Law School Personal Statement Samples Page 9
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10• Do not solely discuss why you want to be a lawyer. The fact that you are going
through the admissions process evidences your interest in the law. This topic is trite
and will not leave a lasting impression upon the admissions committee. Instead,
again, try to discuss what experiences led to your choice and what unique attributes
you will bring to law school and the legal field.
• Avoid a boring introduction that loses the reader’s attention. Admissions committees
read thousands of law school personal statements, and a boring introduction will
result in the reader skimming over rather than fully considering your personal
statement.
• Do not use clichés, slang, or contractions. The tone of the essay should convey the
seriousness of the topic and the writer. Don’t be vague.
• Avoid controversial issues. Steer away from topics such as religion, political
doctrines, or contentious issues. While you may be an outspoken critic of affirmative
action or organized religion, the admissions committee may be offended by your
views. Don’t be inappropriate.
• Do not reiterate your academic accomplishments, unless they are not evident from
your transcripts and test scores. As an example, a major family crisis or personal
catharsis resulting in a drastic change in your grades is worth discussing, whereas
your being on the Honor Roll most semesters is not. Furthermore, your grades are
already documented on your transcript, and you should take this opportunity to give
the committee information they cannot find in other parts of your application.
• Do not solely rely on the spell checker. It will not correct words that are improperly
used such as “form” instead of “from” and “none” versus “one.”
• Avoid using the passive voice. Extensive use of the passive voice will rob your
personal statement of clarity, brevity and impact. Sentences written in the active
voice are more powerful and succinct than those written in the passive voice. The
passive voice occurs when the subject receives the action of the verb and is acted
upon by someone or something. Generally, passive voice uses a verb form of “to
be.” An example of passive voice would be, “The fire is seen by Joe.” When using
the active voice, the subject performs the action of the verb: “Joe sees the fire.” Trial
lawyers may use passive voice as a rhetorical device to avoid attributing actions to a
subject. However, the personal statement is not the place for passive voice.
• Do not write about a romance. This is an example of an inappropriate topic.
• Do not be too influenced by one person or idea. Show you can synthesize ideas and
choose your own way.
• Do not sound arrogant. This will score you zero points for positive ethos.
• Do not use the words, “And at that moment I knew…”.
10. Top 10 Personal Statement Mistakes
This list, culled from discussions with admissions directors, lists the ten biggest mistakes
applicants often make on their law school personal statements. Most of these were discussed
above.
1. Spelling and grammatical errors.
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