Law School Personal Statements: Indicating that You’re From a Family of Lawyers
Making the decision to become a lawyer can be one of the biggest steps that you take in your life, especially if you are from a family of lawyers. Coming from a family of lawyers can have many advantages for those who are planning to become lawyers themselves. Regardless of whether or not you are directly related to lawyers, though, you will probably have to enroll in law school to get prepared for the bar exams. Getting into law school can be difficult, but you have good chances of getting admitted if you do a great job on your application package. Perhaps the most important application requirement is the personal essay.(1) Read on for some tips on indicating in your personal statement that you are from a family of lawyers, and other basic tips on writing your law school personal statement.
Doing your research: taking a look at well-written sample law school personal statements for valid reasons to go to law school
Before you begin writing your law school personal statement, you may want to start out by doing some research and gathering samples. Sample law school personal statements can help you brainstorm for ideas and understand the basic format of the essay. Try to get a good grasp of the tone of the essay and how the ideas are developed in the essay. Aside from looking at examples of well-written essays, you may also want to look at poorly written ones, so you know what mistakes to avoid.(2)
Writing your essay : using the characteristics of well-written, family-focused law school personal statement examples in your draft
Now that you have a good idea of what it takes to write a good family-focused law school personal statement, you can get started on your first draft. Take some time to reflect on the research that you composed and think of how to make your essay even better than all of the samples that you read. Concentrate on making your essay excellent in content, form, and style.(3) Here is a list of some basic tips on writing your personal statement for law school:(4)
- Make sure that your sentences are clear and concise.
- Avoid all types of technical errors, such as spelling and grammar mistakes.
- Try to let your character and personality show through your writing.
- Always make your personal statement specific to the school that you are writing it for.
- If you need more help, you may want to join a writing workshop for personal statements.
Winning your case : writing your own excellent law school personal statement by discussing family experiences and influences
One of the benefits of being from a family of lawyers is that you are probably already pre-disposed to the profession. You can use this benefit to your advantage by writing a law school personal statement that is family-focused. Not only is your background and family something personal, but it also offers many opportunities to discuss why you want to go to law school. Before you get to writing your essay, be sure to take time to plan out what you are going to write and how you are going to write it.(5) Try not to make it sound as though you are only going to law school because of the fact that you come from a family of lawyers. Instead, try to focus on how your background has helped to form the values and virtues that it takes to be successful in law school and as a lawyer in the future.(6)
Some tips on mentioning examples in your family-focused essay: (7)
- Focus on positive traits and try to eliminate any negative aspects.
- Try to discuss how the examples have helped to sculpt your personality and character.
- Find out what makes you unique in your family and as a person, in general, and expound on that.
- Remember to concentrate on your goal with the personal statement. Introduce yourself and explain how your family background and upbringing has influenced you and your decision to apply for law school.
Making an appeal by learning a few more tips based on a creatively written law school personal statement sample
Writing a creative and interesting law school personal statement does not mean that you have to do something completely new and “out of the box.” In fact, it would probably help to keep your essay simple, clear and concise, without too much humor or cliches.(8) The best way to write creatively is to be yourself. Many of the things that make you unique are precisely what interests other people. Try not to focus too much on other people or family members. Instead, keep the essay centered on you and let your personality and character shine through for who you really are. Your essay is a venue for you to let the admissions committee know why you deserve a slot at the school.
(1) http://career.berkeley.edu/LAW/LawStatement.stm
(2) http://collegeapps.about.com/od/essays /College_Admissions_Essays_Samples_Critiques_and_Writing_Tips.htm
(3) http://bunny.ucdavis.edu/advising/law/handouts /tips_writing_your_law_school_personal_statement.html
(4) http://lawschool.about.com/od/applicationprocess/tp/personalstatement.htm
(5) http://www.bc.edu/offices/careers/gradschool/law/lawstatement.html
(6) http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/642/01/
(7) http://www.sampleadmissionessay.com/category/law-school-admissions/
(8) http://www.yale.edu/career/students/gradprof/lawschool/lawapply.html#stat
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