Law School Application Essays 2024

Jaci Gustafson Author

07/01/2024 Added

13 Plays

Description

This workshop covers what law schools are looking for in personal statements and provide you with writing exercises to begin the process of developing your individual story in a strong and compelling manner. Co-presented with the UNL Writing Center

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[00:00:00.000]Okay, so my name is Jaci Gustafson, I work in the Explore Center, and this is Malik,
[00:00:10.460]I'll let you introduce yourself.
[00:00:11.520]Yeah, my name is Malik, I'm a PhD student, I also work at the Writing Center at Clemson.
[00:00:17.240]Yeah, so we love to co-present this workshop with the Writing Center because we're always
[00:00:21.840]like sending students back and forth while you're writing your essays, and we're going
[00:00:25.860]to give you a lot of tips today, you're actually going to get some writing practice in today,
[00:00:29.920]as well, on topics that should be related to your law school essay, how about you guys
[00:00:35.960]just say your names and what year you are, so we know what you're kind of up for, up
[00:00:41.420]to.
[00:00:42.420]Last year.
[00:00:43.420]Okay, and what are you studying, maybe everyone can share what they're studying.
[00:00:48.240]Oh, I'm Poli-Sci.
[00:00:49.240]Okay, great.
[00:00:50.240]Jake, I'm also a senior, Poli-Sci.
[00:00:53.240]Alright, cool.
[00:00:54.240]I'm Sophie, I'm a junior, I'm studying history and Spanish.
[00:00:58.840]Okay, okay.
[00:00:59.840]And I'm Matthew, a junior, studying econ and Poli-Sci.
[00:01:02.960]Okay, cool.
[00:01:03.960]We've got a good variety here, that's awesome.
[00:01:06.540]And all from the former/current mock trial team, it sounds like.
[00:01:11.520]Great.
[00:01:12.520]Well, awesome.
[00:01:14.260]So you're all looking at applying to law school.
[00:01:16.560]Is anyone in the process right now, or are you planning ahead?
[00:01:21.140]Okay.
[00:01:22.140]You both.
[00:01:23.140]Two are, and you two are planning ahead.
[00:01:24.880]Okay, great.
[00:01:25.880]Alright.
[00:01:26.880]Just good to know.
[00:01:27.880]Alright, so these are the topics.
[00:01:29.760]We're going to go over today just a little bit about what role does the personal statement
[00:01:36.860]play in admission to law school.
[00:01:40.580]Maybe some tips, do's, don'ts, things about what makes a good essay.
[00:01:46.200]We'll do a little bit of that, and then Malik is going to lead the middle part with actually
[00:01:54.460]you doing some writing exercises that should hopefully get your minds going on some topics
[00:01:59.680]that you might write about in your essay.
[00:02:02.920]All right, okay, so when you apply to law school, there's all kinds of things that you
[00:02:11.020]will be submitting, and those of you who are in the process right now, you're very familiar
[00:02:14.600]with the things you have to submit, all your transcripts, letters of recommendation.
[00:02:19.880]You do have to write some things that aren't your essay, you know, maybe some shorter things,
[00:02:25.080]but the personal statement or essay or application essay.
[00:02:29.600]That's our topic today.
[00:02:34.080]The role of that particular document is for the law schools to get to know you a little
[00:02:39.720]bit.
[00:02:40.720]I've heard some people describe it as it's kind of like your interview on paper.
[00:02:46.060]Law schools don't usually, sometimes they do, but law schools don't usually do interviews
[00:02:52.620]as part of the process.
[00:02:53.800]So it's your way of showing your personality, what you care about, what you might bring
[00:02:58.920]to their school.
[00:02:59.520]And what you might bring to the legal field overall.
[00:03:07.300]So the other parts of your application, 70% to 80% of a decision for law schools does
[00:03:16.320]rest on those GPA and LSAT factors.
[00:03:20.900]But the personal statement is a really important thing not to mess up, I guess, would be sort
[00:03:26.480]of the takeaway.
[00:03:29.440]From this particular slide, reading and writing and expressing and communicating are so critical
[00:03:38.060]to the career in law that you really do have to make sure your essay is pretty good and
[00:03:45.800]well written and no mistakes.
[00:03:50.040]So hence, you're here at a workshop, you know, trying to get started, and we hope that you'll
[00:03:56.300]utilize both of our offices for feedback.
[00:03:59.360]And help as you're writing it so that you then have a really polished essay by the time
[00:04:04.680]you get done.
[00:04:07.580]Okay, so a few more things that your personal statement does for your application.
