Antigone Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Antigone - Essay Example p.). Of course, there are many other issues present in this tragedy; however, this paper would try to focus on the issue of laws, specifically on what would have happened when there would be no balance between the law of the gods and the law of man. In this case, this paper would try to cite different passages in the tragedy that may help illustrate on how the law of the gods were treated with respect of the law man, and on what may be its effects on Greek society as represented in the text. Body One of the main preludes to the tragedy was the civil war that happened in Thebes. The main participants in the civil war, on which the victor would be able to control the throne, were the brothers Polyneices and Eteocles (â€Å"Antigone† n. p.). However, both Polyneices and Eteocles where actually killed in the civil war, making way for Creon to actually occupy the throne (â€Å"Antigone† n. p.). In this case, Creon actually decreed that Eteocles would be honored while Polynei ces would be publicly humiliated through depriving him of burial, leaving his body to worms and vultures (â€Å"Antigone† n. p.). ... gh burying her alive in the cave (which was contrary to the law of the gods), starting the debate of Antigone and Creon on which law must actually be followed, the law of man (which is Creon’s law) or the law of the gods (â€Å"Antigone† n. p.). According to Antigone, the law of Creon must not be followed and that she has the moral obligation to bury the body of her brother despite it being contrary to the law given by him, given that such kind of law actually runs in contrary to the laws of the gods, making the decree of Creon morally corrupt and against the will of the gods (â€Å"Antigone† n. p.). According to Antigone, Yes; for it was not Zeus that had published me that edict; not such are the laws set among men by the justice who neither dwells with the gods below; nor deemed I that thy decrees were of such force, that a mortal could override the unwritten and unfailing statutes of heaven†¦Not through dread of any human pride could I answer to the gods for breaking these. Die I must—I knew that well (how should I not?)—even without thy edicts. But if I am to die before my time, I count that a gain: for when any one lives†¦can such any one find aught but gain in death? So for me to meet this doom is trifling grief; but if I had suffered my mother's son to lie in death an unburied corpse, that would have grieved me; for this, I am not grieved. And if my present deeds are foolish in thy sight, it may be that a foolish judge arraigns my folly. (â€Å"Antigone† n. p.) Despite such arguments by Antigone, however, Creon still stood ground in the law that he made, and even strengthened obedience to the law by creating a harsher punishment for Antigone (â€Å"Antigone† n. p.). In this case, Creon actually reasoned that there is no man that must be above law, or must

“Successful African-American mathematics students” Essay Example for Free

â€Å"Successful African-American mathematics students† Essay â€Å"Successful African-American Mathematics Students in Academically Unacceptable High Schools† is author Peter A. Sheppard IV’s dissertation for his Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Science and Mathematics Education. And although there have been numerous studies already conducted on successful African-Americans, as revealed by Sheppard’s Review of Literature, not much has been made regarding the accountability aspect of the No Child Left behind Act (NCLB) 2001 (where states are required to publicly identify low-performing schools) and its influence on students. Hence, Sheppard sought to explore the relation between academically unacceptable schools – which, as defined by the NCLB 2001, refer to schools that got a School Performance Score of 44. 9 or below – and the existence of quite a number of African-American math students in such seemingly negatively labeled academic institutions. Completed on May 2005, Sheppard’s article posed two primary and four secondary research questions. The main questions that the study aimed to address are: 1) Why are successful African-American mathematics students (with â€Å"successful student† defined as someone who scored ‘Advanced’ or ‘Mastery’ on the math portion of Louisiana’s Graduate Exit Exam or GEE) able to thrive in academically unacceptable schools? 2) Why have these successful African-American math students chosen to stay in academically unacceptable schools despite being given an option to transfer to a better-performing school? In an attempt to answer the above questions, Sheppard (2005) also hopes to stumble upon answers to the following sub-questions: 1) Is the negative school designation, academically unacceptable, an appropriate description of the schools in this study? 2) What is the role of the teacher in the achievement of successful math students in state-recognized poor schools? 3) What is the role of the school-based leader (principal) in the achievement of successful math students in state-recognized poor schools? 