can chatgpt write my personal statement

Using ChatGPT to Write a Statement of Purpose (Personal Statement)

Writing a compelling Statement of Purpose (SOP) or Personal Statement is a crucial part of the graduate school application process. It requires careful thought, self-reflection, and effective storytelling. With ChatGPT and several AI writing tools out there, you can create a standout SOP, here’s how:

1. Generating Ideas and Inspiration:

One of the initial challenges when writing an SOP is brainstorming ideas and finding inspiration. ChatGPT can serve as a creative partner by generating prompts and asking thought-provoking questions. Try asking questions like:

“What are some topics for a personal statement of a student applying to Masters in Biotechnology?” “Suggest themes for an SOP for MS in Data Science”

2. Structuring and Organizing your SOP:

ChatGPT can save you tons of time by making a base draft of the essay. To get started, ask something like:

“Write an SOP for a student applying to MS in Chemical engineering who is passionate about developing eco-friendly alternative fuels.”

3. Refining Language and Style:

A well written story makes all the difference. ChatGPT can help refine your writing style by offering suggestions for sentence structure, word choice, and phrasing. Prompts like are useful here:

“Improve the style of writing of the following paragraph: …”

4. Maintaining Authenticity:

Do NOT, and we can’t emphasize this enough: Do not copy paste direct essays from ChatGPT. Remember that the final piece should reflect your personal experiences, goals, and aspirations. Use ChatGPT as the first draft, but always modify it with your unique story. Copy-paste essays are easy to detect and will cost you an admission.

5. Final review:

Fix the grammar and get feedback from some friends / professors on your essay. Another cool way to use ChatGPT is to ask for improvements on your essay, but use your human judgment while receiving feedback.

Conclusion:

The use of AI can greatly enhance the process of writing a standout Statement of Purpose. It offers assistance in generating ideas, organizing your thoughts, refining language, and identifying errors. However, it's crucial to remember that ChatGPT is a tool, and the final product should reflect your own voice and experiences. Alternatively, with a thoughtful approach and the support of GradGPT, you can craft an impactful SOP that effectively communicates your passion, qualifications, and aspirations to the admissions committee.

ChatGPT, Law School Application Personal Statements, and the LSAT Writing Sample

By Troy Lowry

Worries about ChatGPT being used to write law school personal statements are growing. This generative AI program can easily craft high-quality personal statements, leading some schools to be concerned. Should they be?

Law school applicants have often sought help with their personal statements, and an industry has even grown from this need, with some consultants charging thousands of dollars per applicant. Some argue that ChatGPT and other generative AIs might simply level the playing field, aiding those who can’t afford these high-priced consultants.

In the end, efforts to stop applicants from using ChatGPT might prove futile. The same difficulties that make preventing applicants from using consultants nearly impossible — such as the challenge of determining if the writing is truly original — will likely make it extremely tough for schools to stop the use of AI like ChatGPT.

What Does “Using ChatGPT” Mean Anyway?

The question of how to define ChatGPT usage is riddled with complexity and ambiguity. Having ChatGPT write an entire personal statement, including fabricating facts, is clearly unethical. Yet a survey by Best Colleges revealed that 20% of respondents don’t believe that “using AI tools to complete assignments and exams constitutes cheating or plagiarism.”

Are one-in-five students sincerely convinced that submitting work generated by ChatGPT is permissible? Does this statistic suggest that one-in-five prospective lawyers are so unscrupulous as to claim someone else’s work as their own?

I believe that the issue is more nuanced, and the question itself is too broad.

ChatGPT’s functionality is vast. It can not only draft an entire personal statement but also:

• Generate a range of ideas suitable for your personal statement
• Evaluate a list of ideas you’ve created, highlighting the strongest ones
• Analyze your personal statement and suggest improvements
• Identify logical inconsistencies in the personal statement
• Proofread the personal statement, correcting punctuation and grammar errors

While preparing this blog post, I inquired of ChatGPT how it might assist me, aside from writing my personal statement. The AI suggested it could aid applicants in understanding their own motivations for pursuing legal studies and identifying long-term goals, forming a robust foundation for the personal statement. Anything that helps people understand their own motivations, even a computer program, counts as a benefit in my book.

