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A few adjustments can get your application noticed.
Whether applying for a summer internship, a professional development opportunity, such as a Fulbright, an executive MBA program, or a senior leadership development course, a personal statement threads the ideas of your CV, and is longer and has a different tone and purpose than a traditional cover letter. A few adjustments to your personal statement can get your application noticed by the reviewer.
At multiple points in your life, you will need to take action to transition from where you are to where you want to be. This process is layered and time-consuming, and getting yourself to stand out among the masses is an arduous but not impossible task. Having a polished resume that explains what you’ve done is the common first step. But, when an application asks for it, a personal statement can add color and depth to your list of accomplishments. It moves you from a one-dimensional indistinguishable candidate to someone with drive, interest, and nuance.
Some applications ask that you write an essay that draws on more personal reflections. These essays, sometimes called Personal Statements, are an opportunity to show the selection committee who you are as a person: your story, your values, your interests, and why you—and not your peer with a similar resume—are a perfect fit for this opportunity. These narrative essays allow you to really illustrate the person behind the resume, showcasing not only what you think but how you think.
Before you start writing, it’s helpful to really consider the goals of your personal statement:
In general, your job through your personal statement is to show, don’t tell the committee about your journey. If you choose to retell specific anecdotes from your life, focus on one or two relavant, formative experiences—academic, professional, extracurricular—that are emblematic of your development. The essay is where you should showcase the depth of your maturity, not the breadth—that's the resume's job!
The personal statement is usually framed with an overarching theme. But how do you come up with a theme that is unique to you? Here are some questions to get you started:
Once you have done some reflection, you may notice a theme emerging (justice? innovation? creativity?)—great! Be careful to think beyond your first idea, too, though. Sometimes, the third or fourth theme to come to your mind is the one that will be most compelling to center your essay around.
Certainly, your personal statement can have moments of humor or irony that reflect your personality, but the goal is not to show off your creative writing skills or present you as a sparkling conversationalist (that can be part of your interview!). Here, the aim is to present yourself as an interesting person, with a unique background and perspective, and a great future colleague. You should still use good academic writing—although this is not a research paper nor a cover letter—but the tone can be a bit less formal.
Our work is often linked to our own values, identities, and personal experiences, both positive and negative. However, there can be a vulnerability to sharing these things with strangers. Know that you don't have to write about your most intimate thoughts or experiences, if you don't want to. If you do feel that it’s important that a selection committee knows this about you, reflect on why you would like for them to know that, and then be sure that it has an organic place in your statement. Your passion will come through in how you speak about these topics and their importance in forming you as an individual and budding scholar.
Strategic enrollment management and student success, personal statements.
A personal statement is your opportunity to set yourself apart from other applicants. It is often one piece of an application process for graduate school, scholarships, professional school/program and much more. It is the part of an application where you can share who you are and what is important to you, so insert your own style and take advantage of that! Highlight and detail relevant experiences that demonstrate your interest, motivation, and preparation for the opportunity you are applying for. Use your personal statement to provide depth into why you are pursuing a particular academic/career path.
Brainstorming.
Brainstorming is an important part of the writing process and can help in the planning/outlining process. Below is a list of questions you can use to help create an outline, especially for a general statement.
VCU career advisors are available to answer your questions and review your personal statement.
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Also included in.
Use this rubric/scoring guide to help your high school juniors and seniors with assessing their personal statement essay for the Common App .
This resource comes in both an interactive Google Slide (link on download) and printable PDF in both color and black and white and with and without points and a score assigned.
⭐️ This rubric may also be used with other similar college and scholarship application essays depending on the prompt and directions.
INTERACTIVE GOOGLE SLIDES FEATURES:
⭐️ The evaluator can move the stars on the slide over the criteria met by the writer! There is also an editable area to write comments!
⭐️ The points and total score area on the Google Slide version is editable so feel free to delete the points or change them as you wish!
Again, on the printable PDF download, there are different versions included (e.g., with or without points, color or B & W), so just print the one you want to use!
NOTE: The Google Slides version of this rubric is included in my " Personal Statement " interactive Google Slides lesson in my TpT store but the PDF version for printing in color and black and white is not.