[00:04:14.260]You will get to submit a lot of black and white information on your application, things
[00:04:18.400]like GPA and classes you took and your LSAT score and all of that, but this is your place
[00:04:28.540]to express yourself.
[00:04:29.280]And for them to distinguish you from another student who might have your same numbers and
[00:04:36.140]really kind of bring some meaning to your application.
[00:04:39.580]It also is a key place that demonstrates your writing ability, your ability to write effectively,
[00:04:46.180]to engage a reader.
[00:04:49.060]They also will get that from your writing sample on the LSAT, so that's another place
[00:04:54.740]where you're going to show your writing skills, and then it is an opportunity for you
[00:04:59.200]to kind of promote yourself with the qualities and skills that are being looked for in a
[00:05:06.860]future attorney.
[00:05:08.000]So those are some other things that your essay is, you're trying to have that, that's kind
[00:05:14.480]of one of the purposes of your essay.
[00:05:18.180]So these are some things that we have learned either from law schools or from other resources
[00:05:24.280]that we use, what makes a good personal statement.
[00:05:27.120]So you want it to be...
[00:05:29.120]unique to you.
[00:05:31.180]Each and every person in this room, we have, what, six students here.
[00:05:35.560]You all are a unique person.
[00:05:37.620]You want your essays to sound different.
[00:05:41.360]You don't want to write a cookie cutter essay that anyone could write.
[00:05:47.360]And if you're worried that you don't have anything unique to say, you do.
[00:05:54.140]I have a lot of students come and say, "Well, nothing like really crazy is
[00:05:59.040]happening to me in my life," or "I never really had this light bulb moment," or "I
[00:06:04.380]never really had this, that, and the other thing." But there are definitely things
[00:06:08.460]that you care about and that you can bring out that are just unique to you.
[00:06:13.500]And that will really help your essay be something people will have fun reading
[00:06:18.840]and will really give a sense of who you are. So you have something to say and
[00:06:23.760]it's your time to share that. A good statement hooks the reader. So
[00:06:28.960]makes them want to read the whole essay and find out what more you have to say
[00:06:33.520]and how it ends. Tells a good story beginning, middle, and end and flows and
[00:06:39.540]is about a subject that you're passionate about or a few subjects that
[00:06:43.720]you're passionate about. You will write better and more convincingly
[00:06:50.060]about things you care about. And leaves a fond but professional impression. So
[00:06:55.480]there is a line there.
[00:06:58.880]And this might be Malik's expertise but there are different tones you can take
[00:07:04.120]in your writing. And this particular essay will be personal but also
[00:07:10.560]professional. So there's you want to have a professional tone to your essay even
[00:07:15.840]if it is fun. It can be fun. Tips. Show don't tell. So if you're gonna say
[00:07:22.080]something like, "I've overcome a lot in my life." Cool.
[00:07:28.800]But tell a story about that. Don't just say, "I've overcome a lot in my life." Or, "I
[00:07:35.580]want to help people." Which, amazing. I want all of you to help people. But tell what
[00:07:40.740]that means to you. What did that, what has that looked like thus far in your life?
[00:07:44.760]Tell a story about it. Show what that looks like. We already talked about
[00:07:49.920]highlighting in skills that you'll use in your career. Tone we talked about, which any
[00:07:58.720]any of us in the Explore Center or the Writing Center can help you with that.
[00:08:02.720]You know, because you all might not be used to like, what do professionals
[00:08:07.340]even expect? So we can help you with that. Consider your audience. Strangers will be
[00:08:12.720]reading it. And this might be for those of you who, I'm gonna use the word
[00:08:19.460]overshare, because I think you know what that means. But there, you know, you want
[00:08:24.700]to share about your life, but these are probably people that are
[00:08:28.640]going to be maybe your professors someday, or maybe fellow students if they
[00:08:32.640]have students on their admissions committee. And like, you may not want to
[00:08:36.160]reveal everything about your life in that case. So just just be careful there.
[00:08:43.060]And then you are able to personalize your essay for each school. Most people, I
[00:08:50.580]think, have sort of a base essay for law school. They just change a little bit for
[00:08:56.960]each school.
