How to Write The Personal Statement Essay

How to Write The Personal Statement Essay The Personal Statement Essay Yes, It Really is all about You That pesky personal statement essay. You have put it off as long as you can, and now you may even be wondering how to write a college personal statement essay after all, its not like you do this every day. The other thing you may be asking is how important is it really. After all, that admissions committee will have your great transcripts, a listing of all those clubs and activities and that community service youve done. Whats not to love about you? While that may be true, there are many other applicants who are saying the same thing right about now. Theyre saying that because their credentials are every bit as good as yours. The final decision, then could rest rather heavily on the personal statement essay or two that you write. So, yes, it really is time to get down to business, and heres your help. What is a College Personal Statement? The personal statement used to be what they called essays written for admission into graduate and professional programs. College admissions essays were what high school kids write to get into college. Both terms are interchangeable today, because students will be asked to do the same thing write an essay, sometimes two, in response to a prompt that has been provided. These prompts will all ask you to reveal something about yourself, and that is why they are called personal statements. So if you are asking what to include in a personal statement for college, the answer is whatever about you and your life that relates to the prompt you are given. Choosing a Topic The prompts will limit your topic selection, but not completely. Usually you have choices, so you need to read those carefully and make sure you understand what you are being asked. You may be all poised to talk about your future goals, but the prompt may be asking you to describe a personal event or situation that contributed to the values you have today. Very different. Colleges and universities publish the essay prompts on their websites, so there is no reason to put off getting the prompt options plenty early and thinking them through. And if you are completing the Common Application for undergraduate admissions, those are published online. Get going! The Process Heres Your Guide If you do not know how to write a personal statement for college, then this will be your guide. Keep it handy. Begin as soon as you have those prompts. Study each one carefully and make your topic selection(s). Get an app on your phone that lets you just make notes to yourself Dropbox is pretty good. Each time a thought hits you about your prompt, make a note of it. About 3 months before you plan to send in your application, you need to start. Download and print out all of those notes you made to yourself. Look carefully at your prompt again, and your list and think about what to include in a personal statement on your topic. Eliminate anything that doesnt relate. If you have selected a prompt that asks you to think about a time you failed at something and explain how you responded and how that failure help you in some way. Anything that does not relate to that experience goes. Organize your information. Events and experiences are easy to organize because they will be chronological you are telling a story. Organize your information for a non-story. If you have selected a prompt that asks you to identify your career goals, then your structure will be different. You may have 2-3 goals. Begin with the most important one first, list the details that should go in that paragraph, and then move on to goal #2. Its not that tough. Develop your thesis statement. Ask yourself why this experience was so important to you. Ask yourself how you came to have the goals you have. When you answer these questions, you have your thesis statement. Time to write the body paragraphs. Typically, a personal statement essay should have no more that 5-7 paragraphs and should never be more than two pages. This means you will have 3-5 body paragraphs. Write your introduction after the body paragraphs, making sure you introduce both your topic and your thesis statement. Write your conclusion and tie it back to your thesis statement in some way. This is only the beginning. You have much to refine and polish. Polishing that Essay Now that you understand what to write in a personal statement for college, and now that you have written your rough draft, you are ready for the following: Read each body paragraph and make sure you havent left anything our or included anything that doesnt make sense. Read the introduction how excited are you about it? Maybe not so much. Part of learning how to write a personal statement for college admissions is learning how to hook your reader with the first sentence. Shock and awe it is called. You must start with some startling or inspiring statement that is short and sweet. I lost my dad at age 7, I come from a family of 8 boys, When I was three, I got rheumatic fever. Now, make sure it is true, but you get the idea. Ready to Edit. Your rough draft has to be edited, corrected and polished. You can do the first run-through and fix anything you see. But then you hand it off to a real expert an English teacher, a relative who is an English whiz, or, if all else fails, send it over to a professional writing service and as for an edit. Personal statement essays are far more important than you can imagine dont mess around!

