个人陈述范文模板10篇（个人陈述范例）

编者按：LessonTwo:Brainstorming&SelectingaTopicChoosinganessaytopiccanbeoneofthemostdifficultaspectsoftheentire...

LessonTwo:Brainstorming&SelectingaTopic

Choosinganessaytopiccanbeoneofthemostdifficultaspectsoftheentireadmissionsprocess.Questionsoftenaskyoutothinkaboutyourentirelife,pickjustonething,andtalkaboutitingreatdepth.Eventhemostreflectivewritersareleftwondering:"HowamIsupposedtoknowtheONEeventthathaschangedmylifeortheonethingthatrepresentsmyentirepersonality?Inalllikelihoodthere'snotjustone.Butthereprobablyisonethatyoucanwriteaboutmostpassionatelyandeffectively.Withoutatopicyoufeelpassionateabout,withoutonethatbringsoutthedefiningaspectsofyoupersonality,youriskfallingintothetrapofsoundinglikethe90percentofapplicantswhowillwriteboringadmissionsessays.Comingupwiththisideaisdifficultandwillrequireagreatdealoftime.Butwhateveryoudo,don'tletthispartstressyouout.Ifyoustartputtingideasonpaper,atopicwillemerge.

Brainstorming

Foreachitemlistedabove,answerthefollowingquestions.Someofyourideasmayrevealthemselvesasdull,whileyouwillfindplentytodiscussforothers.

Foreachofthepersonalcharacteristicsorskillsyouhavelisted,ask:

DoesitdistinguishmefromothersIknow?

HowdidIdevelopthisattribute?

Foreachoftheactivitiesyouhavelisted,ask:Whatmademejointhisactivity?Whatmademecontinuetocontributetoit?

Foreacheventinyourlifeyouhavelisted,ask:WhydoIrememberthisparticularevent?Diditchangemeasaperson?HowdidIreact?Wastheeventamomentofepiphany,asifmyeyessawsomethingtowhichtheyhadpreviouslybeenblind?

Foreachpersonyouhavelisted,ask:WhyhaveInamedthisperson?DoIaspiretobecomelikethisperson?Whichofthisperson’straitsdoIadmire?DoIaspiretobecomelikethisperson?Whichofthisperson’straitsdoIadmire?IstheresomethingthatthispersonhassaidthatIwillalwaysremember?Didheorshechallengemyviews?

Foreachofyourfavoritesandleastfavorites,ask:Whyisthisafavoriteorleastfavorite?Hasthisthinginfluencedmylifeinameaningfulway?

Foreachfailure,ask:WhatifanythingdidIlearnfromthisfailure?Whatifanythinggoodcameoutofthisfailure?

Inansweringthesequestions,youwillprobablyfindthatyouhaveagreatdealtotalkabout,atleastforfivetoseventopics.Youmustnowconfronttheunderlyingproblemoftheadmissionsessay:findtheonetopicthatwillallowyoutosynthesizeyourimportantpersonalcharacteristicsandexperiencesintoacoherentwholewhilesimultaneouslyaddressingyourdesiretoattendaspecificinstitution.Whilemostadmissionsessaysallowgreatlatitudeintopicselection,youmustalsobesuretoanswerthequestionsthatwereaskedofyou.Leavingalastingimpressiononsomeonewhoreads50to100essaysadaywillnotbeeasy,butwehavecompiledsomeguidelinestohelpyougetstarted.

SelectingaTopic

Inthisexercise,youwillfindalistofDo’sandDon’tsforselectingatopic,alongwithcommentsfromlong-timeadmissionsofficers.Foreachofyourfivetosevenpotentialtopics,fillinthischecklist.Ifyoufindyourselfrepeatedlyanswering“no”tothesequestionsforanygiventopic,youshoulddropitandmoveontoanother.

1.HaveIselectedatopicthatdescribessomethingofpersonalimportancetomylife?

AdmissionsOfficerSays:“Personalizeyouressaysasmuchaspossible-genericessaysarenotonlyboringtoread,they’reawasteoftimebecausetheydon’ttellyouanythingtohelpyougettoknowtheapplicantanybetter.”

2.AmIavoidingagimmickytopic?Youshouldbevery,verycarefuloftryingtowriteyouressayiniambicpentameterorwithlotsofjokes.Almostalways,thisisdonepoorlyandisnotappreciatedbytheadmissionscommittee.Nothingisworsethannotlaughingatsomethingthatwaswrittentobefunny.