4) To what extent do peers affect the achievement of successful math students in state-recognized poor schools? Sheppard made it clear that his paper was in no way an attempt to generalize the situation of all African-American students in all academically unacceptable schools. In fact, the answers he’ll be deriving at will be applicable only to â€Å"a small non-probability, purposeful sample† that is limited to the eleven successful African-American math students who studied in either Lake High School or River High School and who participated in the study (Sheppard, 2005). It is for this reason that Sheppard approached his study with a qualitative design. Since Sheppard was attacking his research qualitatively, the theoretical construct used is not that well-defined. The use of a theory in a qualitative study is, after all, not as clear as its use in quantitative researches. John Creswell (1994) explains, â€Å"In a qualitative study, one does not begin with a theory to test or verify. Instead, consistent with the inductive model of thinking, a theory may emerge during the data collection and analysis phase of the research†¦. † But even with an undefined theoretical construct, it may be safe to assume that Sheppard was proceeding with the research under the same theoretical constructs that other researchers mentioned in the Review of Literature were using: that despite an â€Å"ominous set of troubling conditions† provided by family life, peers, society, and – as applicable with the study at hand – a negative label on the schools they attend, African-Americans are able to overcome the challenges and become academically successful thanks to â€Å"support from teachers, parental academic engagement, self-discipline, self efficacy, and positive peer influence† (Sheppard, 2005). To arrive at a conclusion, Sheppard attempted to answer his research questions via what he called data triangulation, where he â€Å"[brings] more than one source of data to bear a single point†. And his sources of data were tape-recorded interviews with the 11 successful African-American students and principals and math teachers from the two participant schools plus a 10-item open-ended survey that the 11 students had to complete. Conducting tape-recorded interviews indeed worked to Sheppard’s advantage as it allowed him to keep the original data and â€Å"preserve the words of the respondents† (Sheppard, 2005). Conducting one hour semi-structured interviews with each of the principals and teachers allowed Sheppard to make use of one of the advantages of the said data collection type, which is that it gave him control over the line of questioning (Creswell, 1994). Same thing goes with his interviews with the students. However, the interview with the students posed one limitation: since they were conducted in a group setting, the presence of other interviewees may have biased the responses. In fact, it should be noted that 5 of the 11 students interviewed were either reserved or brief in responding. Sheppard did use another data collection type to verify the students’ answers during the group interviews. But for a study that is openly outlined as qualitative in nature – Sheppard himself wrote so a couple of times throughout the paper – it was surprising that the second method used was the open-ended survey. It is a common fact that survey – open- or close-ended – is a method associated with the qualitative procedure (Burns and Bush, 2005; Creswell, 1994; Qualitative research). I believe that it would have been wiser for Sheppard to have stuck with the methods he applied during his pilot study, which were group and individual interviews. This is not only to make sure that he stays parallel with a qualitative design but also because a face-to-face interview achieves something that a written survey can never hope to do so – and that is allowing the researcher room to ask for additional information (Burns and Bush, 2005). Surveys, even those with open-ended questions, allows for respondents to provide incomplete answers that a researcher will have a hard time clarifying; with face-to-face interviews, though, it will be easy for the interviewer to throw in a follow-up question and let the respondent elaborate on his/her answers (Burns and Bush, 2005; Creswell, 1994). Besides, the methods in the pilot study has already proven successful as two of the participants who were reluctant during the group interviews answered more openly during the individual session, thus making the group-individual interviews seem like a smarter path to tread. It is also worth noting that the use of open-ended and semi-structured questionnaires was indeed a good move on Sheppard’s part because it allowed him to collect information in the participants’ own words and these kinds of questionnaires elicit complete answers (it is just up to Sheppard to probe further). And although the information collection with these types of questionnaires are difficult to code and interpret (Burns and Bush, 2005), Sheppard was able to go about it with member checking, where he asked the participants to review and edit the transcripts. Sheppard’s methodology was, arguably, effective