To many, these uses of ChatGPT seem entirely reasonable. If friends can review your personal statement and provide feedback, why not employ ChatGPT? While a (hopefully extremely small) segment of the applicant population is unethical, the majority of the one-in-five respondents who disagreed with the statement about ChatGPT and cheating likely have a more nuanced understanding of the tool. They recognize legitimate uses that most would not consider dishonest.

However, what if a law school decided to ban all use of ChatGPT for personal statements? Would they be able to tell who used ChatGPT?

Can ChatGPT-Generated Content Be Detected?

Many products in today’s competitive market profess the ability to detect whether text was written by ChatGPT. My personal exploration of these tools has yielded results that are unreliable.

On the positive side, they were quite proficient at identifying texts generated by ChatGPT without alterations, marking them with a high rate of accuracy.

Curiosity led me to task ChatGPT with mimicking particular styles, such as those of Maya Angelou, Ernest Hemingway, and Yosemite Sam. Surprisingly, most of the detection products maintained a high rate of accuracy.

However, a comprehensive test should not only flag texts authored by ChatGPT but also accurately identify those that were NOT. I found myself scandalized when one tool repeatedly and erroneously identified my own work as likely written by ChatGPT. While I admit my writing may not be flawless, I like to believe it’s far from robotic! (Of course, the ultimate judgment lies with you, the reader.)

Taking the experiment further, I used a process known as fine-tuning , in which I trained ChatGPT with 100 paragraphs of my writing style. After running it through the training, I instructed ChatGPT to “write like Troy” for a law school personal statement. The result? A well-crafted statement that evaded all ChatGPT detectors. This process required significant expertise, work, and some expense, so it’s unlikely the average applicant would endure such an ordeal. But tools are already appearing on the web to do similar training at less cost and with no expertise in generative AI needed.

This experiment revealed a crucial insight: the development of AI tools is accelerating at a pace that outstrips the advancement of detection tools.

Ultimately, I halted my testing prior to completing the entire planned examination. While the majority of results were correct, the inconsistency was alarming. I grew concerned that even one false positive could lead to unwarranted consequences.

I pondered ways to render this technology useful for law school decision-making. LSAC prides itself on being the “gold standard” and only delivering to schools products used to evaluate applicants that we can verify are of the highest quality. While they have their uses, these detection tools did not appear to meet that high standard.

Then I came across an article detailing how OpenAI had discontinued their product designed to detect AI-written text, citing “low accuracy.” If even the experts behind ChatGPT can’t reliably discern what was written by their creation, then the possibility that anyone else can seems a distant hope. It seems to me that the implications of this realization extend beyond mere curiosity, touching on broader questions about the evolving relationship between technology and authenticity.

LSAC’s Writing Sample: A Proctored Way to See How the Applicant Writes

All is not lost in this quest for authenticity, however! As part of the LSAT, every applicant is required to complete the LSAT Writing sample. This unscored essay, given under timed, proctored conditions, presents an ideal opportunity to assess an applicant’s writing ability.

Recognizing the inherent value of the LSAT Writing sample in assessing an applicant’s writing skill, I became intrigued at how AI might further contribute to this assessment. Could the power of artificial intelligence be harnessed to compare and contrast different writing samples? This sparked an experiment using ChatGPT’s ability to evaluate the authenticity of authorship between two different pieces of writing.

ChatGPT can take two pieces of writing, compare them, and give a confidence level as to whether they were written by the same author. As an interesting bit of research, I used this method to compare personal statements and writing samples from the same author and from different authors to see if AI could accurately tell the ones written by the same author.

The results? Not so hot. One major issue is that these are written under very different conditions. The LSAT Writing sample demands quick thinking within a 35-minute timeframe, requiring the applicant to read a prompt and then rapidly organize and articulate their thoughts. Conversely, the personal statement is typically crafted over weeks or even months and often undergoes numerous revisions.

Moreover, the tone between these two pieces is strikingly different, with the personal statement being intimate and reflective, while the writing sample is a more detached and analytical argument.

Despite these challenges, the AI managed to predict correctly better than two-thirds of the time whether the author was the same or not and provided reasons to support its predictions.

However, while impressive, this is not good enough when evaluating applicants. Both law schools and applicants depend on our products to be extremely precise. Mere “impressive” falls short when stakes as high as admissions are in play. Consequently, while this was an enlightening experiment and the insights may contribute to the development of future products, the technology is not yet accurate enough to be integrated into LSAC’s current offerings. This experience serves as a sobering reminder that even the most advanced AI tools must be approached with caution and clear understanding of their limitations.

