Personal Statement Outline & Structure Guide

A compelling personal statement needs both structure and purpose. Each section should clearly connect your experiences and goals to the opportunity at hand. Below is a step-by-step guide for crafting each paragraph. These are merely suggestions—how you choose to write your personal statement is entirely up to you!

1. Introduction: Hook the Reader

• Purpose: Capture attention immediately and set the tone for your statement. The introduction should intrigue the reader and encourage them to keep reading.
• Why: Admissions officers or hiring managers often review many applications. A compelling introduction ensures your statement stands out from the start.
• How:
  • Start with a powerful anecdote, surprising fact, or a vivid description of a defining moment in your journey.
  • Clearly introduce your theme or motivation—what brought you to this field or opportunity?
  • Example:
    • Weak: “I have always wanted to be a nurse.”
    • Strong: “At 10 years old, I watched my father’s surgeon deliver news with compassion, and I knew I wanted to be in a role where I could not only provide care but also comfort during life’s most vulnerable moments.”

2. Body Section (Paragraph 1): Background and Motivation

• Purpose: Explain your “why”—why you are pursuing this field or opportunity, and what sparked your interest.
• Why: This section builds the foundation for your narrative. It personalizes your statement and helps the reader understand the origins of your goals.
• How:
  • Share a specific event, class, or experience that ignited your passion.
  • Highlight any challenges or turning points that shaped your perspective or commitment.
  • Demonstrate self-awareness by reflecting on what these experiences taught you.
  • Example:
    • Weak: “I took some science courses in college and found them interesting.”
    • Strong: “In my sophomore year of college, a biochemistry course transformed the way I saw science. Learning how molecular processes influence human health inspired me to contribute to research that drives solutions for global health challenges.”

3. Body Section (Paragraph 2): Experiences and Skills

• Purpose: Highlight key experiences that demonstrate your qualifications, skills, and readiness for the opportunity.
• Why: The reader wants to see evidence of your preparation and capability. This section connects your past achievements to the future goals you outlined.
• How:
  • Focus on 2–3 meaningful experiences (academic, professional, or personal) that directly relate to the opportunity.
  • Use the STAR method (Situation, Task, Action, Result) to describe each experience with specificity and impact.
  • Emphasize transferable skills (e.g., leadership, problem-solving, collaboration).
  • Example:
    • Weak: “I interned at a tech company last summer.”
    • Strong: “During my internship at a tech company, I led a cross-departmental project to streamline client onboarding, reducing processing time by 30%. This experience strengthened my ability to manage complex workflows and collaborate effectively across teams.”

4. Body Section (Paragraph 3): Alignment and Goals

• Purpose: Articulate how the opportunity aligns with your values, skills, and aspirations. Show how you will contribute to and benefit from this program or role.
• Why: This section demonstrates your research and thoughtfulness. It reassures the reader that you are genuinely interested and a good fit.
• How:
  • Connect the mission, values, or offerings of the program/employer to your personal values or goals.
  • Discuss specific aspects of the program/job that excite you (e.g., courses, mentors, company culture, or opportunities for impact).
  • Illustrate how the opportunity supports your long-term goals and how you will contribute in return.
  • Example:
    • Weak: “This program seems like a good fit for me.”
    • Strong: “I am particularly drawn to your program’s emphasis on underserved communities, as my volunteer work with refugee resettlement agencies has instilled in me a commitment to health equity. I hope to leverage this training to provide accessible healthcare solutions in rural areas.”

5. Conclusion: Reinforce Your Enthusiasm

• Purpose: Leave a lasting impression by tying everything together and reiterating your excitement about the opportunity.
• Why: A strong conclusion leaves the reader with a positive image of you as a candidate and a clear sense of your future contributions.
• How:
  • Briefly summarize your key points without repeating them verbatim.
  • Reaffirm your enthusiasm and commitment to the field, program, or role.
  • End with a forward-looking statement that projects confidence and readiness.
  • Example:
    • Weak: “Thank you for considering my application.”
    • Strong: “I am eager to bring my dedication to health equity and my analytical skills to your program, and I look forward to contributing meaningfully to its mission while preparing for a career of impact in global health research.”

6. Final Editing and Review

Purpose: The final editing ensures that your statement is polished, free of errors, and effectively conveys your message.

Why: No matter how strong your ideas are, poor grammar, awkward phrasing, or inconsistencies can undermine your message. Editing ensures that your statement is professional, clear, and compelling.

How:

• Revise for clarity and coherence: Ensure that each paragraph flows logically to the next. Remove any repetitive or unnecessary information.
• Proofread for grammar and spelling: Check for typos, sentence structure errors, and punctuation mistakes. You can use tools like Grammarly or ask someone else to proof.
  • CPD Advisors are happy to provide a review. Email careers@wgu.edu to request a review. Please send your statement draft and any relevant content from the program, including prompts or guidelines.