in arriving at a satisfactory conclusion. But in my honest opinion, there would have been a better way of approaching the research to ensure that the result he’d arrive at will be more ‘trustworthy’. But his study, â€Å"Successful African-American Mathematics Students in Academically Unacceptable High Schools†, although not applying a methodology I would personally have preferred is indeed a good starting to point to further exploring relationships between successful African-American math students and academically unacceptable high schools. REFERENCES Boeree, C. George. (1998). Being Aware Of Your Biases. Qualitative Methods Workbook. Retrieved August 23, 2007, from http://webspace. ship. edu/cgboer/qualmethfour. html. Burns, Alvin and Ronald Bush. (2005). Marketing Research (5th ed). Europe: Pearson Education. Creswell, John W. (1994). Research Design: Qualitative Quantitative Approaches. California: Sage Publications. Northern Arizona University. (1999). Interviewing in Qualitative Research. Qualitative Research. Retrieved August 23, 2007, from http://jan. ucc. nau. edu/~mid/edr725/class/interviewing/. Qualitative research. (2007, August 19). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved August 23, 2007, from http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Qualitative_research. Quantitative research. (2007, July 25). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved August 23, 2007, from http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Quantitative_research. Sheppard, Peter IV. (2005 May). Successful African-American Mathematics Students in Academically Unacceptable High Schools [Electronic version]. ERIC. Retrieved August 23, 2007, from http://www. eric. ed. gov/ERICWebPortal/contentdelivery/servlet/ERICServlet? accno=ED489992.

The Bombing Of Hiroshima And Nagasaki History Essay

The Bombing Of Hiroshima And Nagasaki History Essay Introduction Americas decision to use two atomic bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki at the end of World War II has been a topic of intense debate for years following the incident. The bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki are one of best documented historical events in history, while provoking lasting, fervently heated reactions. The purpose of this research paper is to explore the events of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, examine the causes, interpretations and consequences of the bombings. History of Hiroshima The early history of Hiroshima dates back to the 6th century, when some of the first Shinto Shrines were erected on Hiroshima bay (Cameron, 2005). Modern Hiroshima, meaning wide island, was founded in 1589 (Cameron, 2005). The citys many canals and wharves made importing goods from the countryside easy, while its bridges connected all parts of the growing metropolis. Hiroshima had become such an important base for the Japanese military that the Imperial Headquarters were temporarily relocated there. Summer 1945 The time period is summer of 1945, the United States and its allies have been at war with Germany and just concluded peace (Mishler, 2008). The United States has also been at war with Imperial Japan since the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941(Mishler, 2008). During the course of the war in Japan, America had a very important decision to make. One of the options was to drop a newly tested bomb on the Japanese hoping to get them to swiftly surrender.   The latter option was to have a mass land invasion on Japan and hope to defeat with total force. No matter what option was selected, it was known that a substantial amount of casualties would ensue. When President Roosevelt died on April 12, 1945, Vice President Harry S. Truman became president (Constitutional Rights Foundation). At this time, President Truman attempted to fill the spot that President Roosevelt occupied for twelve years. Truman was thrust into a role that he was not necessarily prepared for and into an administration that had been operating essentially without his input (Kort, 2007). Unfortunately, Roosevelt had never included his vice president in discussions about the atomic bomb. Two weeks after becoming president, he was finally fully briefed about the gadget, as General Groves called the bomb (Constitutional Rights Foundation). Secretary of War Stimson took the primary role of filling in President Truman on the details of the Manhattan Project, which Truman had known nothing about (Kort, 2007). According to Kort (2007), the Manhattan Project was led by a variety of scientific discoveries in the 1920s and 1930s. During this time of scientific innovation, Hitler had been steadily rising to power in Germany, and before long, physicist Leo Szilard and fellow Hungarians Eugene Wigner and Edward Teller became worried (Kort, 2007).   They decided that the President of the United States must be informed about the new fission technology that had been discovered, which they believed was capable of making bombs.   