Conclusion: Might the Carrot Work Better Than the Stick?

As we’ve seen, ChatGPT can be utilized in various ways, some more controversial than others. The reliability of detecting items penned by ChatGPT, without mistakenly identifying an applicant’s work as machine-generated, remains dubious. Even a detection system that is 100% accurate today could soon be rendered obsolete by the rapid advancements in AI, making it unreliable.

In short, a complete ban of ChatGPT would be challenging to enforce and justify.

Might schools find more success with a different approach instead of attempting to ban ChatGPT? They could state that while applicants are free to use ChatGPT or other generative AI, personal statements written without such assistance tend to feel more authentic, and this authenticity could influence admissions decisions.

Applicants, always eager for an edge, would then have a compelling reason to use their own voice. This approach not only offers a practical solution but also has the advantage of being true.  

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Using ChatGPT to help write your personal statement

With the meteoric rise of Chat GPT and other AI tools, it makes sense that you might want to use them as a power-up to write a great university application. While we absolutely recommend against copying and pasting a personal statement directly from an AI tool straight into your application, there are ways you can use it ethically and to give you a boost. Here’s our advice for using Chat GPT and other AI tools to write a great personal statement that enhances your uni application.

Posted 21 December 2023

How can AI help with writing my personal statement?

AI, or artificial intelligence, is massively changing the world of work, research and content creation. As these tools develop, they’re helping students in many different ways, including writing personal statements for university applications. 

There are many AI tools out there, but  Chat GPT is making the most noise. This tool, when asked the right questions, can generate human-quality text across a wide range of topics. 

When writing your personal statement, Chat GPT and other AI tools can: 

• Brainstorm ideas – come up with ideas that are related to the subject you want to study, your interests or your experiences. 
• Help with structure – AI tools are brilliant for suggesting a strong structure and can help organise your thoughts and ideas into a tight and persuasive narrative.
• Proofread – they can check through your statement for spelling and grammar errors, plus suggest some ways you could improve your writing and style. 
• Detect plagiarism – use the tools to ensure you haven’t copied anyone else’s words or taken anyone’s intellectual property.

Other AI tools

There are lots of other AI tools you could use to help write your personal statement, here are just a couple of alternatives: Google Bard , Grammarly (great for proofing), Bing AI ,  Open AI Playground

How to use Chat GPT and other tools effectively (and ethically)

Use them as a starting point.

AI tools can help you get started. No one likes staring at a blank page and they’re a great way of getting your creative juices flowing. While they may be able to write “human-quality text” an AI’s writing is no substitute for human creativity and originality. You’ll have your unique way of writing, and the personal statement is your first chance to show a university your personality, who you are and why you care. 

Check your work

If you are using tools to suggest ideas and you’ve worked with AI to generate your personal statement, be sure to check through your work carefully and ask “Does this sound like me?”. Often, text generated by AI can read a little oddly and won't convey your tone of voice or writing style.

Get feedback 

Once you’ve finished writing your personal statement ask for a teacher, mentor or someone who knows you well to read it for you and give suggestions. Getting feedback from other people is a great way to improve your personal statement and could help make it more emotive or relevant. 

How to avoid plagiarism 

While it’s pretty tempting to have ChatGPT or another AI tool write your whole personal statement, the ethics of that aren’t great and universities really don't like plagiarism. In a world where the use of AI is on the rise, admissions departments and UCAS are hot on spotting if it’s not your own work (UCAS have a tool to check for AI plagiarism). Also, you don’t want to get into bad habits before starting at university, when you’ll probably be writing a lot more. 

Your personal statement is a chance to show a university who you are. While an AI tool can write a generic personal statement, it can’t take on your personality and it definitely can’t go out and get work experience for you. Universities want to hear your authentic voice and find out what interests, hobbies and skills you have.

Here are some tips for avoiding plagiarism when using AI:

• Don’t copy and paste directly from the platform  – if the tool has suggested some text, use that as a jumping-off point, or ask it for short bullet points or ideas rather than writing the full text for you (like we have with this article).
• Check for plagiarism  – once you’ve written your personal statement, run it through a plagiarism checker to ensure you haven’t used someone else’s words.

