Know what you're writing
Four systems, four kinds of essay.
Formats change; we check every university's current requirements for your cycle.
Common App
A personal essay of up to 650 words, plus supplements such as “Why us” and community.
Who are you, and what will you add?
UCAS statement
One personal statement for all five choices, answered as three questions.
Why this subject, and are you ready?
Profiles
Personal profiles and supplementary applications, set by each program.
Do you have the qualities we select for?
Statement of purpose
Statement of purpose, personal history statement and an academic CV.
What will you research or build, and why now?
Weak vs strong
Six edits we make most often.
Original examples written by our team. Pick a topic.
Build yours
A Common App essay in five steps.
The same method works for a UCAS statement or a statement of purpose.
- 01
Story mining
List moments, not achievements: times you changed your mind, fixed something, kept going.
- 02
Choose one
The story only you could tell, that shows how you think.
- 03
Outline
Moment, tension, what you did, what changed. Decide the last line first.
- 04
Draft rounds
Four or five drafts. Structure, then detail, then voice.
- 05
Final read
Read aloud, cut to the limit, make every sentence earn its place.
Avoid these
Ten mistakes readers see every day.
If your draft does any of these, it's fixable, and it's the first thing we'd fix.
- Opening with a quoteStart with your moment.
- Listing achievementsYour activities list does that.
- Telling, not showing“Resilient” proves nothing.
- Hardship, no reflectionShow who you became.
- Someone else is the heroYou must act.
- Generic “Why us”If the name swaps, rewrite.
- Too many ideasOne story, told deeply.
- Thesaurus wordsWrite like you speak.
- Summary endingEnd moving forward.
- An adult's voiceOver-editing shows.
Bring your draft to your free strategy session.
We'll show you how your essays should be written, live. You write every word; we make it sharper.
Free guides
Take the method with you.
The Essay Masterclass puts a strong and a weak personal statement side by side. We'll send it on WhatsApp.