Tip 35 : Don't use clichés
Most people instinctively avoid clichés, but this is worth noting for two reasons:
If you didn't realise that they should be avoided, you do now
The reason for avoiding them might surprise you
It's true that some people find clichés annoying, and that in itself is a good reason to avoid them in official documentation such as a personal statement.
But more than this, clichés break the golden rule of writing - Always be interesting.
You see, the problem with clichés is the very fact that they are clichés; namely, that as soon as you start reading "at the end of the day", you're already predicting what the next words are going to be.
Nothing is as boring as predictability, and once your reader is bored - even if just for a second - you've lost them. Good luck getting them back.
Tip 36 : Inject your personality
Much like your unique advantage, this is going to be a little difficult to quantify, but it is an advanced tool that will help you to make a big impact with your personal statement.
To a certain extent, the way you naturally write is going to be a reflection of who you are. For that reason, when we write statements we always ask our clients to send us their own version of the statement. That helps us to get a feel for how they write, and we're often able to add a personal touch by including some of the client's own phrases and sentences in the final statement.
Now you may have noticed that I write in quite a conversational manner, at least when I'm writing articles like this. That's quite deliberate - I aim to write in the same manner that I would speak to a friend... Or more accurately, in the manner that I would like to speak to a friend. You'll notice that there are no 'Umms' or 'Ahhs' in evidence!
This is a good basis for all writing, and whilst official documents like personal statements will require more formal language, it's still worth considering whether your writing sounds like something you might actually say. If it doesn't, there's a good chance you're trying to sound like Wikipedia - boring.
You're trying to strike a balance between formality and personality, and ultimately it's going to be a judgement call. As I mentioned earlier, this is quite an advanced writing tool, but it's definitely worth your consideration. If you manage to pull it off - even just a bit - your personal statement will be more interesting, more readable, and more powerful.