[00:08:58.560]But you could write different essays for different schools. If you have schools
[00:09:04.020]that you have really researched or you visited or you know people who went
[00:09:08.040]there, it could be really cool to include some of those elements in there if they
[00:09:12.300]relate to the theme of your essay. What to avoid: cliches and jargon. So cliches
[00:09:20.640]would be like what I was talking about before, "I want to help people" or "I've
[00:09:23.940]overcome a lot" or "I want to make the world a better place." Those are just
[00:09:27.720]generalized
[00:09:28.480]statements that you need to flesh out if you're going to use them. Jargon, you do
[00:09:36.520]want to use good grammar and words and good words. You want to show
[00:09:42.000]that you can use good words and vocabulary, but don't attempt to be
[00:09:48.820]jargony just to impress someone because that is immediately identifiable. So you
[00:09:55.180]may have been working in the legal field and it's cool to use terms that you
[00:09:58.400]would normally use on a daily basis, but don't try to just impress people with
[00:10:04.280]with jargon. Don't imply that you're ready to practice law already. That's
[00:10:12.500]probably something harder to run into. You can explain low grades and test
[00:10:19.640]scores in other parts of the application. There are these things called "addenda"
[00:10:25.280]that most schools will allow you to submit or
[00:10:28.320]miscellaneous. It's called "addenda" or "miscellaneous document." That's the
[00:10:32.600]better place to put those things if you feel like you have something to explain
[00:10:36.080]because you want your essay to be about you and about your goals in life or your
[00:10:42.000]background and not to distract from that by talking about poor grades or
[00:10:47.160]something like that. There's other places you can do that that are less
[00:10:51.200]distracting. Negativity and criticism of others. Talking about a
[00:10:58.240]lot of yourself. It can be difficult. Not a lot of us have had to either talk
[00:11:03.760]about ourselves or write about ourselves too much thus far in life. So it's
[00:11:09.200]tempting to tell stories that focus on other people. But this is your essay. So
[00:11:16.200]you do want them to know who you are from it. So whether that's talking about
[00:11:20.380]how that made you feel or your reflections on an event or what you
[00:11:24.040]learned from an event or it's talking about what you did, you can definitely
[00:11:28.160]talk, you should definitely talk about yourself. I guess this is the
[00:11:32.040]encouragement for that. Relying on themes or quotes. If you haven't, if you
[00:11:40.580]don't have it up on your bedroom wall, if you don't rehearse it in your mind every
[00:11:44.960]day, don't just go out and find a quote that you relate to. If it
[00:11:49.940]doesn't mean something to you over the long term, then I just wouldn't use it. It
[00:11:53.660]just kind of sounds insincere. The other thing I would put on here
[00:11:58.080]you don't want your essay to just be like a
[00:12:02.300]reiteration of your resume, because they have your resume.
[00:12:04.580]I did this, and then I did this, and then I did this, and then I did this, and then I did this.
[00:12:10.120]You can use some of those elements to tell
[00:12:14.400]a really compelling story, but you don't just need to rewrite
[00:12:18.180]your resume, because that's not very compelling.
[00:12:21.180]So I should add that as a bullet point here, probably.
[00:12:28.000]These are some prompts
[00:12:30.360]that you can start to use with generating ideas.
[00:12:35.040]I don't know if you guys just want to take a picture
[00:12:39.400]of this or write it down. You're sure welcome to.
[00:12:43.020]The things on the right are, when I talked about highlighting your qualities
[00:12:47.500]and your skills for law, those are the things that the American Bar Association
[00:12:51.340]says that you should have. And the questions
[00:12:55.180]on the left are just ways to start
[00:12:57.920]thinking about what you might write about. And Malik is going to
[00:13:02.280]lead you in another exercise that can get you
[00:13:06.980]even more creatively think about what you want to write about, too.
[00:13:10.220]Okay. Take it away.
[00:13:13.420]Okay, everyone. So I'll be leading these brainstorming prompts.
[00:13:24.620]So for the first one,
[00:13:27.840]it is very important for you to like,
[00:13:29.920]like she mentioned about creating compelling stories.
[00:13:35.360]So it is very important for you to tell stories that are so focused or that
[00:13:39.200]are tailored to your interest, like what you want to do.
[00:13:43.560]What are some of, I mean,
[00:13:47.340]some personal experiences that have shaped you? Because this is your story and you are
[00:13:51.560]telling your story, you know, and we have people that will read this, like the essay
[00:13:55.760]that you are writing. So you have to tell
[00:13:57.760]your stories in a way that, I mean, you understand
[00:14:01.700]the story that you are telling, but you also need to, like, make sure
[00:14:05.700]the story suits what you are working
[00:14:09.880]on, like what you want to achieve. Like, for example, now you're applying to a law school.
[00:14:13.180]So what are the experiences or things that you
[00:14:17.720]have done in the past that connect to the idea
[00:14:21.860]of, like, law school, you know? So you have to tell this, you know. So these personal
[00:14:25.640]experiences are very, very important.
