Primrose Kitten

Starting to write your personal statement can sometimes feel like the hardest thing in the world. This is because so much of what you write in your personal statement will determine what university you get into, your course, and potentially your future career.

But don’t worry—we’ll walk you through it! One of the best tricks when sitting down at a blank page is to not worry about starting at the beginning. If you know what you want to say in the middle, then start there. Sometimes just putting something, anything, down on the page is the best way to start, and then you can work back from there. If you're not sure what to write in a paragraph, make a list of key points that you want to get in there. Focus on the stuff you want to tell other people about you: what makes you really awesome and what you can do.

Set a timer on your phone, then just sit down and type. Put down whatever comes into your head. It doesn't have to be good. Don't read it back; it doesn't have to be sensible. Sit there and type, and make it a brain dump onto the computer or onto a bit of paper. When the timer goes off, after five minutes just have a look at what you've written. It may be absolute rubbish, and that's fine; or it may be absolute gold, and that's even better!

Your main focus should be explaining why you picked this subject at university. You need to be able to answer this question really confidently, because you need to it make a main part of your personal statement and they’re probably going to ask you about it during any interviews. Spend some time thinking about why you love the subject and then write about it. Hopefully, this should come quite easy to you! What are you good at? What have you achieved in your life? What are your talents? Make a list of your achievements and then try and fit them in.

If you are not sure what you love about that subject or what you're good at, ask other people who live in the same house as you and who have spent a lot of time with you. They may have some insight on why you love a subject if you’re always pestering them to visit a museum or asking them such-and-such a question. They may remember some award that you got two years ago that you didn't think was important but would impress the universities; or they may remember a writing competition that you entered, or something else that you achieved. Sometimes thinking about yourself so intently can be a bit freaky, so ask other people for help. Be sure to take notes when they give you their responses.

Once you've got all of your lists and your random notes, you can try and sort out a paragraph outline.