{"id":56976,"date":"2023-01-20T15:55:24","date_gmt":"2023-01-20T22:55:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/?p=56976"},"modified":"2023-01-20T15:55:24","modified_gmt":"2023-01-20T22:55:24","slug":"the-best-personal-statements-are-simple","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/the-best-personal-statements-are-simple\/","title":{"rendered":"The Best Personal Statements Are Simple"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

At Gurufi<\/a>, we believe that when it comes to your personal statement, simplicity is king.<\/a> The best personal statements are clear, powerful, and compelling. They get to the point, don't have much fat, and don't go over-the-top trying to impress the Admissions Committee. The Hemingway Rules for Writing can transform your personal statement and make it a more vigorous and interesting piece of writing. There are many summations of the Hemingway Rules, but I like this one from the University of Chicago's International Association of Business Communicators.<\/p>\n

1. USE SHORT SENTENCES<\/strong> Short sentences are easier to digest. They make it easier to follow each point of an argument or story. Your job as a writer \u2014 or editor \u2014 is to make life easy for your audience. Forcing the reader to navigate through a bunch of long, complex sentences is like forcing him\/her to hack through the jungle with a machete. Create a nice, tidy path with plenty of short sentences. <\/em><\/p>\n

2. USE SHORT FIRST PARAGRAPHS <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

3. USE VIGOROUS ENGLISH<\/strong> Copywriter David Garfinkel describes it like this: \u201cIt\u2019s muscular, forceful (writing). Vigorous English comes from passion, focus and intention.\u201d This rule is really a reminder to do your homework and fully understand what you are writing about. It is impossible to write with \u201cpassion, focus and intention\u201d without having a real grasp of the subject. In most cases, if you\u2019ve done your homework, you will write with authority and vigor. <\/em><\/p>\n

4. BE POSITIVE, NOT NEGATIVE<\/strong> Basically, \u201cbe positive\u201d means you should say what something is rather than what it isn\u2019t. \u2013 Instead of saying something is \u201cinexpensive,\u201d say it is \u201caffordable.\u201d \u2013 Instead of describing something as \u201cunclear,\u201d say it is \u201cconfusing.\u201d This might seem like a small point, but it\u2019s actually quite important. Being \u201cpositive\u201d makes your writing more direct. Whether they realize it or not, readers are turned off by \u201croundabout writing.\u201d So, there you have it: eminently practical writing tips from one of the masters \u2014 or more accurately, from the Kansas City Star. \u201cThose were the best rules I ever learned for the business of writing,\u201d Hemingway said in 1940. \u201cI\u2019ve never forgotten them. No man with any talent, who feels and writes truly about the thing he is trying to say, can fail to write well if he abides with them.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

For more help with your personal statement, check us out at Gurufi.com<\/a>. Our personal statement editors and consultants have decades of experience helping clients get into top MBA programs. Our specialty is helping you craft compelling personal statements that move the needle in your admissions process! For questions, shoot us an email at service@gurufi.com<\/a>. Check us out on Facebook<\/a>, Twitter<\/a>, and LinkedIn<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

At Gurufi, we believe that when it comes to your personal statement, simplicity is king. The best personal statements are clear, powerful, and compelling. They get to the point, don’t…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":191,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11,2170,775,113,243,766],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-56976","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-mba","category-gurufi","category-admission-consultants","category-applications","category-blog","category-top-stories","entry"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56976","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/191"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=56976"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56976\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":56978,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56976\/revisions\/56978"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=56976"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=56976"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=56976"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}