[00:14:27.680]And they're also unique. I mean, you can have similar stories,
[00:14:31.780]but also, it also depends on how you are able to, like, write these stories,
[00:14:35.720]you know, through the use of language and other things, you know.
[00:14:38.220]Another thing is professional employment experiences.
[00:14:43.600]So it's also important for you to, like, think about the professional experiences
[00:14:47.720]or employment that probably you had in the
[00:14:51.840]past, you know, that can also help you to, like, you know, when telling this story, that you can
[00:14:55.740]infuse into the story so that
[00:14:57.600]can also know that okay not that you are just applying for the sake of applying i mean you
[00:15:01.920]have experiences you have had probably uh volunteering to in a way probably in the past
[00:15:08.720]you know that can also help uh then the third one has to do with uh academic experiences that you
[00:15:15.440]have had you know your school you know probably you attended uh you know conferences or you took
[00:15:24.240]some courses that also align you know with what you want to i mean what you're applying for uh so
[00:15:30.560]this is very important you can also hide this you know in this uh you know what class changed the
[00:15:36.720]way you think the most so these are very important for you to like create this story that you want to
[00:15:43.600]narrate uh sorry so i will start with this so the first thing you have to do now is
[00:15:54.160]to think about some personal experiences that have shaped you you can probably take two minutes
[00:16:01.040]or a minute that just jot something down personal experiences that you know that have shaped you
[00:16:06.320]probably life-changing experiences to you know that you can think about
[00:16:15.600]some personal experiences that you know that you know that you can think about
[00:16:23.440]so
[00:16:33.440]so
[00:16:43.440]so
[00:16:57.440]then while doing that you can also think about
[00:17:13.200]you can also think about
[00:17:13.200]you can also think about
[00:17:13.280]the professional or employment experiences that you have had to, you know, and also academic experiences, courses that you took out, you know.
[00:17:22.120]Okay.
[00:17:45.820]Then go back to your examples and start making a list.
[00:17:51.960]Next to each one, what purpose would each serve in a personal statement?
[00:17:56.080]What do you think connects all of this?
[00:18:00.500]What you have already, what do you think connects them?
[00:18:04.040]And what stories do you think you can tell, you know, with all of this?
[00:18:16.260]Thank you.
[00:18:46.240]Thank you.
[00:19:16.220]Thank you.
[00:19:46.200]Thank you.
[00:20:16.180]Thank you.
[00:20:46.160]Thank you.
[00:21:16.140]Thank you.
[00:21:46.120]Thank you.
[00:22:16.100]Thank you.
[00:22:46.080]Okay, I think by now you should have something, like, now, okay.
[00:22:56.200]Okay.
[00:23:01.480]Spend some time free-writing about one experience that will help your readers learn about you,
[00:23:09.380]keeping in mind the purposes you are inquiring is a compromise.
[00:23:12.020]Thank you.
[00:23:42.000]So you can choose to write about one experience that would help readers to know about you.
[00:23:57.320]Okay.
[00:24:05.720]Are there any specific things about one job you had or one specific instance in one job that you had?
[00:24:16.580]Yeah, I mean, it can be an experience.
[00:24:22.360]Like probably you had a job and you had probably a life-changing moment back then
[00:24:28.000]or something that changed the way you, you know, transformed you in a way
[00:24:33.060]that also connects to what's...
[00:24:35.000]what you want to write about, yeah.
[00:24:37.560]Or where you're applying to, you know, in a way, yeah.
[00:24:40.960]I think there's a wide variety of how you could do that.
[00:24:44.840]Like some people do that about like one thing that happened
[00:24:49.040]and what they learned from it.
[00:24:50.460]But other people will pick a theme like I get excited about solving puzzles
[00:24:58.680]and like that's their theme and they tell multiple stories about that.
[00:25:02.780]So like you could do...
[00:25:04.840]That too, if you have multiple things.
[00:25:07.880]Thank you.
[00:25:37.860]Thank you.
[00:26:07.840]Thank you.
[00:26:37.820]Thank you.
[00:27:07.800]Thank you.
[00:27:37.780]Thank you.
[00:28:07.760]Thank you.
[00:28:37.740]Okay, so let's move to the next slide.
[00:28:52.280]Part one essay.
[00:28:55.280]So this slide explores important things that you need to know, like the main things, key moments or key things that you need to like.
[00:29:07.480]I'll be your essay introduction.
[00:29:10.140]This is very, very important because you have to hook your readers, you know, to your essay.