AdmissionsOfficerSays:“Gimmicksareabigmistake,andasarcasticorflippanttonewilloftenoffend.”

3.Doesmytopicstayawayfrominformationlistedelsewhereonmyapplication?Don’tmentionGPAsorstandardizedtestscoresinyouressay.That’swhattheresumeandotherpartsoftheapplicationarefor.

AdmissionsOfficerSays:“Listingsofanythingaredull,nomatterhowimpressive.”“Essaysshouldbeaboutmorethanjustarunningtallyofaccomplishments.”

4.WillIbeabletooffervividsupportingparagraphstomyessaytopic?Donotchooseatopicifyoucannotprovideconcreteexamplesforthebodyoftheessay.

AdmissionsOfficerSays:“Detailsprovidethecolor,thespice,andthelifeoftheessays.”“Asthesayinggoes,ifyou’regoingtotalkthetalk,youbetterwalkthewalk.”

5.CanIfullyanswerthequestionaskedofme?Canyouaddressandelaborateonallpointswithinthespecifiedwordlimit,orwillyouendupwritingapoorsummaryofsomethingthatmightbeinterestingasareportorresearchpaper?Ifyouplanonwritingsomethingtechnicalforanapplication,makesureyoucanbackupyourinterestinatopicandnotmerelythrowaroundbigscientificwords.Unlessyouconvincethereaderthatyouactuallyhavethelifeexperiencestobackupyourinterestinneurobiology,thereaderwillassumethatyouaretryingtoimpresshimorherwithshallowtactics.Also,besurethatyoucanwritetoadmissionsofficersandthatyouarenotwritingovertheirheads.

AdmissionsOfficerSays:“Actuallyanswerthequestiontheyask.Manypeoplejustlistofftheiraccomplishmentsandneverrelateittothethemeofthequestion.”

6.Willmytopickeepthereader'sinterestfromthefirstword?Theentireessaymustbeinteresting,consideringadmissionsofficerswillprobablyspendonlyafewminutesreadingeachessay.

AdmissionsOfficerSays:“Ifthefirstparagraphdoesn’tfixmyattention,likeanyoneI’mpronetoskimming.”

7.Ismytopicunique?Somestudentsaresoconcernedaboutmakingthecorrectimpressionthattheyeditoutanythingthatwouldhelptheiressaystandout.Theysubmita“safe”essaythatis,inreality,sterile,monotonous,anddeadlyboring.Mosttopicsareinfactoverdone,andthisisnotnecessarilyabadthing,butauniqueandconvincinganswertoaclassictopiccanpayoffbig.Furthermore,whenapplyingtoacompetitiveprogramthatmightbeoutofyourreach,takingariskintheessaymayhelpyourchancesbystandingout.

AdmissionsOfficerSays:“Applicantsshouldnotbeafraidtogooutonalimbandbethemselves-evenwhenthatmeansincorporatinghumororbeingalittlebitcontroversial.”

8.AmIbeingmyself?Admissionsofficerswanttolearnaboutyouandyourwritingability.YoumustdevelopyourownvoiceandtellYOURstory,notthestoryyouthinkthereaderwantstohear.Writeaboutsomethingmeaningfulanddescribewhatyoudidandfelt,andyouressaywillbeunique.Manypeopletraveltoforeigncountriesorwincompetitions,butyourfeelingsduringtheseeventsareuniquetoyou.Unlessaphilosophyorsocietalproblemhasinterestedyouintenselyforyears,stayawayfromgrandthemesthatyouhavelittlepersonalexperiencewith.

AdmissionsOfficerSays:“Itisthroughtheessaythattheadmissionsofficersreadingtheapplicationwillfeelthattheyhavetrulygottentoknowyou.”

9.Doesmytopicavoidhot-buttonissuesthatmayoffendthereader?IfyouwriteonhoweveryoneshouldworshipyourGod,howwrongorrightabortionis,orhowyouthinktheRepublicanPartyisevil,youwillnotgetintothecollegeofyourchoice.Theonlythingworsethannotwritingamemorableessayiswritinganessaythatwillberememberednegatively.Stayawayfromspecificreligions,politicaldoctrines,orcontroversialopinions.YoucanstillwriteanessayaboutNietzsche'sinfluenceonyourlife,butexpressunderstandingthatnotallintelligentpeoplewillagreewithNietzsche'sclaims.EmphasizeinsteadNietzsche'sinfluenceonYOURlife,andnotwhyyouthinkhewaswrongorrightinhisbeliefs.

