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Tip 37 : Does the job actually interest you?

Unfortunately, a remarkable number of people apply for jobs and courses that don't interest them very much (or even at all). Aside from the obvious issue - why would you want to go on a course or work in a job that you're not interested in - if this is the case it also makes it very hard to write a compelling personal statement.

You see, writing inspiration comes from many places, but chief among them is excitement. If you can get excited about something, it'll be much easier to write about it; you'll finish more quickly, and the result will be more powerful. If you're applying for something that is completely uninspiring for you, it's likely that your lack of enthusiasm will show through in your personal statement.

I appreciate that sometimes it is necessary to apply for a job or course that isn't terribly exciting, but which is necessary. That's fine; my suggestion would be to try to get excited about it, at least temporarily. But if you're applying for a boring position and it's really not a necessary evil, then this is perhaps the time to be honest with yourself and find an alternative that really does excite you.

Tip 38 : Punctuation

Don't panic, this is going to be easier than you think. You do not need to be a master of the English language in order to effectively punctuate your personal statement. I should also say, before I continue, that purists are going to disagree with what I have to say.

Nonetheless.

The purpose of punctuation is to make your writing clear, simple and easy to understand. To that end, there are some 'rules' that should be followed.

In a popular book on grammar, Lynne Truss tells a short fictional story about a panda who walks into a cafe and orders a sandwich. When the panda has finished eating, he draws a gun, shoots several other diners, and promptly walks out.

What does that have to do with grammar? Well, the story was inspired by a wildlife book the author had read in which pandas were described as follows:

Panda. Large black-and-white bear-like mammal, native to China. Eats, shoots and leaves.

The story was simply a comical way of pointing out how a single comma can completely alter the meaning of a sentence. On the one hand we have a description of the dietary habits of a bear-like mammal (eats shoots and leaves), but with the addition of a single comma we're confronted by a large herbivore that likes to engage in hit-and-run gun crime after each meal (eats, shoots and leaves).

In reality, commas simply indicate to the reader a place in a sentence where you would pause if you were reading aloud. If you're not sure whether a sentence needs a comma, just read it aloud and decide whether you prefer it with or without a pause.

Now, I could turn this into a huge how-to article on a wide variety of punctuation, but I'm not going to. This is partly because it's unnecessary, but also because it would be extremely boring.

It is entirely possible to write a high-impact personal statement using only commas, full stops, and paragraph breaks. Not sure where to end a paragraph? Well, once you've finished talking about a particular topic - say your educational experience - that's when it's time to start a new paragraph.

A huge proportion of punctuation mistakes come about as a result of the use, misuse, or lack-of-use of the apostrophe.

You're picking up the wrong pencil. That pencil isn't yours; it's Rachel's.

There are many grammatical rules surrounding the apostrophe, and I could spend all day explaining them. Instead, however, I recommend that you avoid using it entirely. There should be no need to use possessive apostrophes in a personal statement (Rachel's, John's, etc.), so rather than worrying about whether you're using apostrophes correctly, simply avoid using them at all by writing out the longer version of the word. E.g.

You're = You are
It's = It is/It has
I've = I have
I'd = I would
I'll = I will

It is (it's) surprisingly easy to do.

If you really struggle with the difference between some words, for example your vs. you are (you're), you may want to consider brushing up a little. If that's the case, Lynne Truss' Eats, Shoots and Leaves is an excellent place to start if you want to learn more about punctuation.

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