[00:29:17.880]If I'm reading an essay and probably I read the first paragraph and it's not working, like probably use of language or the story is not like, I mean, sometimes you want to think about, okay.
[00:29:28.840]Should I continue reading this essay?
[00:29:32.340]So you have to develop an electrifying.
[00:29:37.340]Okay.
[00:29:37.460]Powerful opening paragraph.
[00:29:39.400]It is very, very important.
[00:29:40.980]I mean, you can start with your story, probably childhood story, you know, something like that.
[00:29:45.380]Just have a story that can make your reader want to read your story to the end.
[00:29:53.260]So this is quite powerful.
[00:29:54.960]So key moment, you know, childhood moment or something that is very powerful or important to you.
[00:30:07.440]Okay, for example, so I used to write poetry.
[00:30:10.000]So I attended the workshop that was, like, years ago.
[00:30:14.260]And then the guest poet said something about poetry that I had to, like, write down.
[00:30:22.480]And for me, that was, like, powerful, you know.
[00:30:25.860]I mean, it depends on, like, individuals what you experience or what you want to write.
[00:30:30.980]But if I want to write an essay now, I can start with that.
[00:30:34.460]That's probably me attending that workshop really changed my life.
[00:30:37.420]And then tell the story about how what the speaker or the guest poet said, you know, transformed me or added to my knowledge about poetry.
[00:30:47.740]I mean, that's fine.
[00:30:48.820]So you can talk about a key moment, you know, something that is very, very powerful, electrifying,
[00:30:54.340]and something that would make your reader want to read your essay.
[00:30:57.560]Clear statement of purpose that is specific to your career path.
[00:31:02.160]This is very important.
[00:31:03.200]You need to tailor your essay to what you want to achieve.
[00:31:07.500]I mean, where you're applying to.
[00:31:08.740]If I'm applying, say, MFA in poetry now, I can talk about poetry.
[00:31:15.140]Or if I'm applying, say, prose or fiction, I can say something about fiction.
[00:31:19.940]So you have to have a clear statement of purpose that is specific to your career path.
[00:31:26.140]Applying to a law school.
[00:31:27.600]Say something about law.
[00:31:30.560]Or, you know, yeah, that would also showcase or display that,
[00:31:37.380]you have experience or you have something that is very unique that you want to tell.
[00:31:42.280]So the introduction is very important, so you have to take note of this.
[00:31:48.320]Then the body paragraphs.
[00:31:50.500]Topic sentence that transitions from previous paragraph and introduces new topic.
[00:31:56.260]So there's also a way you can think about the body of your essay reflecting,
[00:32:07.360]thoughtful moment or stories or things that you really want your reader to know about you.
[00:32:12.760]And there's also a way you can transition.
[00:32:16.760]So there's also, it's easier to fall into repetition, like repeating stories or telling similar things,
[00:32:27.440]I mean, like different times, you know.
[00:32:29.320]But you want to structure your essay in a way that your introduction would guide you in a way to the second paragraph,
[00:32:37.340]to the third paragraph, and probably to the last paragraph, I mean, to the conclusion.
[00:32:40.600]So you are telling different stories, but there should be a thread that connects all these stories, you know.
[00:32:46.840]There should be a thread that connects these stories.
[00:32:48.440]You are telling different stories, but you know where you are going to, you know.
[00:32:52.340]You know where you are going to, and you are going, I mean, you are building it.
[00:32:55.860]It's like a structure now, like building blocks now.
[00:32:58.860]So each block has to, like, test something important, but then you don't, you can't have, like,
[00:33:07.320]similar blocks in everything.
[00:33:08.840]You know, it has to be, like, different shapes or different blocks.
[00:33:12.160]I mean, it depends.
[00:33:12.940]So you have to make sure that your paragraphs are not repetitive.
[00:33:19.400]You are not repeating a similar thing in every paragraph.
[00:33:22.160]So, sorry.
[00:33:26.060]Specific meaningful examples to support each claim.
[00:33:30.700]So I was talking about writing poetry.
[00:33:33.300]So then I can talk about the journals that I published.
[00:33:37.300]My poems.
[00:33:37.900]I mean, that's fine.
[00:33:39.100]I can talk about, okay, fine.
[00:33:40.200]I started writing poetry when I was nine years old.
[00:33:43.560]I mean, my opening paragraph.
[00:33:45.740]Then I talk about how I used to read poems and everything.
[00:33:49.740]But my second paragraph can be like, okay, fine.
[00:33:52.720]I used to submit my poems to journals or something.