Examples

Example of a Poor Personal Statement

Having graduated with an MA in English from Purdue University, with an emphasis on the writing of poetry, I feel that I have come a long way as a writer. I think that my poetry is strong, but I also feel that I need to continue in a concentrated study of writing and poetry. This is an important stage for me, and I think that continuing in a writing program – especially one as strong as the XYZ program – is the best way for me to accomplish my goals. Eventually I would like to be teaching poetry writing at the college level. After teaching creative writing at Purdue, I realize that it is something that I would like to continue doing as a career, along with writing my poetry. I have also taught composition at Purdue, and I enjoy teaching at that level as well. If accepted into the program at XYZ University upon graduation I would like to teach composition, and continue to write and publish poems, in the hopes that I will eventually be able to publish enough to allow me to gain employment as a creative writing teacher.

Better Personal Statement

Every morning at 10:00 a.m. I come face to face with the power of language to free; it happens in a classroom. The students I teach at Seattle Central Community College come from night work in an industrial bakery, from a Vietnamese refugee camp, from a 9-to-5 job in a car wash, or from the day care center where they have left their children. All come to the English Skills Shop to improve their use of language and they move through the same process I have undertaken: uncovering their voices. When they get discouraged, I read aloud excerpts from their own writing. They applaud themselves. In this room, their varied experiences count. I remind them that the only reason to learn how to write well is because they have something to say. And they do. Until this past summer, I had no training in creative writing, nor even in literature; all my knowledge was absorbed like trace minerals from mass consumption of contemporary American fiction. The writer who does most masterfully what I attempt in my own stories is Wallace Stegner. He makes the intricate webs connecting his characters visible by illuminating the tears of dew balanced on each strand. Last summer I enrolled at the local university and have been working ever since to find resonance in my own stories and study the voices within others’. Through an advanced short story class and a creative writing conference, along with literature and critical theory classes, I’ve become a more critical reader and a better writer.

I’m looking for a graduate program which combines the two elements I’ve found most valuable in my recent studies: strong mentors and tight community. I seek teachers who can pull me out of the details of works and phrases to see the whole piece, its form and contradictions. I seek guidance; the self-motivation is there. To balance the hours of solitary writing, I want a graduate program, which nurtures a supportive community. Throughout this process of thawing my voice, I’ve taken periods of formal training and applied the techniques; I see graduate schools as one of these steps. Through it expect to move to another level in my writing and myself, the ability to honestly and compellingly explore the world through stories. The stronger and more fluid connection between my life and writing, the better I’ll be able to teach that connection to others. I would like to write my own stories and teach other how to write theirs. In the end, both undertakings help us all find our voices.

Good Personal Statement (with commentary)

My awakening to the wonder of human cultural diversity began with my entry into Army Basic Training. Living in an open barracks for three months with women from every corner of the United States opened my eyes and mind to the amazing variety of cultural groups just within our own country. Since then, I have lived, worked, and traveled in Europe, Africa and the Middle East. I gained valuable cross-cultural experience as a member of a multi-national task force, which provided Emergency Medical Service in Kuwait during Operation Desert Storm. In addition to these experiences, my Army training has enabled me to develop strong skills in leadership, teambuilding, and organization. These are all qualities that will help me to be successful in my chosen field of Community Health Nursing. [In this paragraph, she shares her turning points, skills and attributes. She also connects her past and present.]

I have chosen the focus area of cross-cultural nursing because I know that making health programs culturally accessible is as important as making the geographically and financially accessible. This has been clearly demonstrated to me at the Washington Poison Center where we provide telephone information services to the entire state of Washington. Poison Center services are underutilized by non-English speaking population groups and those with English as a second language. This is due in part to a lack of awareness of or understanding of the services provided by the Poison Center. Cross-cultural health education is the key to informing these populations of the benefits of using Poison Center services. [In this paragraph, she discusses why she is applying for this program and talks about some related experiences.]

As a cross-cultural nursing consultant, I will work with multidisciplinary teams planning and implementing community health programs for underserved populations. I will bring to these teams the unique nursing perspective and an expertise in the effects of culture on health seeking behaviors for underserved populations. I will bring to these teams that unique nursing perspective and an expertise in the effects of culture on health-seeking behaviors. Washington State has a rapidly growing Hispanic population with a large subculture of migrant farm workers. I intend to spend some time in rural eastern Washington working with Public Health officials and community leaders to increase the focus on primary prevention for this population group. I am also interested in working with Hispanic populations in other locations. With these plans in mind, I am currently studying Spanish. In addition, I plan to teach cross-cultural nursing subjects in the academic setting and in other venues such as hospital in-service training. [In this paragraph, she talks about her future goals. She also describes why she is a unique candidate.]