The three physicists enlisted the help of Albert Einstein, the foremost scientist in that period, and together they drafted a letter addressed to President Roosevelt (Kort, 2007). Albert Einsteins famous 1939 letter, drafted by physicist Leo Szilard (who was named Humanist of the Year some twenty years later), convinced President Roosevelt to start the Manhattan Project, describing their beliefs that nuclear fission Would lead to the construction of bombs, and it is conc eivable that extremely powerful bombs of a new type may thus be constructed (Milam, 2010). The mixture of Frances fall to Germany in 1940, the belief that Germany was ahead in the race for the atomic bomb, and the bombing of Pearl Harbor soon influenced Roosevelt that something more had to be done on this atomic research (Kort, 2007).   Roosevelt quickly assigned his top security advisors to form committees on this project, and to determine what should be done and how. By the end of 1942, bomb research had become bomb assembly, and the Manhattan Project was now run by the military (Milam, 2010). The Bombing Henry L. Stimson, the secretary of war from 1940 to 1945, would influence President Trumans crucial decision on whether to invade or bomb Japan (Sherwin, 1995). On the morning of August 6, 1945, the United States U.S. Army Air Forces B-29 Enola Gay dropped a uranium gun type device code named Little Boy on the city of Hiroshima (Military History, 2009). There were some 350,000 people living in Hiroshima, Japan, on August 6, 1945. Approximately 140,000 died that day and in the five months that followed (Military History, 2009). Blackened, bloodied, skinless masses of corpses were floating in macabre positions in the Kyuohotagawa and the Motoyasugawa rivers. Long lines of shuffling figuresclothes burned right off the body; hair standing on end or singed off the scalp; skin peeling and dripping off arms, legs, backs; hands outstretched, zombie-likewere all wandering blindly after the bombing (Military History, 2009). This hellish scene was played out in utter darkness, for the mushroom cloud, that carrier of black rain and persistent death, had turned day into night and modern technology into humanitys greatest nemesis (Military History, 2009). According to Cameron (2005), after the Bombing of Hiroshima, President Truman issued this statement in reference to the use of a new weapon and promising the following: If they do not now accept our terms, they may expect a rain of ruin from the air, the like of which has never been seen on this earth. Behind this air attack will follow sea and land forces in such numbers and power as they have not yet seen and with the fighting skill of which they are already well aware and power as they have not yet seen and with the fighting skill of which they are already well aware. The Emperor did not respond and three days later, the B-29 Bockscar levels much of Nagasaki with a plutonium implosion type device code named Fat Man (Military History, 2009). Its estimated that the second bomb on the Japanese city of Nagasaki on August 9 claimed another 80,000 lives (Military History, 2009). The same day, the Soviet Union declared war on Japan. Hirohito said that continuing the war can only mean destruction for the nation. He then declared that Japan must accept surrender (Constitutional Rights Foundation). Interpretations There are various views related to the use of the atomic bombs and their rationalization. The nuclear attacks on Japan were justified in an effort to win the war with the fewest casualties possible. Some believe that because Japanese soldiers were known for their vicious fighting styles, the invasion of Japan would have led to American casualties in the hundreds of thousands or maybe even millions (OConnor, 2010). Additional explanations include that the US spent almost 2 billion dollars developing the bombs and those costs needed to be justified (OConnor, 2010). Even for their swift demolition, the Hiroshima and the Nagasaki bombs were extremely inefficient. Only one of the fifty kilograms of uranium present detonated in Little Boy the affectionate nickname given to that weapon of mass destruction by those responsible (Milam, 2010). Hiroshima could have been even more horrifying than it was if one dares imagine. After all, the best minds in the world were feverishly working on these projects (Milam, 2010). Ironically, Einstein later became a peace activist and days before his death signed Bertrand Russells 1955 Russell-Einstein Manifesto along with ten other esteemed scientists and intellectuals (Milam, 2010). It begins with the words: In the tragic situation which confronts humanity, we feel that scientists should assemble in conference to appraise the perils that have arisen as a result of the development of weapons of mass destruction. It ends with the oft-repeated phrase: We appeal as human beings to human beings: Remember your humanity, and forget the rest (Milam, 2010). Secretary of war, Stimson, later revealed that the decision to use the atomic bomb was in part intended to satisfy the doubts of that rather difficult class of community which will have charge of the education of the next generation, namely educators and historians (Sherwin, 1995). He also wrote that the sole motivation was