Personal Statement.... How formal??

[ColoGirl]

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I have written my personal statement, a couple of times now. The version that I like, and have sent out to friends for critique is not completely formally written. It has some tongue and cheek and wouldn't be something I would try and submit to Science by any means. What is your take on this? Should I be a stickler for formal writing, or should I be more "myself".

Thanks!

 

[GellaBella]

Haha,

well, like you, my personal statement is definitely a reflection of me. Its the way I like to write (definitely NOT science-styled writing), the way I like to talk, the way I look at the world. It is not formal, but thats me, I can be formal if I have to be, but if you want to know ME, I'm like a crazy silly little girl. I think its probably refreshing to them to not have to read dull formal essays all the time.
I mean, my statement is still well written, but it does have some tongue in cheek and informalities in there as well.

I think if you like it, send it in.
There is really nothing I would change about mine, I love it, so even if someone told me 'you really should be more formal' I wouldn't change a thing.

 

[bunnity]

I think as far as grammar, punctuation, abbreviations and so on, you should write formally. As far as tone I think if you can pull off humor or a good story informally, it's fine as long as it's not offensive or anything. Ask the people who read it what they think of the "tongue in cheek" parts, just to make sure they came across correctly (can be hard to do in writing).