Personal statement

1) This is an overall or supplementary statement about your achievements, interests and abilities. It may highlight any which are particularly significant to you.

2) It is often useful to discuss what you are going to say in your personal statement with another person.

3) It is important to remember that the statement is yours.

Now answer the questions:

1. Who writes a personal statement?

2. Why do you think an employer might find it useful?

Task 6. Read Angela's personal statement. Ignore the missing words. Which paragraph focuses on:

a) her character and personality?

b) her long-term career plans and main interests?

c) her hobbies and short-term plans for the future?

Name: Angela Taylor

The role of sport and physical education in today's world has always (1)__________ me and I would like to pursue a (2)____________ in this field. I enjoy (3)__________ in all kinds of sport and, on many (4)___________, have (5)___________ medals for athletics in both track and field events.

My hobbies are reading, playing chess, (6)___________ travelling. I climbed Mount Kilimanjaro at the age of 17 with an organised (7)____________. I am (8)____________ learning to drive and am computer-literate. My full-time education will have finished by July this year and I will be spending August and September in Australia.

While I am a creative person, I am able to (9)___________ calm in a crisis and very rarely lose my temper. Working as a member of a team is something I would welcome. I feel I have an (10)____________ for working with young people and taking on responsibility for others.

Angela Taylor

Task 7. Read Angela’s personal statement again and choose the correct word, a, b, c, or d, to fill each gap.

	a regarded	b noticed	c interested	d concerned
	a career	b job	c work	d post
	a doing	b exercising	c participating	d making
	a instances	b occasions	c opportunities	d times
	a earned	b won	c passed	d taken
	a in addition	b as well as	c after all	d too
	a excursion	b experience	c exploration	d expedition
	a already	b actually	c currently	d really
	a hold	b have	c keep	d find
	a aptitude	b appearance	c application	d approval