More help with your application

We recommend checking the  UCAS website  for the latest advice and guidelines about using AI for your personal statement . But, if you’re worried about applying for university, have a look at our advice for your application. You can find loads of advice on how to get started and what to include.

Google Bard was used to generate ideas for the structure and content of this article, and Grammarly was used to check the spelling and grammar.

What should you do next?

Download your free personal statement guide.

Get even more advice on starting, writing and checking your personal statement. Plus, be inspired by real personal statement examples from our students!

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How to Write a Personal Statement Using AI and ChatGPT

What is a personal statement.

A personal statement or personal essay is a written document that often accompanies college/university, job, scholarship, or grant applications. It is an application essay in which an individual shares information about themselves, their background, experiences, goals, and aspirations. It can be submitted to provide admissions committees with insights into a student's or academic interests, achievements, and reasons for wanting to pursue a particular course of study.

Alternatively, the purpose of a personal statement can be to highlight a job seeker's relevant skills and work experience, to describe a student's financial needs and how receiving a scholarship would help them achieve their educational goals, or to explain a researcher's interests and the potential impact of their proposed work. A personal statement should be well-written, concise, and tailored to the specific purpose and audience. It offers applicants the opportunity to stand out and provide a more personal and comprehensive view of themselves beyond what can be conveyed through grades or one’s resume.

Should I use AI tools like ChatGPT to write a personal statement?

The short answer is no, you should not use an AI personal statement generator to write your application essay for you. Why not? The most important reason is that overreliance on AI tools to generate text that you then simply copy-paste into your application can be considered plagiarism or cheating by admissions committees and scholarship reviewers—this could negatively affect your chances of being considered.

Another important reason not to include an AI-generated personal statement in your application is that it won’t be personal . AI-generated content is based on patterns and data from various existing sources, and those cannot reflect your unique experiences, motivations, and personality. For example, if you let ChatGPT write a personal statement for an application to law school, it might output something like this:

As you can see, this statement is well written but lacks content—it is made up of common key words and platitudes that could describe anyone eager to become a lawyer. What the admission committee wants to know, however, is where your “passion for justice” came from. Is a relative of yours a jurist and has inspired you? Or has your family suffered some kind of injustice and you are now determined to become a professional and put things right? ChatGPT does not know such details and cannot add examples or personal flavor to your text.

AI tools may also not understand the specific context or requirements of an application, and may generate content that is irrelevant or inappropriate for your purpose. This can lead to your application being sorted out early on in the selection process.

What AI tools can help you with, however, is the generation of ideas to draft your statement or the correction of the grammar, flow, and style of your text.

How to Use ChatGPT and AI Tools to Write a Personal Statement

ChatGPT and other AI tools can help you generate ideas , draft your statement , and revise it. Just make sure the rules and regulations of the school or funding organization you apply to allow AI assistance and declare it honestly if necessary. It is also always advised to ask human teachers or mentors for feedback before you submit your application.

1. Use ChatGPT to make your personal statement draft unique

Instead of using AI personal statement writers to produce very generic statements that don’t describe who you are, you can let ChatGPT figure out what might be unique about your life story if you are unsure where to start: Feed your CV into the bot and ask it to extract interesting and notable details. Since ChatGPT is trained on a large set of existing texts that includes such essays, it can come up with useful ideas that might really help you stand out from the crowd.

2. Write a personal statement outline and let AI tools like ChatGPT fill in the details

If you need more hands-on assistance with developing your writing, feed an outline (maybe bullet points) of the aspects you want to include in your statement into ChatGPT or a similar bot, and then ask the tool to connect the points with well-written sentences. Make sure you check for accuracy, because ChatGPT is prone to making things up if there are gaps, and revise the text as often as possible so that it reads like your own voice.

3. Edit and paraphrase your personal statement with AI tools as you draft

If you are looking for help with correcting and improving your writing, there are more specialized tools than ChatGPT (which is more of an all-rounder). As these specific tools, such as the Wordvice free AI Writing Assistant , rely on more human input, they do not pose any ethical dilemma. For example, you can simply draft your own statement and then use the Wordvice free AI Proofreading Tool , AI Paraphrasing Tool , and AI Summarizer to help you correct your grammar and improve the clarity and flow of your text.