AdmissionsOfficerSays:“Itisdangerousforanon-professional(especiallyahighschoolstudent)toattemptwritingasthoughtheessaywillbepresentedataprofessionalconference.Youmaybewritingtosomeonewhoknowsmuchmorethanyouandwillbeirritatedbyyourhackneyedproclamations.”

10.Ismyessayhonest?Unlessyouareatrulyexcellentwriter,yourbest,mostpassionatewritingwillbeabouteventsthatactuallyoccurred.Whileyoumightbetemptedtoinventhardship,itiscompletelyunnecessary.Writeanessayaboutyourlifethatdemonstratesyourpersonality.

AdmissionsOfficerSays:“After15yearsofreadinghundredsofessaysayear,youdevelopanamazingabilitytoseestraightthroughthebull.”

11.Willanadmissionsofficerremembermytopicafteradayofreadinghundredsofessays?Whatwilltheofficerrememberaboutyourtopic?Whatwilltheofficerrememberaboutyou?Whatwillyourlastingimpressionbe?

12.Ifyouarewritingaboutsomethingunfortunatethathashappenedtoyou,ask:AmIabletohighlightmyimpressivequalitiesunderdifficultcircumstanceswithoutsoundingpathetic?Unlessyouonlyusetheexperienceasalenswithwhichtomagnifyyourownpersonalcharacteristics,youwillnotwriteagoodessay.Graduateandprofessionalschoolapplicantsshouldgenerallysteerclearofthistopicaltogetherunlesstheexperiencecanarguablyhelponebecomeabetterbusinessman,doctor,lawyer,orscholar.

13.Doesmyessayfitinwellwiththerestofmyapplication?Doesitexplaintheunexplainedandsteerclearofwhatisalreadyobvious?Forexample,ifyouhavea4.0GPAanda1500SAT,noonedoubtsyourabilitytodotheacademicwork;addressingthistopicwouldberidiculous.However,ifyouhavean850SATanda3.9GPAora1450SATanda2.5GPA,youwouldbewisetoincorporateintoyouressayanexplanationfortheapparentcontradiction.Forexample,perhapsyouwerehospitalizedorfamilyconcernspreventedyourdedicationtoacademics;youwouldwanttomentionthisinyouressay.However,donotmakeyouressayonegiantexcuse.Simplygiveaquick,convincingexplanationwithintheframeworkofyourlargeressay.

14.Doesmytopicavoidmentioningmyweaknesses?Youwanttomakeapositivefirstimpression,andtellinganadmissionsofficeranythingaboutdrinking,drugs,orpartyingunderminesyourgoal.

15.Ifyouthinkyoucanadddiversitytotheschooltowhichyouareapplying,ask:Doesmyessayspecificallydemonstratehowmyuniquenesswillcontributetotherealmofcampusopinion,theacademicenvironment,orthesociallife?Everycollege,professionalschool,orgraduateschoolwantstoincreasediversity.Forthisreason,somanyapplicantsaretemptedtodeclarewhatmakesthemdifferent.However,simplysayingthatyouareablack,lesbianfemalewillnotimpressadmissionsofficersintheleast.Whileanessayincorporatingthisinformationwouldprobablybeyourbesttopicidea,youmustsubtlyhandletheissuebyaddressingyourownpersonalqualitiesandhowyouovercamestigmaordealtwithsocialostracism.IfyouarearichstudentfromBeverlyHillswhosefatherisanengineerandwhosemotherisalawyer,butyouhappentobeaminority,anessayabouthowyoudealtwithadversitywouldbeunwise.

OnceyouhaveusedthischecklistforeachofthefivetoseventopicsyoucameupwithinLessonOne,narrowthelistdowntothethreetopicsthatmosteasilypassallofthesuggestionsabove.

a.Ifmorethanthreetopicspassthetestabove,thensimplychoosethethreethatyouaremostexcitedabout.

b.Iffewerthanthreetopicspassthetest,gobacktoyourlonglistinLessonOneandrunafewmorepotentialtopicsthroughourchecklist.

Atthispoint,youmighthaveatopicsoinspiringthattheessaywritesitself.However,evenseeminglyboringtopicscanbemadeintoexceptionaladmissionsessayswithaninnovativeapproach.Inwritingtheessayyoumustbearinmindyourtwogoals:topersuadetheadmissionsofficerthatyouareextremelyworthyofadmissionandtomaketheadmissionsofficerawarethatyouaremorethanaGPAandastandardizedscore,thatyouareareal-life,intriguingpersonality.

Unfortunately,thereisnosurefirestep-by-stepmethodtowritingagoodessay.