The Rough Draft —
First Stage to Writing the Law School Admissions Personal Statement

The law school admissions personal statement is very important to your admissions to law school. Some admissions personnel say that they read the personal statement first, and if they get bored they won’t even finish reading it — but if it is strong it can strengthen some weak areas of your application profile. On the other hand, if it is weak, it can hurt an otherwise strong application. This is pressure, and that pressure can bring about a mental block towards your task.

So, you’re stuck somewhere in your writing of the rough draft,  and aren’t moving forward. I’ve searched for help from professional writers, as they deal with writer’s block continually. Following are some tips to get your keyboard clicking again. These short, and quick strategies might help you overcome your mental block.

Tips for breaking through Mental Blocks when writing your personal statement

• Begin fresh —  first thing in the morning before your head gets loaded with all of the other details of the day begin to tackle your task. Don’t begin the day reading email or checking voice mail.
• Don’t be too hard on yourself! — Most people have writer’s block because they don’t believe in their ability to write creatively and well. You must turn off the critical brain in this rough draft stage. There is lots of time for the criticism during your editing stage.
• Stop thinking! — Just start writing!! Lots of times, the best way to beat writer’s block is to just start writing. Beginning is usually the most difficult part, but once you’ve started to put something down to paper, the rest will come.
• Take a break! — But that doesn’t mean going to sit in front of the television or visiting the fridge for a soda or junk food fix. Get some exercise like biking, a fast walk or jog . . . go to the gym. Do anything active and then when you return to your task, you’ll discover that your head is clearer and you’re more able to get on with it.
• How about some coffee? — If you don’t have time to exercise, caffeine can be a great boost and stimulate your mind. (But don’t have more than one project open while you’re sipping your cup… You want to work on this important personal statement – not another.)
• Change your surroundings! — Got a laptop? Take it to the park, or somewhere refreshing. You may discover that changing your surroundings will help immensely. Just a hint though — going to your office or a location with a lot of distractions might not be where you can get a lot accomplished. To do your best writing you will need focus so go somewhere that you can be productive. (Perhaps you should leave your iPhone behind.)
• Disconnect! — So, you left your iPhone behind, good for you! Did you ignore the internet? The web is a huge distraction when you want to get some good writing done. Close Facebook! Don’t Tweet!! If you’re struggling with this, maybe you’d better either unplug the Ethernet cable or turn off the wireless completely. Then, maybe, you’ll be able to start focusing. Beating mental blocks and producing your best law school personal statement requires that you disconnect.
• How about some music? — The right music can be inspirational. It might be best if your selection isn’t something with strong vocals that could distract. Select some great electronic or jazz or classical music…something with nice and creative instrumentals. This should help point your mind in a different direction.
• You did do the brainstorming exercises, right? — Review your notes, then do a quick outline, writing a few main points. You can always delete a section later if it doesn’t fit. It’s easier to fill in missing sections than to blankly stare at an empty screen.
• Read some sample personal statements. — Just search the internet. (But, be careful…sometimes this could make your mental block worse because you’ may begin to feel that you have nothing original to say. But, maybe you’ll read something inspirational.
• Still stuck? — If you have some time, perhaps the best thing to do is get busy doing something else . While you’re occupied with that “something else,” ponder your statement. The angle you’re searching for might just come to you in the middle of the night!
• Keep a some kind of writing pad with you at all times — Speaking of the middle of the night, write that middle of the night thought down, or you may not remember it in the morning. Keep a digital or writing pad with you at all times and jot down your thoughts as they come to you. Your inspiration could likely come to you when you’re not near your computer.
• Are you tired? — If you’re tired, you’re more likely to suffer mental blocks than if you’re well rested. If you’re on a tight schedule and really need to finish it – yesterday – take a quick nap. The rest could reset your head. Or, some researchers tested ways to stay alert while driving and the best method was the caffeine nap. See: https://www.sleepdex.org/caffeine-nap.htm.

So, now you have persevered and finished  the rough draft for your personal statement. Now you have something on paper that you can work with! It’s not finished though — next comes another critical stage of editing and polishing it, but at least you have pushed yourself past the mental blocks!

Tags: applications, Law School Admissions, law school personal statement, personal statement