AI Personal Statement Examples

Look at the below personal statement examples created for different types of applications/purposes and see how ChatGPT and other AI tools can help you improve them.

AI Common App personal statement example

Let’s say you chose the following prompt for writing a college personal statement that is part of most college applications:

What challenges/obstacles have you faced? How have they influenced your personal growth?

An AI bot can only write a generic reply to such questions, but you need to generate a statement that reflects your unique story. You therefore need to list all the important details that you want to feed into your essay, and let it connect the dots. For example, if you tell ChatGPT to explain how moving to the US from South Korea at age 6 and having to learn English while also starting school has taught you grit and self-reliance , it might come up with something like this:

You can now play with this draft, add more details to your story, and revise and rephrase until it sounds like you .

AI medical school personal statement example

Medical school admissions committees want to understand an applicant's motivation and potential contributions to the field of medicine. A common motivation to become a doctor is a sick family member who has left one with a passion to help others, as reflected in the following example statement:

Title: A Journey of Compassion and Determination

Growing up, I witnessed the profound impact of multiple sclerosis (MS) firsthand as my grandmother battled this poorly understood disease. Her struggle to find effective treatment and support left an indelible mark on my heart and ignited my passion for medicine.

In those challenging times, I became her advocate, accompanying her to countless doctor's appointments and researching treatments. My role as a source of comfort and information revealed to me the power of empathy and the need for more compassionate, patient-centered care.

This experience drives my unwavering desire to become a doctor. I aspire to bridge the gap between science and humanity, to provide answers and solace to families facing medical uncertainties, just as I did for my grandmother.

I am committed to advancing our understanding of complex diseases like MS and ensuring equitable access to healthcare. My journey alongside my grandmother has shown me that medicine is not just a profession; it is a calling to alleviate suffering and bring hope.

As I embark on this journey to medical school, I carry with me the lessons of empathy, determination, and the profound impact of compassionate care. My goal is to make a meaningful difference in the lives of patients, just as medicine has done for my family.

However, what sometimes happens when we are reflecting on our past and reframing parts of it for a specific purpose is that we get lost in our memories and can’t really judge anymore whether our text has a logical structure that a reader can follow.

The Wordvice free AI Text Summarizer can help you in such a situation, as it can check the logical connections between paragraphs and the overall logical flow of your medical personal statement: Copy-and-paste your statement into the left-hand box and click “Summarize,” and the AI will give you a list of the main points:

The author witnessed the impact of multiple sclerosis (MS) on their grandmother.

They accompanied her to appointments and researched treatments.

This taught them the power of empathy and need for compassionate, patient-centered care.

The author's goal is to become a doctor and bridge the gap between science and humanity.

They want to provide answers and solace to families facing medical uncertainties.

They believe medicine is a calling to alleviate suffering and bring hope.

Their goal is to make a difference in the lives of patients, as medicine has done for their family.

Now you can easily check the overall flow of your text and the connections between points and paragraphs, and can add or remove details as necessary.

AI resume personal statement example

A resume personal statement, or a career summary, is a brief section at the beginning of a resume that provides an overview of your qualifications, skills, and career goals. Its primary purpose is to grab the attention of potential employers, and it is therefore essential that it is intriguing, concise, and absolutely flawless. The free AI Proofreader can help you with the fine-tuning of this statement: paste it into the left-hand box, choose your correction level (light - standard - intensive - concise) and click on the flagged errors to receive feedback and make corrections:

Using AI Tools and Human Editing for Your Personal Statement

Even if you follow all these tips and make use of all that AI tools have to offer, it is a good idea to let a professional human editor proofread your personal statement AI-assisted version before submitting your application. Wordvice’s Editing and Proofreading Services , especially our Personal Statement Editing Services , are all you need to perfect your writing.

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How Can I Use ChatGPT for My Personal Statement?

Learn how you can use ChatGPT to enhance your personal statement whilst retaining your original voice and without risking plagiarism.

• Introduction
• How Not To Use ChatGPT
• How To Use ChatGPT

With AI - powered tools such as ChatGPT becoming increasingly popular, we are seeing more and more applicants wondering about how to use these tools to help their university application.  

Whilst harnessing AI can be very beneficial, danger this way lies: over-reliance on AI can result in your work being flagged for plagiarism and risks your applications being rejected.  

