PS Tip 72 : Edit ruthlessly

Editing is an essential step in the writing of any effective personal statement, but it’s also the step that’s usually left out.

I know it’s hard to motivate yourself to keep going now that you’ve got a finished document. I know it’s soul destroying to cut out words and sentences that you spent time agonising over.

But a ruthless edit run or two could easily pick up several mistakes, improve the flow of your statement, and help you to whittle down the word count without reducing the impact or changing the meaning of your statement. Not bad eh?

Unfortunately it does take time, effort, and practice to become an efficient, ruthless editor – particularly of your own work – which is why it is often very effective to get a third party to edit your statement for you.

With that said, the following tips detail some of my favourite editing techniques, which are both beginner-friendly and highly effective.