to save American lives by ending the war as quickly as possible (Sherwin, 1995). What he failed to discuss were the Japanese messages intercepted by United States military intelligence indicating that the Japanese had been trying to surrender conditionally since June of 1945 (Sherwin, 1945). Consequences The effects of the bombings were massive on all levels. The lives of the Japanese were forever affected. Tsutomu Yamaguchi, then a 29-year-old ship engineer with Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, was walking to the company shipyard in Hiroshima when Little Boy, the worlds first strategic atomic bomb, detonated in midair less than 2 miles away (Military History, 2009). The blast knocked him unconscious, burst his left eardrum and burned his upper torso. Three days later, back home in Nagasaki, Yamaguchi was recounting his story to a skeptical boss when Fat Man, the second strategic atomic bomb, exploded over that city, also less than 2 miles away (Military History, 2009). The shock wave knocked both men to the floor and tore off Yamaguchis bandages (Military History, 2009). The engineer spent more than a decade recovering from his physical injuries. His wife and infant son escaped the Nagasaki explosion with minor wounds, but the family was plagued by poor health. His son died of cancer in 2005 at age 59 (Military History, 2009). Yamaguchi is now formally recognized as a double-hibakusha (explosion-affected person) and has become a vocal proponent of nuclear disarmament (Military History, 2009). The reason that I hate the atomic bomb is because of what it does to the dignity of human beings, Yamaguchi explained to The Times. Having been granted this miracle, it is my responsibility to pass on the truth, (Military History, 2009). According to Cameron (2005), 226,598 officially certified survivors of the atomic bombings are still alive in Japan today. The actual number of hibakusha is likely much larger, as many could not meet the strict and sometimes subjective qualifications for certification, while others have left Japan. The average age of these witnesses, however, is now seventy-three. Most have been struggling with radiation-related illness for much of their lives, and death will surely have silenced the majority of them by the seventieth anniversary of the bombing in 2015 (Cameron, 2005). Then fourteen year-old Akihiro Takahashi remembers waiting to go into his classroom then waking up with burns all over his body. He made his way to the river to try to extinguish his burning flesh (Cameron, 2005). His physical suffering had only begun; he now must visit a hospital daily for hour-long treatments for liver cancer and the admission that he worries every day about his health (Cameron, 2005). In addition to health related effects endured, there were also international effects of the atomic bombings. World War II came to an end and a peace treaty was formed between the United States, Japan and forty eight nations (OConnor, 2010). Creators of the bomb had not received the feelings towards the bomb that they predicted and the scientists soon came to the conclusion that this bomb should not be used (Cameron, 2005).    Conclusion The decision to drop atomic bombs on Japan was one of the most controversial issues of the twentieth century. The bombings will continue to remain a heated debate for many years to come. The exact strength of mind for the use of the atomic bombs will never be fully understood and the same question will be asked time and time again, Did it have to happen?

In the Heart of the Sea Essay example -- essays research papers

In the Heart of the Sea What caused an 85 ton Sperm whale to crash into the side of the Essex, causing one of the most disastrous and tragic accidents in maritime history? Was this a calculated attack? Did it see the whaling ship as an unwanted rival in its territory? Did the crew of the Essex have anything to do with the whales’ sporadic behavior? Or was this simply an unexplainable act of nature’s unpredictability?   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  On November 20, 1820 the crew of the Essex spotted an unusual sight, an extremely large bull. The men estimated it to be about eighty-five feet long and weigh approximately eighty tons. However it was not only the large sight of the whale that alarmed the men, but it was its strange behavior. â€Å"Instead of fleeing in panic, it was floating quietly on the surface of the water, puffin occasionally through its blowhole, as if it were watching them. After spouting two or three times, the whale dove then surfaced about 35 yards from the ship (81).† After diving the whale began to do the unspeakable it began to charge the Essex, â€Å"Its twenty foot-wide tail pumped up and down slowly at first, with a slight side to side waggle, it picked up speed until the water crested around its massive barrel shaped head. It was aimed at the Essex’s port side (81).† Upon noticing that the whale was going to ram into the ship the captain gave the order to â⠂¬Å"pull the helm hard up† to prevent a direct hit however the order was given to late the whale it the shi...

