative Dispute Resolution. To learn more about the Ave Maria School of Law and its admission process, visit the official website.

Albany Law School

The Albany Law School is one of the most prestigious legal educational institutions in the United States. Founded in 1851 and located at the Capital Region of New York, the Albany Law School is considered as one of the oldest independent institutions. It prides of having not just the first student-edited law review, the Albany Law School Journal, but also distinguished and well-known alumni. Among them are former President William McKinley and US Supreme Court Justices Robert H. Jackson and David Brewer. To know more about course offerings and the admission process in Albany Law School, visit its official website.

Appalachian School of Law (ASL)

Established in 1994 in Virginia, the Appalachian School of Law was built as a tool to improve the region’s economic development. Among the factors that make the ASL one of the top-ranking law schools in the United States are its three-year Juris Doctor degree program as well as the school’s emphasis on alternative dispute resolution and professional responsibility. In addition, because the curriculum of ASL focuses on leadership and community service, students are required to complete 25 hours of community service every semester before graduation. Learn more about ASL, its degree offerings, and admission procedure through the school’s official site.

The American University Washington College of Law (WCL)

The American University Washington College of Law is located at Washington D.C. and was established in 1896. For decades, WCL has developed efficient, brilliant, and respectable graduates who are able to make remarkable contributions in the legal industry. What distinguish WCL from other law schools are its human rights law programs and public interest work programs. WCL is also recognized for its two student publications, The American Jurist and The Business Law Brief, as well as for providing grants through the Equal Justice Foundation to students involved in the public sector. To know more about WCL, visit its official website.