[00:33:57.520]I mean, so I'm building my own essay in a way that you have, like,
[00:34:03.400]an idea of who I am, the first paragraph, the opening paragraph,
[00:34:07.280]that, okay, fine, this guy is a poet.
[00:34:09.540]Then the second paragraph can introduce you to, like, okay, fine,
[00:34:12.500]places that publish my poems in the past or what I've done so far,
[00:34:16.500]the workshop I've attended, things that I've done that relate to poetry.
[00:34:21.260]So I'm telling you my story, but in different, I mean,
[00:34:26.460]like different events or sequences of all of these that can guide you
[00:34:32.760]to, like, okay, you know this guy is a poet.
[00:34:37.260]He's writing poetry, and then we have this idea of, okay,
[00:34:40.320]find the places that publish his poems, you know,
[00:34:43.160]or places that he worked as, or events that he attended as a poet, you know.
[00:34:48.040]So these are different events, but what connects both is the fact
[00:34:53.300]that I'm a poet, and this is what I do, you know.
[00:34:56.260]So you can have paragraphs and the transition,
[00:35:00.960]how you can transition, like move from one paragraph to another,
[00:35:04.580]you know, because you also need to take,
[00:35:07.240]you know, a lot of the paragraphs.
[00:35:08.020]You need to build it, like coherence now.
[00:35:11.260]Your essay needs to be coherent, you know,
[00:35:13.680]so that it can guide us to who you are, what you do,
[00:35:19.600]or what you have done, and what you want to achieve,
[00:35:23.340]say, with your future goals now.
[00:35:24.820]So connect your experience to your academic
[00:35:28.940]and professional goals.
[00:35:30.220]Connect your experience to your academic
[00:35:35.740]and professional goals.
[00:35:37.220]Here, for me, I can talk about the fact
[00:35:39.240]that I probably took some pretty courses in the past.
[00:35:43.820]So for you, you can think about the courses that you took
[00:35:47.440]that also helped you to understand, say, law better
[00:35:53.360]or anything you are writing about.
[00:35:56.020]So in a way, you are heading to or shaping your essay
[00:36:01.720]in a way that you are identifying
[00:36:04.940]or reflecting different things.
[00:36:07.200]Like I mentioned, it has to be connected.
[00:36:09.220]It has to have a dot, like a thread that connects all of this.
[00:36:12.500]So here you can talk about your academic goals
[00:36:15.560]or courses that you did in the past or your experience.
[00:36:19.100]And then for the conclusion, project your trajectory forward,
[00:36:23.740]name your goals, connect the program to which you are applying
[00:36:27.760]to your long-term goals.
[00:36:28.800]So for the conclusion, it's – I mean, the conclusion is not
[00:36:33.620]the body of the essay, like the main body, like in a way.
[00:36:37.180]What completion is for is, like, you are talking about
[00:36:40.560]what you want to do in the future now.
[00:36:43.560]Okay, fine.
[00:36:44.740]If I'm admitted to your school, this is – like, I would like
[00:36:50.240]to collaborate with the faculty or the students and, you know,
[00:36:54.280]just to show that, okay, fine, this is what you are targeting
[00:36:57.200]in the future.
[00:36:57.760]This is what you want to achieve.
[00:36:59.060]This is what you are going to – where you are going to, you know.
[00:37:01.900]But like I mentioned, the introduction and the body of the essay
[00:37:06.120]have to, like –
[00:37:07.160]be in a way that you talk a lot about yourself, like your story now.
[00:37:12.300]But for the conclusion, you have a way of saying something that
[00:37:16.120]emphasizes the future, like what you want to achieve in the future
[00:37:19.520]if you are admitted or something like that, you know.
[00:37:22.060]So connect the program to which you are applying to your long-term.
[00:37:26.760]So you can talk about the program too.
[00:37:28.340]For example, I was talking about – there was a time I applied to a school
[00:37:32.120]and I was telling them that, okay, fine, I believe this could answer
[00:37:37.140]or would help me to achieve my goals of being a poet or something.
[00:37:41.760]So you have to know that.
[00:37:44.420]You are going to that school, and the school is also helping you
[00:37:48.220]or shaping you into who you want to become in the future.
[00:37:50.840]So this is very important.
[00:37:53.120]So you can mention the name of the school and talk about the fact that
[00:37:55.780]this is a place where you think you can achieve your goals
[00:37:58.840]because the professors or the instructors would be very helpful.
[00:38:04.540]I mean, they will contribute to transforming
[00:38:07.120]who you are as a writer, as a law student, you know, as an academic.