In this blog, we will show you the dangers of using ChatGPT too directly (for drafting your final statement, for example), before walking you through a number of other ways to use AI technology in fruitful ways that are allowed by universities.   

WRITING A PERSONAL STATEMENT FOR YOUR UCAS APPLICATION? 

Our Personal Statement packages pair you with an Oxbridge-graduate subject-specialist who talks you through the subject, helps you find topics that interest you, and helps improve your personal statement drafts.

The golden rule of ChatGPT is to never ever use it to actually write your work for you. Regardless of whether you are feeding it with resources, giving it suggestions, or going in with a blank page, you absolutely should not be using anything or anyone other than yourself to actually write your personal statement. This is for a number of key reasons.   

Firstly, whilst AI is improving, the writing style of programmes like ChatGPT is still pretty clunky and generic. This means that not only is it relatively easy to recognise when a text has been written by ChatGPT, but even if admissions tutors do not pick it up as being AI-written, it results in a relatively uninspiring final text. The AI-style of writing is unlikely to pique the interests of Oxbridge admissions tutors.   

Secondly, the statement should be as it says in the name: personal . Your aim here is to give tutors a good idea of who you are as a student, what you are passionate about, and what motivates you. Using AI, or anyone else for that matter, to write the statement risks giving tutors the wrong impression of you as a person (which, if you make it to interviews, they will realise was misleading).   

Lastly, ChatGPT simply doesn’t know the details of your subject. Statements written by ChatGPT may list various books and look impressive from the outside, but this can often be incorrect.  

AI software has been known to skip over the details and just name-drop instead, mistakenly attribute works to the wrong topic, and (worst of all) completely make up sources to reference! You can be sure that admissions tutors are looking for a depth of research and accuracy that you simply cannot rely on ChatGPT to produce.   

ChatGPT prompt: Draft a UCAS personal statement for English Literature

From my earliest memories, stories have been my most constant companions, a source of both solace and discovery. My love for English literature is not just an academic interest but a lifelong passion rooted in a deep appreciation for the power of language to evoke emotions, challenge perceptions, and reveal truths about the human condition. It is this passion that drives my desire to study English Literature at university, where I can delve deeper into the worlds created by authors and explore the intricacies of their craft.  

Throughout my academic journey, I have been captivated by the diversity of voices and styles within English literature. My A-level studies have allowed me to engage critically with a broad spectrum of texts, from the hauntingly beautiful poetry of Sylvia Plath to the social commentary of Charles Dickens. A particular highlight has been my exploration of postcolonial literature, where works like Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart and Jean Rhys’s Wide Sargasso Sea have challenged my understanding of identity, culture, and power. These texts have inspired me to question the narratives we take for granted and to consider the perspectives of those whose voices have historically been marginalized.  

One of the most rewarding aspects of studying English literature has been the opportunity to engage in literary analysis. Writing an extended essay on the theme of madness in Victorian literature allowed me to hone my skills in close reading and critical thinking. I was particularly fascinated by the ways in which authors like Charlotte Brontë and Wilkie Collins used narrative structure and language to reflect the psychological states of their characters. This project deepened my understanding of how literature can both shape and reflect societal attitudes, and it solidified my desire to pursue English literature at a higher level.  

Outside the classroom, I have sought to immerse myself in literature in various forms. As a member of my school’s book club, I have enjoyed lively discussions on contemporary and classic works, ranging from Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale to Homer’s The Odyssey . These discussions have not only broadened my literary horizons but also enhanced my ability to articulate my thoughts and engage with differing viewpoints. Additionally, my experience as a volunteer at a local library has given me the opportunity to share my love of literature with others, particularly by leading reading sessions for younger children. This experience has deepened my appreciation for the accessibility of literature and its ability to inspire readers of all ages.  

I am also deeply interested in the intersection of literature and other art forms. My participation in theatre productions, both as a performer and as a script editor, has given me a unique perspective on the performative aspects of literary texts. Bringing a character to life on stage has allowed me to explore the subtleties of dialogue, tone, and emotion in ways that have enriched my understanding of the written word. Moreover, my involvement in creative writing has furthered my appreciation for the craft of storytelling. Writing my own short stories and poetry has taught me the importance of word choice, rhythm, and narrative structure, and has given me a greater respect for the skill and creativity of the authors I study.  