Influence of Rules and Regulation on Public Sector Accounting Practice

Title: Rules And Regulation In Public Sector Accounting. Date / Time: 07 October 2012 (Monday) / 4:00 Pm Location: Room Spk308, Othman Yeop Abdullah Building (School Of Accounting. ) Guest: Student Of Public Sector Accounting Group C Agenda: Influence Of Rules And Regulation On Public Sector Accounting Practise. Last Sunday, we are discussing about the rule and regulation regarding Public Sector Accounting Practice. On that day, we are discussing about the article in federal law which on part VII (Financial Provision).Initially, we must know about the establishment history of the Federal Constitution. Federal Constitution it’s also known it as the Malaysian Constitution. It is the written legal documentation that it’s formed based on two previous documents of the Federation of Malaya Independence Constitution of 1948 and 1957. The legal drafted based on the advice of Reid Commission. Federal Constitution consists of several different parts. Public Sector Accounting Practice is related to part VII in the Federal Constitution.These VII parts consist of several articles. The article starts from Article 96 until Article 112. This segment is focus on the financial provision for the government and state. Article 96, Indicates that no money can be raised by taxation or rates, nor can it be spent (except) under the authority of the federal law. Article 97, all revenues and monies raised or received by the Federal government shall be paid to the Federal Consolidated Fund and all revenues and monies received by the state shall be paid to the State Consolidated Fund.Article 98, Indicates that expenditure charge to the Federal Consolidated Fund include grant, remuneration of the royalties, pensions, debt charges, money to pay for court judgment. Next Article 99, Annual financial statements require the federal government to prepare and submit to the Parliament, statements of estimated receipts and estimated expenditure of the following year before the commencement of that year. Also requires federal government to submit statement of assets and liabilities of last financial year.Article 100, Supply Bills indicates that expenditure to be met from the consolidated fund excluding charged expenditure shall be included in a bill known as Supply Bill. Article 101, if the amo unt appropriated (approved) by the Supply Act is insufficient, a supplementary budget can be prepared and submitted to Parliament. Article 102, Expenditure of unusual urgency not is included in the approved budget; it needs to be approved by Parliament. Article 103, The purpose of the Contingencies Fund is to meet urgent and unforeseen need for expenditure for which no other provision exist.Article 104, Withdrawals from Consolidated Funds regulates payment for charged expenditure authorized by Supply Act and also Article 102. Article 105, Auditor General is appointed by the King on the advice of the Prime Minister and after consultation with the Council of Rulers and is eligible for reappointment. Article 106, The Auditor General will perform such other duties as specified by the King on accounts of federal, states and other public authorities. Article 107, the audit report should be submitted to the King to be laid in the Parliament.The states accounts’ and other state autho rities should be submitted to the state ruler for presentation to the State Legislative Assembly. Article 109, Grants for States indicates that Federal government shall make to each state a grant, capitation grant. Article 110, Assignment of Taxes and Fees to the States, each state will receive portion of taxes collected within the states which receive 10% of export duties of mineral produced by states. Article 111, The Federation shall not borrow except under the authority of federal law and state.Last Article 112, Restrict alternation by states to any addition to its establishment or the establishment of any of its department or alter the rates of established salaries and emoluments. DISCUSSION: We have conducted a discussion in the class. Before starting the presentation, we already began the discussion session. We ask the students to give their opinion about article 96 until article 112. one of our friends, Noor Amiera binti Jaafar gave her opinion regarding article number 97. S he said, â€Å"Federal Constitution related to government financial.Example Article 97, subject to federal constitution, all revenue came from state will be accounted to the state government†. Besides Noor Amiera, the others member also provides their own opinion like, Teoh Vin Sen he said state government will collect the money and revenue from state if under the federal government. Last but not least our friends Yap Kit Yeng, she gave an opinion regarding article number 96, and she said the federal government will collect the revenue from taxation. SUGGESTION: 1.We suggest that it’s compulsory for every student to read the book before they came to the class in order to improve their participation. Moreover by reading before they came to the class, the objective of Student Centred Learning because they can give their own opinion about the discussed topics. 2. Each group should be more confident when they want to do the presentation. Besides that, the presenter must ma ke slide presentation clear. 3. Student should give the full attention when the presenter present about their chapter. Besides that, the presenter must point to the audience when they want the answer.