[00:38:11.320]So, yeah.
[00:38:12.400]Okay, for this slide, the Writing Center.
[00:38:21.520]So the Writing Center is located at the Love Library.
[00:38:24.680]And I think I know familiar faces who have been to the Writing Center before.
[00:38:28.640]Yeah, so you can come to the Writing Center any time.
[00:38:31.100]What we do is, one, you have to, like, go online and schedule an appointment
[00:38:37.100]and then you have names of consultants.
[00:38:42.200]You can choose anyone.
[00:38:43.620]Like, okay, you have the names.
[00:38:44.840]Like, okay, Malik is my name.
[00:38:46.300]We have Pushay.
[00:38:47.600]We have, you know, everyone, you know.
[00:38:51.040]So just choose a name and then tell us where you are in your writing process.
[00:38:56.620]Probably you want to write an essay now.
[00:38:58.460]You want someone to brainstorm with or someone to share your ideas with.
[00:39:02.780]Write it down.
[00:39:04.100]I mean, you fill it for just, like, two or three questions and that's fine.
[00:39:07.080]And then you choose, like, time that you want to come.
[00:39:12.240]Then we have the – okay, from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m., you have a chance to, like,
[00:39:18.620]make a consultant online.
[00:39:20.000]So everything is on the website.
[00:39:22.640]You can choose the time that you're available to come see a consultant.
[00:39:28.400]So make an appointment and email your draft to, like – okay, this explore.
[00:39:34.160]I can talk about that.
[00:39:35.080]Okay, perfect.
[00:39:37.060]So for any time – so you can come any time.
[00:39:39.040]Okay, you can come talk about the explore.
[00:39:41.440]I'll talk about that a little bit.
[00:39:42.480]So we like – we like you to start with the Writing Center if you can just because they're really good at getting your ideas out of you and into a, like, organized draft.
[00:39:57.220]And then in the Explore Center, you can make an appointment using Student Success Hub with any of our academic advisors or our career advisor, Lauren.
[00:40:07.040]We're happy to give you feedback as far as how does this look as a law school essay from, like, our experience with pre-law students.
[00:40:16.520]We do ask for the draft for our process a week before because we're usually booked solid and we need to, like, grab a half hour so we can read your essay before you come in and prepare some feedback for you.
[00:40:31.460]So that would be a good, like, first step, second step.
[00:40:35.800]And then how...
[00:40:37.020]Have other people read it, especially people who know you, family, friends, people in
[00:40:43.880]your field, and, you know, a couple questions to ask them, like, does this express who I
[00:40:52.020]am?
[00:40:52.300]Like, does this sound like me?
[00:40:53.680]Does it sound professional to you, if you're asking a professional?
[00:40:58.300]And just get some more feedback.
[00:41:01.080]This is a long process.
[00:41:03.360]People are going to say all kinds of things to you.
[00:41:05.640]You do sometimes have to filter.
[00:41:07.000]What changes you make.
[00:41:09.640]And some people will tell you one thing.
[00:41:11.460]And other people will tell you the opposite thing.
[00:41:13.020]So apologies for that in advance.
[00:41:15.940]But in the end, this helps you get to a final draft that you're happy with.
[00:41:22.580]And that looks good.
[00:41:24.240]And that sounds good.
[00:41:25.520]And you're welcome to repeat the process as many times as you do.
[00:41:30.400]Okay.
[00:41:33.640]There you go.
[00:41:34.320]That's more about the writing center.
[00:41:36.980]We didn't know that was coming.
[00:41:37.780]Yeah.
[00:41:38.160]So, like I mentioned, so, okay, fine.
[00:41:41.300]So, we have, like, 45-minute appointments.
[00:41:43.100]So, you can only schedule, like, 45 minutes.
[00:41:45.440]Appointments in person or virtual.
[00:41:47.680]So, like I mentioned, you can schedule an appointment online, like, to meet a consultant.
[00:41:52.420]So, you have the name, you have the time, and whether you want to, like, come in or meet online with a consultant.
[00:41:59.120]So, that's fine.
[00:42:00.040]So, sign up for appointments.
[00:42:01.600]So, this is, like, the website, the link to the writing center website.
[00:42:06.960]Yeah.
[00:42:07.140]So, I think, yeah, these are the important things that you need to know about the writing center.
[00:42:12.180]So, you can only meet, you can always meet with us, like, at the library, outside the end, two or three.
[00:42:20.140]You see the consultant there.
[00:42:22.500]Once you get there, they'll attend to you.
[00:42:25.420]Like, you always see consultants.
