Personal Statement

Words and phrases to avoid

• Slang words or colloquial abbreviations: Stick to full English throughout your personal statement and avoid slang words. Do not use colloquialisms like "cos" and avoid using "&" instead of writing the word out in full. Your personal statement needs to look as professional as possible, and using examples like these will detract from that.
• Swear words: Never, ever use swear words in your personal statement.
• A study conducted in 2005 at the University of Hertfordshire came up with the top 10 words to avoid using in your UCAS Personal Statement. These were:
  1. always
  2. awful
  3. bad
  4. fault
  5. hate
  6. mistake
  7. never
  8. nothing
  9. panic
  10. problems
• Don't overuse words such as "also" and "in addition to". They can make your personal statement read like a list of things you have done instead of like a fluid, structured piece of writing.
• Using words like challenging, interesting, fascinating or valuable is fine, but do not use them without giving an explanation for their use. Explain why something is fascinating to you or something grabs your interest. Anyone can say they find history fascinating, but saying why it fascinates you will help set you apart from other applicants.