I am particularly drawn to the study of English Literature at university because of the opportunity it offers to explore the vast and varied landscape of literary history, theory, and criticism. I am excited by the prospect of engaging with texts from different periods and genres, and of exploring the connections between literature and broader cultural, historical, and philosophical contexts. The chance to study with passionate scholars and to participate in rigorous academic discussions is one that I eagerly anticipate.  

In conclusion, I believe that my academic achievements, combined with my deep passion for literature and my commitment to understanding the myriad ways in which it shapes and reflects human experience, make me a strong candidate for the study of English Literature. I look forward to contributing to and growing within a vibrant literary community at university, where I can continue to explore the power of the written word.  

Oxbridge Applications Review:

On the surface, this is a seemingly well-written personal statement which mentions lots of activities and resources. However, on closer inspection, a lot of the resources and analysis thereof is very surface level.  

Additionally, the books/authors mentioned are relatively generic and we see them mentioned all the time (e.g. Sylvia Plath and Charles Dickens), making the statement and the applicant less intriguing (see our blog on overused personal statement topics for more advice on avoiding the generic choices).  

For example, when the applicant says ‘My A-level studies have allowed me to engage critically with a broad spectrum of texts, from the hauntingly beautiful poetry of Sylvia Plath to the social commentary of Charles Dickens’, they really should be more specific about what aspects of these authors’ work they enjoyed, or how they engaged with it more academically than simply reading and enjoying them.  

Where they state that ‘works like Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart and Jean Rhys’s Wide Sargasso Sea have challenged my understanding of identity, culture, and power’, they need to give more details from within the works to really convince the admissions tutor that they are thinking at a sufficiently academic level. This lack of depth is evident in every one of the books mentioned in the statement.   

The opening of the statement is full of cliches which are really best avoided. Phrases like ‘From my earliest memories, stories have been my most constant companions…’ and ‘My love for English literature is not just an academic interest but a lifelong passion…’ are hackneyed, and will do little more than convince admissions tutors you’ve got little real personal connection to the subject.   

The personal statement mentions some super-curricular activities such as a book club, theatre, and an extended essay. These are good ideas for activities to discuss, but if the applicant has not actually done them themselves, then they risk coming undone at the interviews.  

This also goes for the various books mentioned in the statement; tutors are very likely to ask you about what your wrote in the personal statement when you are shortlisted for interview, so you simply cannot allow topics that you are unfamiliar with, or lies about super-curricular activities, to remain in your final statement.   

Lastly, on a practical note, this personal statement is simply too long. It is 4,305 characters, where UCAS specify the statement cannot be any longer than 4,000.   

There are a few ways to use AI in a safe and fruitful way when it comes to personal statement writing.   

1. Brainstorming Activities and Resources

If you are right at the start of your personal statement journey, you could ask AI to suggest you some interesting topics, subject areas, or authors to investigate yourself. This can help save some time as well as widening your view to finding topics you might not otherwise have thought of.   

You could also ask ChatGPT to suggest key skills relevant to the course to which you are applying. You can then take these skills and think of examples from your own life and studies to relate to them in the statement itself.   

Lastly, if you are trying to think of super-curriculars to enhance your statement, ChatGPT could also help you come up with some ideas.   

If you are looking for additional resources for your reading list, there are several AI-powered tools available with this specific purpose. Programmes such as Scholar GPT and SciSpace could be helpful in tracking down resources and recommending new ones. These resources, however, should be used both sparingly and critically; trusting AI alone to build your reading list risks literature bias, s ome may not be up to date with errors and retractions published after the article or book, and, ultimately, it’s always risky to trust something that you do not fully understand the inner workings of .  

2. Structuring the Statement

Once you have got a list of resources, experiences, or topics you want to discuss in the statement, it could be a good idea to ask ChatGPT for a little help structuring them. AI could be beneficial in suggesting topics you can link together, or a logical order in which to place the disparate ideas you’ve collected so far. 

3. Rereading your First Draft

After producing your own, self-written personal statement draft, you could paste it into ChatGPT and ask it to check for readability. This is much like getting a friend or family-member to read over the statement (which we also highly recommend you do as well); it may suggest places where your wording is not so clear and that you could benefit from rewriting.  

Always remember, though, to rewrite sections yourself rather than blindly accepting any edits from ChatGPT itself.   

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