What You Need to Know About the Epic Poem Beowulf

What You Need to Know About the Epic Poem 'Beowulf' Beowulf is the oldest surviving epic poem in the English language and the earliest piece of vernacular European literature. Perhaps the most common question readers have is what language Beowulf was written in originally. The first manuscript was written in the language of the Saxons, Old English, also known as Anglo-Saxon. Since then, the epic poem has been estimated to have been translated into 65 languages. However, many translators have struggled to maintain the flow and alliteration present within the complex text. Origins of Beowulf Little is known about this famous epic poems origins, unfortunately. Many believe that Beowulf may have been composed as an elegy for a king who died in the seventh century, but little evidence indicates who that king may have been. The burial rites described in the epic show a great similarity to the evidence found at Sutton Hoo, but too much remains unknown to form a direct correlation between the poem and the burial site. The poem may have been composed as early as around 700 C.E.  and evolved through many retellings before it was finally written down. Regardless, whoever  the original author may have been is lost to history. Beowulf  contains many  pagan  and folkloric elements, but there are undeniable Christian themes as well. This dichotomy has led some to interpret the epic as the work of more than one author. Others have seen it as symbolic of the transition from paganism to Christianity in  early medieval Britain. The extreme delicacy of the manuscript, the perceived two separate hands that inscribed the text, and the complete lack of clues to the identity of the author make a realistic determination difficult at best. Originally untitled, in the 19th century the poem was eventually  referred to by the name of its Scandinavian hero, whose adventures are its primary focus. While some historical elements run through the poem, the hero and the story are both fictional. History of theManuscript The sole manuscript of Beowulf  dates to around the year 1000. Handwriting style reveals that it was inscribed by two different people. Whether either scribe embellished or altered the original story is unknown. The earliest known owner of the manuscript was 16th-century scholar Lawrence Nowell. In the 17th century, it became part of Robert Bruce Cottons collection and is therefore known as Cotton Vitellius A.XV.  The manuscript is now in the British Library, although in 1731 the manuscript suffered irreparable damage in a fire. The first transcription of the poem was made by Icelandic scholar Grà ­mur Jà ³nsson Thorkelin in 1818. Since the manuscript has decayed further, Thorkelins version is highly prized, yet its accuracy has been questioned. In 1845, the pages of the manuscript were mounted in paper frames to save them from further damage. This protected the pages, but it also covered some of the letters around the edges. In 1993, the British Library initiated the Electronic Beowulf Project. Through the use of special infrared and ultraviolet lighting techniques, the covered letters were revealed as electronic images of the manuscript were made. TheStory Beowulf is a fictional prince of the Geats of southern Sweden who comes to Denmark to help King Hrothgar rid his fabulous hall, Heorot, of a terrible monster known as Grendel. The hero mortally wounds the creature, who flees the hall to die in its lair. The next night, Grendels mother comes to Heorot to avenge her offspring and kills one of Hrothgars men. Beowulf tracks her down and kills her, then returns to Heorot, where he receives great honors and gifts before returning home. After ruling the Geats for half a century in peace, Beowulf must face a dragon who threatens his land. Unlike his earlier battles, this confrontation is terrible and deadly. He is deserted by all his retainers except his kinsman Wiglaf, and though he defeats the dragon he is mortally wounded. His funeral and a lament end the poem. The Impact of Beowulf Much has been written about this epic poem, and it will surely continue to inspire scholarly investigation and debate, both literary and historical. For decades students have undertaken the difficult task of learning Old English in order to read it in its original language. The poem has also inspired fresh creative works, from Tolkiens Lord of the Rings to Michael Crichtons Eaters of the Dead, and it will probably continue to do so for centuries to come. Translations of Beowulf Originally written in Old English, the first translation of the poem was into Latin by Thorkelin, in connection with his transcription of 1818. Two years later Nicolai Grundtvig made the first translation into a modern language, Danish. The first translation into modern English was made by J. M. Kemble in 1837. In total, it is estimated that the epic poem has been translated into 65 languages.   Since then there have been many modern English translations. The version done by Francis B. Gummere in 1919 is out of copyright and freely available at several websites. Many more recent translations, in both prose and verse form, are available today.