SUGGESTIONS FOR USE:
1. The first thing I would do is teach your students about what a personal statement essay is. If you do not already have a lesson to do this, get my " How to Write a Personal Statement " interactive Google Slides lesson in my TpT store, which includes the Google Slides version of the rubric.
2. Before your students begin writing their essays, present the rubric in Google Slides, or if you are meeting in person, you may want to distribute the PDF copy. Review with students what makes an exemplary vs. proficient vs. emerging essay. I also recommend sharing your former students' essays or some of these samples and having students assess them using the rubric.
3. After students have written their first essay draft, have them use the rubric to assess their writing themselves as well as get peer feedback. While this rubric is useful for assessing the overall quality of an essay, I also suggest getting my Personal Statement Checklist in my TpT store and having students use it to carefully check their own essays and get peer feedback. The checklist will help students do a more detailed check of their essays and make a revision plan. Or get this bundle (discounted by 20%) that includes both the " How to Write a Personal Statement " interactive Google Slides lesson, my Personal Statement Checklist , AND this rubric/scoring guide! The checklist can also be used as a peer feedback form!
TIP: I suggest encouraging your students to try several drafts on different topics and then choose the best one. They may also need to be reminded of the word minimum and limit for the Common App personal statement (250-650 words).
FYI: Common App essay prompts will remain the same for 2023-2024.
⭐️ Read my blog post about helping students with the personal statement essay!
CREDITS: Grade Onederful , Kaitlynn Albanni
⭐️ Learn more about me on my website engagingtoempower.com and get some FREE resources!
⭐️ Get in touch by using this form HERE .
⭐️ Check out my other products on TPT and find out when I make new products (be sure to follow!): Jenn Liu: Engaging to Empower
⭐️ I'd LOVE to connect @mizzliu ❤️
Copyright © Jenn Liu
Permission to use for single classroom use only.
Please purchase additional licenses if you plan to share this product with other teachers.
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A rubric is a scoring tool that identifies the different criteria relevant to an assignment, assessment, or learning outcome and states the possible levels of achievement in a specific, clear, and objective way. Use rubrics to assess project-based student work including essays, group projects, creative endeavors, and oral presentations.
Rubrics can help instructors communicate expectations to students and assess student work fairly, consistently and efficiently. Rubrics can provide students with informative feedback on their strengths and weaknesses so that they can reflect on their performance and work on areas that need improvement.
Best practices, moodle how-to guides.
The first step in the rubric creation process is to analyze the assignment or assessment for which you are creating a rubric. To do this, consider the following questions:
Types of rubrics: holistic, analytic/descriptive, single-point
Holistic Rubric. A holistic rubric includes all the criteria (such as clarity, organization, mechanics, etc.) to be considered together and included in a single evaluation. With a holistic rubric, the rater or grader assigns a single score based on an overall judgment of the student’s work, using descriptions of each performance level to assign the score.
Advantages of holistic rubrics:
Disadvantages of holistic rubrics:
Analytic/Descriptive Rubric . An analytic or descriptive rubric often takes the form of a table with the criteria listed in the left column and with levels of performance listed across the top row. Each cell contains a description of what the specified criterion looks like at a given level of performance. Each of the criteria is scored individually.
Advantages of analytic rubrics:
Disadvantages of analytic rubrics:
Single-Point Rubric . A single-point rubric is breaks down the components of an assignment into different criteria, but instead of describing different levels of performance, only the “proficient” level is described. Feedback space is provided for instructors to give individualized comments to help students improve and/or show where they excelled beyond the proficiency descriptors.
Advantages of single-point rubrics:
Disadvantage of analytic rubrics: Requires more work for instructors writing feedback
You might Google, “Rubric for persuasive essay at the college level” and see if there are any publicly available examples to start from. Ask your colleagues if they have used a rubric for a similar assignment. Some examples are also available at the end of this article. These rubrics can be a great starting point for you, but consider steps 3, 4, and 5 below to ensure that the rubric matches your assignment description, learning objectives and expectations.