[00:42:26.960]But, like I mentioned, you have to book, schedule an appointment online before you come, so you can come.
[00:42:34.280]Yeah.
[00:42:35.300]So, okay.
[00:42:37.360]Okay.
[00:42:37.840]I think we kind of already talked about this slide.
[00:42:40.860]Yeah.
[00:42:42.420]I already talked about this slide, so we can go to the next one.
[00:42:45.420]Do you guys have any questions?
[00:42:47.260]Okay.
[00:42:47.700]And then we have an evaluation at the end.
[00:42:49.540]Go ahead.
[00:42:49.840]What's, like, the typical, like, most applications are?
[00:42:55.080]Yeah.
[00:42:55.480]Okay.
[00:42:56.300]Two to three.
[00:42:57.520]Okay.
[00:42:57.880]Cool.
[00:42:59.340]I'll be impressed if I get to three.
[00:43:02.080]Yeah.
[00:43:04.640]Two for the two.
[00:43:05.680]Yeah.
[00:43:06.920]Okay.
[00:43:07.120]Great.
[00:43:08.720]Other questions?
[00:43:09.300]Yeah.
[00:43:12.460]How long does it typically take for people to write the essay to go from writing their
[00:43:18.460]first draft on their own, maybe brainstorming at the writing center to get to the other
[00:43:23.780]version of the essay?
[00:43:24.400]Yeah.
[00:43:25.240]I would give yourself, and you guys are going to hate me, I would give yourself two months
[00:43:29.860]or more, honestly.
[00:43:33.640]Sometimes you just need to, like, take a break from it.
[00:43:36.900]And let yourself think and consider.
[00:43:42.540]And that just takes time.
[00:43:44.660]So, yeah.
[00:43:46.080]Anyway.
[00:43:47.120]Sorry.
[00:43:48.040]Yeah.
[00:43:49.320]Also, I'm interested in maybe, like, going to other graduate schools as well.
[00:43:53.420]Yeah.
[00:43:53.800]So, I'm sure a lot of these tips are similar for other schools and similar experiences.
[00:44:02.500]It tweaks differently depending on where it is.
[00:44:06.040]Yeah.
[00:44:06.880]I think you could use these prompts, especially the ones that Malik did, for any kind of grad
[00:44:14.120]school application, would you say, that?
[00:44:16.360]Yeah.
[00:44:16.760]I mean, they are very important.
[00:44:18.420]I mean, it's similar, so I don't think you need to worry about, like, yeah.
[00:44:21.780]So, I mean, the steps, you need to follow those steps, you know, to get to write your essay.
[00:44:26.500]Yeah.
[00:44:27.340]And because most of the steps and even the, like, introduction, conclusion bullets that
[00:44:33.200]you had up there were, it needs to be focused on the career field.
[00:44:36.860]You're going into, so you would definitely have a very different essay that you're writing
[00:44:42.720]for some very specific programs than you would for law school, probably.
[00:44:46.980]Because you'd want to address, like, economic, were you econ?
[00:44:49.440]Yeah, you'd want to address, like, econ, something related to that versus law.
[00:44:54.640]So, yeah.
[00:44:55.960]Other questions?
[00:45:00.140]Okay, we have, like, a three-minute evaluation.
[00:45:04.640]I think it might be on the next page.
[00:45:06.840]If you guys would, real quick, do that evaluation for us.
[00:45:10.760]It just gives us some feedback from the workshop today.
[00:45:13.520]Helps us make it better.
[00:45:15.240]And then that's it.
[00:45:17.100]And since I'm here, I will make sure to send you guys the slides afterwards.
[00:45:23.080]If you swiped in, I think everyone did, I'll send these.
[00:45:27.320]We do post the recording on our website, but it can take a few weeks.
[00:45:31.480]So that way you can have the prompts.
[00:45:33.480]I think the prompts are really helpful in this workshop for you if you want
[00:45:36.820]to get started.
[00:45:37.320]But that's it.
[00:45:39.680]Thank you all for coming.
[00:45:40.880]Thank you.
[00:45:42.000]Appreciate it.
[00:45:44.660]This is the most enthusiastic group we've had for this workshop that I've
[00:45:48.540]been at, so appreciate you.
[00:45:51.220]That was really helpful.
[00:45:52.200]Yeah.
[00:45:52.920]I like that you get to get started writing stuff.
[00:45:57.760]So, yeah, cool.
[00:45:59.660]Thank you all for coming.
[00:46:00.840]Thank you.
[00:46:01.620]Yeah.

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Law School Application Essays 2024

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