Picture this: You sigh with relief as you finally write the last word of your personal statement. But a thought bubbles up instantly in your mind that you have to undertake another grinding session for its editing. You mask your face with your hands, and anxiety rushes in your body while thinking about how you will go from the first draft to ready-to-submit polished perfection.
Well, fret not! Whether it be the spelling errors, grammatical mistakes, or length of your document, we’re here to help you. Our fourteen best editing tips will streamline your polishing process to achieve the perfect personal statement that gets you accepted.
Follow 14 Best Editing Tips To Perfectly Polish Personal Statement
Let Your Document Rest For A While
The writing process might have consistently caught you up for two to three days, leaving you drained. Therefore, we suggest you take a break from it and let your document rest for a day or two. Returning to it with a fresh mindset will let you edit to make your personal statement stand out.
Scan It Through The Spell And Grammar Checker
Once you feel fresh as a daisy, begin discovering your document’s true potential. Though you may not entirely rely on AI-powered tools like spell and grammar checkers, they still hold considerable value. So, scan your writings through such beneficial tools.
Read It Out
If you want to edit your personal statement like a pro, read your writing aloud. Otherwise, you might ignore various minor errors, which can affect your paper’s quality. However, when you read loud and clear, you will quickly catch any possible mistake and amend it instantly.
Get Reviews Of Your Peers
As you have written every sentence of your personal statement, you will effortlessly understand what every part of it means. However, some bits of your writing may not be clear and understandable to another person. Therefore, getting reviews from your peers and a new perspective of your document is essential. They might identify flaws in the structure or tone that missed your attention.
Ask An Expert To Edit For You (Optional)
Besides taking peer reviews, asking an expert to edit for you will work wonders. You can ask any best proofreading and editing agency to help you discover your true potential, especially if English isn’t your first language. The top-rated proofreading services usually have British proofreaders and editors who will maximize your chances of getting accepted.
Check The Spellings
Sometimes, even the spell checkers fail to identify spelling errors; therefore, you should also check that yourself. In another case, your AI tool might not be updated with the modern vocabulary so it might change the right-spelt word into the wrong one. Thus, take the help of an online dictionary to ensure all the spellings are correct.
Examine The Punctuation
The appropriate punctuation usage tells the reader how the words and phrases relate. Punctual mistakes can potentially change the intended meaning of sentences, so eliminate any such errors. Learn the correct way to use commas, colons, and semicolons effectively. Avoid exclamation marks wherever you can, and ensure all the sentences end with a period or question mark if required.
Search For Any Possible Grammar Errors
Using the correct grammar conveys to the reader that you’re careful and precise while communicating. Search for any possible common and uncommon grammatical errors, such as subject-verb agreement and using singular or plural nouns. Rewrite or split the long sentences if their meaning sounds wrong to you.
Look Into The Capitalization
While editing your personal statement, leave no stone unturned to leave the best possible impression. Even the slightest mistake, like capitalization errors, can ruin the quality of your document and reduce your acceptance chances. So, ensure all the names, proper nouns, and the initial sentence word are capitalized.
Say No To The Passive Voice
Say no to the passive voice and yes to the active one. We suggest this because the passive construction is draggier and draws the attention away from you. In comparison, the active voice makes you sound like a leader or the doer of the action. Also, it uses fewer words compared to passive construction.
Evaluate The Overall Quality
Evaluate the overall quality of your personal statement to ensure it is up to par and the reader enjoys reading. Analyze: Have you achieved your goal at the beginning of writing? Does your writing make you sound irresistibly thoughtful, dedicated, and energetic like you wanted it?
Analyze The Style And Tone
One of the last steps involves analyzing the style and tone of your writing. While you encountered the flow of writing, the tone might have changed somewhere, and it can impact readability. Also, carrying out this step is overwhelming and requires professional skills. So, you can consider personal statement proofreading from online expert proofreaders. They will ensure your document has the same professional or academic style and tone from beginning to end.
Keep It Concise And Crispy
If your cover letter or application essay is too precise, make it more descriptive by adding more information. In contrast, if the document is too lengthy, it might bore the reader, so remove nonessential details. The key is to keep your writing concise and crisp. Also, don’t repeat the same idea repeatedly, as it can impact the overall quality.
Bear Your Word Count In Mind
Bear the suggested word count in mind while writing, but ensure it exceeds the limit. While polishing your document, you might eliminate some phrases or words, so the word count will gradually decrease. But if it still goes way beyond the mentioned limit, remove unnecessary sentences or phrases.
Closure – You Got This!
Congratulations! You have taken the first step towards getting the perfect personal statement. Now that you have discovered all the necessary steps, it is the right time to work on it. The process is a bit time-consuming, but doing it right with patience and perseverance can help you get through it. And then you will be on the way to get your acceptance letter!