Make a list of the knowledge and skills are you measuring with the assignment/assessment Refer to your stated learning objectives, the assignment instructions, past examples of student work, etc. for help.
Helpful strategies for defining grading criteria:
Most ratings scales include between 3 and 5 levels. Consider the following questions when designing your rating scale:
Artificial Intelligence tools like Chat GPT have proven to be useful tools for creating a rubric. You will want to engineer your prompt that you provide the AI assistant to ensure you get what you want. For example, you might provide the assignment description, the criteria you feel are important, and the number of levels of performance you want in your prompt. Use the results as a starting point, and adjust the descriptions as needed.
For a single-point rubric , describe what would be considered “proficient,” i.e. B-level work, and provide that description. You might also include suggestions for students outside of the actual rubric about how they might surpass proficient-level work.
For analytic and holistic rubrics , c reate statements of expected performance at each level of the rubric.
Well-written descriptions:
Create your rubric in a table or spreadsheet in Word, Google Docs, Sheets, etc., and then transfer it by typing it into Moodle. You can also use online tools to create the rubric, but you will still have to type the criteria, indicators, levels, etc., into Moodle. Rubric creators: Rubistar , iRubric
Prior to implementing your rubric on a live course, obtain feedback from:
Try out your new rubric on a sample of student work. After you pilot-test your rubric, analyze the results to consider its effectiveness and revise accordingly.
Above Average (4) | Sufficient (3) | Developing (2) | Needs improvement (1) | |
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(Thesis supported by relevant information and ideas | The central purpose of the student work is clear and supporting ideas always are always well-focused. Details are relevant, enrich the work. | The central purpose of the student work is clear and ideas are almost always focused in a way that supports the thesis. Relevant details illustrate the author’s ideas. | The central purpose of the student work is identified. Ideas are mostly focused in a way that supports the thesis. | The purpose of the student work is not well-defined. A number of central ideas do not support the thesis. Thoughts appear disconnected. |
(Sequencing of elements/ ideas) | Information and ideas are presented in a logical sequence which flows naturally and is engaging to the audience. | Information and ideas are presented in a logical sequence which is followed by the reader with little or no difficulty. | Information and ideas are presented in an order that the audience can mostly follow. | Information and ideas are poorly sequenced. The audience has difficulty following the thread of thought. |
(Correctness of grammar and spelling) | Minimal to no distracting errors in grammar and spelling. | The readability of the work is only slightly interrupted by spelling and/or grammatical errors. | Grammatical and/or spelling errors distract from the work. | The readability of the work is seriously hampered by spelling and/or grammatical errors. |
The audience is able to easily identify the central message of the work and is engaged by the paper’s clear focus and relevant details. Information is presented logically and naturally. There are minimal to no distracting errors in grammar and spelling. : The audience is easily able to identify the focus of the student work which is supported by relevant ideas and supporting details. Information is presented in a logical manner that is easily followed. The readability of the work is only slightly interrupted by errors. : The audience can identify the central purpose of the student work without little difficulty and supporting ideas are present and clear. The information is presented in an orderly fashion that can be followed with little difficulty. Grammatical and spelling errors distract from the work. : The audience cannot clearly or easily identify the central ideas or purpose of the student work. Information is presented in a disorganized fashion causing the audience to have difficulty following the author’s ideas. The readability of the work is seriously hampered by errors. |
Advanced (evidence of exceeding standards) | Criteria described a proficient level | Concerns (things that need work) |
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Criteria #1: Description reflecting achievement of proficient level of performance | ||
Criteria #2: Description reflecting achievement of proficient level of performance | ||
Criteria #3: Description reflecting achievement of proficient level of performance | ||
Criteria #4: Description reflecting achievement of proficient level of performance | ||
90-100 points | 80-90 points | <80 points |
At the UW, we consider the college essay as our opportunity to see the person behind the transcripts and the numbers. Some of the best statements are written as personal stories. In general, concise, straightforward writing is best, and good essays are often 300-400 words in length.
Please note that the UW essay questions must be answered within our application. For the Common App, that means within our UW questions. We do not consider the Common App essay.
Tell a story from your life, describing an experience that either demonstrates your character or helped to shape it.
