Guide · Aug 2026 · 1 min read
A Personal Statement Structure That Works (and Survives Editing)
Open in a specific moment, prove the interest with work you've made, connect it to the course, and close forward. Four moves — everything else is editing.
The four moves
1 · A specific moment
Not 'since young I have been passionate'. Instead: the afternoon the kiln opened, the first time your code moved a motor. One scene, concrete details, no adjectives doing the lifting.
2 · The evidence
What you made because of that interest: projects, portfolios, competitions, research. This is the spine of the statement — show the doing, not the feeling.
3 · The connection
Why this course, specifically. Name a module, a facility, a way the course is taught. Generic praise reads as a template; specifics read as a decision.
4 · The open door
Close with what you want to figure out next — not a summary. Admissions readers remember questions better than conclusions.
Editing rules
- Cut the first paragraph of draft one; the statement usually starts at paragraph two
- One idea per sentence; statements are read fast
- Read aloud — anything you stumble over, the reader will too
- Nobody else's voice: tutors read hundreds; borrowed polish is visible
