Writing your personal statement
Presentation
- Use 12 pt, Times New Roman font
- Use 2 cm margins
- Write ONE page A4 only; do NOT write more than this
What to include
- Relevant details of your academic and education background
- How the programme suits your needs and what attracts you to the programme
- What you want to get out of the programme. Try and be more specific than ‘to teach’ or ‘to do a PhD’
- What option modules you might be interested in
- What topics you might be interested in for writing your dissertation (if you already have an idea)
- Details of relevant activities you have undertaken, like designing teaching materials, or organising short courses
- What study experience you have relevant to the programme
- How the programme fits with your future plans
What not to include
- Irrelevant biographical detail (we do not need to know about your childhood or what your parents do)
- Anecdotes and ‘sayings’; stick to the facts
- You must not copy phrases from generic templates from the internet (eg ‘it has been my dream since childhood…’); write the personal statement in your own words. This is really important because you will need this skill when writing your assignments
- Do not include more than one page; you may be asked to resubmit your personal statement if a significant portion is irrelevant
Demonstrating you are able to follow instructions is an important aspect of completing one of our programmes. Please follow the instructions above for writing your personal statement.