Maximum length : 650 words
Our families and communities often define us and our individual worlds. Community might refer to your cultural group, extended family, religious group, neighborhood or school, sports team or club, co-workers, etc. Describe the world you come from and how you, as a product of it, might add to the diversity of the UW.
Maximum length : 300 words
Tip : Keep in mind that the UW strives to create a community of students richly diverse in cultural backgrounds, experiences, values and viewpoints.
You are not required to write anything in this section, but you may include additional information if something has particular significance to you. For example, you may use this space if:
Maximum length : 200 words
Tip : Write like it matters, not like you’re texting. This is an application for college, not a message to your friend. Get some hints in the video:
All writing in the application, including your essay/personal statement and short responses, must be your own work. Do not use another writer’s work and do not use artificial intelligence software (ChatGPT, Bard, etc.) to assist or write your statement.
Per Washington state law and University of Washington policy , all admissions staff are mandatory reporters of child abuse and neglect. Any statements in written materials that give admissions staff reasonable cause to believe abuse or neglect of someone under the age of 18 may have occurred must be reported to Child Protective Services or the police. Learn more about University reporting requirements .
If you or someone you know is a survivor of sexual assault or other sexual misconduct, RAINN is a national hotline that provides support and referrals. Call 800.656.4673 or visit the website for a chat option. For individuals who have experienced domestic violence or intimate partner violence, the National DV Hotline offers phone, chat, and text options for support.
Applicants will be required to upload a personal statement with the admission application in the space provided. Prior to submitting, please review file upload requirements .
Princeton is strongly committed to welcoming students with diverse experiences. Describe a personal experience that influenced your decision to pursue graduate study. Explain how the lessons from this experience would enrich Princeton’s residential scholarly community.
The essay must be written in English and should not exceed 250 words. No specific formatting is required.
Review your final statement before uploading and submitting the admission application. If you submitted an application and need to revise your essay, you may upload the corrected version through the checklist before the deadline. After the deadline, no revised essays will be accepted.
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some places writing is unclear, wordy, or uses unnecessary jargon. Writes a statement with major errors in grammar, spelling, or punctuation; or in a n. Area. Excellent (4) Competent (3)Needs Development (2) oor (1)ScoreCreativity Is able to write an original statement. Statement strongly conveys student's individual voice and.
Personal Statement Rubric. Exceeding Expectations. 4. Meeting Expectations. 3. Approaching Expectations. 2. ning Personal Growth The essay effectively demonstrates that the author has experienced significant and. nt personal growth. The essay demonstrates that the author has experienced personal growth with some exploration of the sign.
Personal Statement Needs Development The author has an interesting introductory paragraph but the connection to the topic is not clear. The thesis statement outlines some or all of the main points to be discussed but does not name the topic. Creative writing techniques used at times, but essay does not pull readers in; OR very few attempts to pull
a form of writing in which an author explores and shares the meaning of a personal experience and relates this experience to ideas. 4. 3. 2. Style. Writer's Voice, Audience Awareness. The writing is honest, enthusiastic, natural and thought-provoking; the reader feels a strong sense of interaction with the writer and senses the person behind ...
How to Write a personal statement A Comprehensive Video Course for Students. A seven-part online course designed to gives students and counselors everything they need to figure out (or help someone else figure out) how to write a personal statement for the Common App. Watch the Q&A sessions after each session where I answer important questions about the personal statement-writing process and ...
After you write your statement, set it aside and re-read it later. Ask a trusted friend or coworker to proofread your essay. Edit and rewrite as much as you like before submitting your completed application. If you would like to know how Regis University scores personal statements, you can . view our scoring rubric below. Rev. 10.12.2017
A personal statement is a short essay of around 500-1,000 words, in which you tell a compelling story about who you are, what drives you, and why you're applying. To write a successful personal statement for a graduate school application, don't just summarize your experience; instead, craft a focused narrative in your own voice. Aim to ...
Feels authentic, has a personable voice with a good balance of friendliness and formality. Develops a portrait of a candidate who is a mature thinker. Gets lost in too much creative storytelling, examples or anecdotes appear irrelevant. Offers specific examples or anecdotes to illustrate relevant experiences or qualities.
