To: Pier A.

LeCompte Zambrana, Professor

From: Alexis J. Torres Rivera, student
Date: September 19, 2023
Subject: Report on Personal Statement workshop
On Thursday, September 7, 2023, I attended the workshop, “Personal Statement”,
between 12:00pm and 1:10pm, on room 117 of the Ruth Fortuño Academic Building at
University of Puerto Rico in Ponce. MEDLIFE associates and students with interest in the topic
attended the workshop, which purpose was to demonstrate to students the proper techniques for
writing a personal statement.
Workshop Discussion
The president of the MEDLIFE association, Derick, and Professor Le Compte initiated
the workshop at noon in universal time. The professor briefly explained the definition of a
personal statement and for what is it required. Professor Le Compte elaborated that the correct
format when writing personal statements is the ABC Format, which is divided in: abstract, body
and conclusion.
When writing a personal document, the audience should describe themselves and mention
their qualities and skills that are beneficial for the matter they are applicating for. The professor
also indicates the importance of participating in associations, research and volunteering or jobs,
since this are crucial experiences that most universities or internships look for. The presenter
pointed out a list of things not to do when writing a personal statement:
1. Define terms with dictionary
2. Forget to answer key questions
3. Use declarations of other
4. Being boring and repetitive
5. Improvising and not doing research
6. Using clichés and exaggerating
7. Quote to fill out
Before concluding, Professor Le Compte displayed examples of how not to write
personal statements from past students that went to her for tips and corrections. The professor
addressed that one of the key parts when writing a personal statement is to write for the reader
and she ended the workshop by calling out one of her past students to give an opinion of the
importance of this workshop. The student expressed that it was essential to rewrite, make drafts,
review, edit, and correct her work several times before she could turn it in.
Closing
I am grateful to be able to attend to this workshop because it will serve as a guide when it
comes to a part of applying to the medical school. In addition, it allowed me to reinforce my
knowledge in the technical writing class and it serve as advice to avoid getting frustrated when
having to rewrite any kind of document. I look forward to assisting more workshops related that
could help me in the classes or in future aspects of my university life.