Things You Should Know When Writing a Personal Statement

Things You Should Know When Writing a Personal Statement Personal Statement Writing Secrets The role of personal statement is hard to overestimate because the future of your educations depends on its quality. Writing a personal statement requires not just good writing skills but also creativity and certain level of mental sharpness. Writing skills are useful for every person who wants to become a good professional, but writing skills alone cant guarantee that you will write a decent personal statement. Creativity, ability to think out of the box and a sharp mind are the necessary elements which in combination with good writing skills can help you to craft an excellent personal statement. It means that you need to understand well what youre writing and how exactly youre planning to do this. These two things are the key to writing a good personal statement. Personal Statement Writing Guide Before we proceed to giving you more tips on writing a personal statement, lets clarify the terminology which people still find confusing: Personal statement is a type of essay that is written in order to demonstrate a college admissions committee why you are a good fit for their college and what is your motivation to enter this particular college. Personal statement term is also used for graduate school. College essay means the same thing as a personal statement so I will use both of these terms in this article interchangeably. Essay prompt this is the main question that your college essay is supposed to address. Supplemental essay additional essay beyond personal statement that some educational institutions may require. Now, as we know the terminology lets look at the structure of a personal statement: What is the angle that you want to use to tell the story? What key points do you want to focus on in your story? In case you begin your college essay with a thesis statement, you should reinforce it throughout the whole essay and return to it in the end. Conclusion should restate your focus in a way that lets the college admission committee know why youre an excellent fit for their educational institution. Lets assume that you have selected the college or university where you want to study. Before you start working on a personal statement you need to learn as much as possible about the requirements to the personal statement in this particular educational institution. Also, it is advisable to do a research on prospective college or university to understand its values and see if they correspond to yours. Knowing a background of the educational institution that you want to apply to will be great for your personal statement because if you mention how your life and your values are related to the life and values of the university it will definitely show the admission committee that you have done your research and youre a passionate candidate that should be considered very seriously. When writing a personal statement carefully think what you should and what you shouldnt mention there. For instance, you shouldnt mention facts that dont correlate with your achievements, traits of character and further education. On the other hand, you should mention achievements which are relevant to the spirit of an educational institution that youre applying for. Never forget that there are hundreds of others who are applying with you. This notion should make you understand that you need to focus on something that makes you special. College Personal Statement Prompts: The Process of Writing a Personal Statement Analyze questions mentioned in the application Make a research of the educational institution that youre applying for Write your college essay Revise it and make sure that its devoid of grammatical and logical errors Ask a faculty member in your area to read your essay and give recommendations Make another revision and proofread it one final time Help Writing Personal Statement: Things to Avoid Controversial or too flowery language Mentioning your desire to become a part of this particular educational institution since the young age Being too proud or too modest When writing a personal statement be sincere and use a neutral tone. List all your virtues, values and achievements that are relevant to the definition of a good student for this educational institution. Try to think about what you can achieve as a student and where these achievements may take you in your adult life. Think how they can benefit your educational institution, your community, your city, state, country or even the whole world. Use your creativity and write your college essay interestingly so that the members of admission committee dont get bored while reading it. You may even include a joke or two if appropriate, but be very careful with it, because inappropriate jokes only do harm. Of course, students dont write personal statements often, that is why it seems like a difficult task. While its certainly not easy, calling it difficult would be an exaggeration because if you follow the tips on writing a personal essay offered in this article, writing this essay ceases to be a difficult task. Feel a deep sense of your being within yourself and try to write out of this sense. Be very sincere and project your authenticity from your heart right onto the paper. Admission committee will definitely notice personal statements written in that manner.