Memoir/Personal Statement Essay Rubric Prompt- Using your personal experience as a guide, create a well-developed and cohesive thematic memoir/personal statement. Your essay should seamlessly progresses from an introduction, anecdote, to reflection, and include meaningful writing techniques. 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5 4 Intro The writer introduces
iRubric: Personal Statement Rubric find rubric edit ... Student's essay did not meet the minimum length or vastly exceeded the maximum length. Student's essay was not typed in double-spaced Times New Roman 12 point font. Fair Student's essay barely meets the minimum length requirement, but is not typed in double-spaced Times New Roman 12 point ...
iRubric J237279: Evaluates a personal statement or cover letter.. Free rubric builder and assessment tools. iRubric: Personal Statement Essay rubric - J237279
PERSONAL ESSAY EVALUATION RUBRIC 8 - 10 points 5 - 7 points 2 - 4 points 0 - 1 point Overall score for personal statement Essay question(s) answered with superior depth of reasoning and thought; provides detailed plan to meet the requirements for graduate education.
The essay is not engaging, nor does it stand out in any way from other essays responding to the same prompt. Ability to engage the reader in a way that will make the personal statement stand out among others. Marco Learning 2022. www.marcolearning.com. Exceeding Expectations 4. Meeting Expectations.
Write it so that the person reading it wants to hear more. Address the elephant in the room (if there is one). Maybe your grades weren't great in core courses, or perhaps you've never worked ...
College Application Essay/Personal Statement Rubric. Progression from paragraph to paragraph and sentence to sentence is smooth and logical. Transitions are used meaningfully and not forced; transitions within paragraphs and especially between paragraphs to preserve the logical flow of the essay. Writer avoids using words such as, "however ...
College Essay Guy believes that every student should have access to the tools and guidance necessary to create the best application possible. That's why we're a one-for-one company, which means that for every student who pays for support, we provide free support to a low-income student. Learn more.
Some applications ask that you write an essay that draws on more personal reflections. These essays, sometimes called Personal Statements, are an opportunity to show the selection committee who you are as a person: your story, your values, your interests, and why you—and not your peer with a similar resume—are a perfect fit for this opportunity. These narrative essays allow you to really ...
Personal statements are considered formal writing so you should avoid contractions (e.g., say "I have" instead of "I've"). Don't have run-on sentences. Break up long sentences and use appropriate punctuation to keep the essay flowing. Don't include filler/empty words to use characters or fill a page (e.g., sort of, kind of, very ...
A writing rubric is a clear set of guidelines on what your paper should include, often written as a rating scale that shows the range of scores possible on the assignment and how to earn each one. Professors use writing rubrics to grade the essays they assign, typically scoring on content, organization, mechanics, and overall understanding.
Use this rubric/scoring guide to help your high school juniors and seniors with assessing their personal statement essay for the Common App. This product comes in both an interactive Google Slide (link on download) and printable PDF in both color and black and white and with and without points and a...
Step 7: Create your rubric. Create your rubric in a table or spreadsheet in Word, Google Docs, Sheets, etc., and then transfer it by typing it into Moodle. You can also use online tools to create the rubric, but you will still have to type the criteria, indicators, levels, etc., into Moodle.
All writing in the application, including your essay/personal statement and short responses, must be your own work. Do not use another writer's work and do not use artificial intelligence software (ChatGPT, Bard, etc.) to assist or write your statement. Per Washington state law and University of Washington policy, all admissions staff are ...
Personal Narrative Essay [Assignment/Rubric] Kimberly Stelly. Overview of Basic Components. The personal narrative essay. Tells a complete, personal, and factual story that has a purpose, an idea, or a meaning. This story should have a beginning and an ending, and the story should reflect a personal perspective or viewpoint. Do not make this ...
Princeton is strongly committed to welcoming students with diverse experiences. Describe a personal experience that influenced your decision to pursue graduate study. Explain how the lessons from this experience would enrich Princeton's residential scholarly community. The essay must be written in English and should not exceed 250 words.