Probably the most daunting aspect of applying to graduate school is the personal statement. And this is particularly confusing because the personal statement is not the same as the personal statement you would write for admission to college (which, at least for some of you was not that long ago)
I want to start with a few links, because there's a lot of advice out there about personal statements.
This is one from Stanford: https://humsci.stanford.edu/prospective-students/guide-getting-grad-school/writing-your-personal-statements
It's interesting to me that they emphasize Growth Mindsets, because Carol Dweck is on faculty there. There's some good practical advice here, but I will admit that some of what they are talking about here is a little vague.
This one is from USC: https://online.usc.edu/news/how-to-write-personal-statement-graduate-school-tips/
I particularly like this one; it emphasizes a lot of what I was planning to say, so I'm not going to repeat it (except the part about proofreading - typos are sometimes hard to ignore).
Number 3 is from Purdue OWL: https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/job_search_writing/preparing_an_application/writing_the_personal_statement/index.html
Purdue OWL is the same group that does the abridged version of APA style online. I particularly like the breakdown here between the general statement and the ones that specifically respond to a question. That's an important point - some grad schools just ask for an amorphous statement, others ask specific and pointed questions that require you to write something specific for that application.
Finally, here is one from UC-Davis: https://www.ucdavis.edu/majors/blog/how-to-write-strong-personal-statement-for-graduate-school
This one focuses mostly on the difference between a statement of purpose and a personal statement. Again, important, mostly to focus you on what the point of this document is.
If were to give one piece of advice for students starting the process now beyond what is written in these links, it would be to think carefully about the nature of the personal statement in relation to what kind of graduate program you are applying to. For PsyD and Masters programs, the advice given in these links are fairly straightforward. For Ph.D. applications, there's one more practical piece of advice that I would give, which I'm not sure any of these links explicitly say outright:
Simply put, for a Ph.D. application, you should write a unique personal statement for each of your applications. Yes, there can be a bit in the middle that is the same (the parts where you list your interests and experiences), but the opening paragraph, in which you state your intent to study at that university, and the last few paragraphs, in which you state why you're a good match for that university's program and the specific faculty mentor(s) (you know, the thing that you did in Part 1 of figuring out where to apply) must be unique for each application.
So, if you are looking for a way to outline the statement it might look like this (again, this is one way to do it; there are others):
1) Introduction (or hook). What's interesting about you. Personally, you can't go wrong by typing the following: "My name is NAME and with this personal statement I declare my intention to apply for a Ph.D. in the DEPARTMENT at UNIVERSITY under the supervision of MENTOR(S). Please let me explain why I am a good match for your program and the mentorship of Dr. MENTOR."
No one write this (because it's boring). Instead, almost everyone writes something cute and lighthearted. And that's fine. But I want to say this. I've probably read thousands of personal statements, and I don't remember the contents of a any of them. I don't remember the cute and lighthearted anecdotes. I don't even remember what the students I've admitted wrote. The introduction and hook serve one goal: to keep the reader reading. That's it. Nothing else. What I wrote above is clear. As long as what you write is clear, it's OK. But if you leave the reader with a question at this point, it's not clear, and the way they will read the next part of the personal statement will be different. What I wrote above is totally safe. Just make sure that you tailor it to each school appropriately. Remember to proofread - sending a personal statement to Stanford that says you want to study at Michigan is a pretty big mistake (and yes, I've read applications where students have done this).
2) Experience. What are the relevant experiences that you have had that make you qualified for attending a graduate program. This can be a few paragraphs, and this is the section of the personal statement you can probably reuse. You can organize this chronologically or by order of importance (and if it is not chronological, then the reader will assume it's by order of importance, so you might want to reorder this section, depending on where you're applying, if you want to emphasize different things).
Again, clarity is important , but so also is the coherence of experiences. If you did research, you should talk about it - what motivated the investigation, what you did, what you found, and why its important (it's like writing a short abstract for a conference - say ~1500 characters about each experience). The point of this section is to tell a story about the difference experiences that you have had that help set you up for graduate study. You probably want to mention at least 2. And if there are specific questions to answer, this is probably where you should answer them.
3) Match. OK. the hard part. Usually the last 2-3 paragraphs of the statement are about why you want to study at that university under the mentorship of the particular individual you have chosen. The question you're answering here is "Why am I a good match for this person and program?" Here is where you talk about applying your experiences to a set of research questions that the mentor studies and how your experiences will be of benefit for the mentor's lab and the program itself. Remember, you are asking a mentor to take you on for 5+ years (because mentoring, particularly in the research world, but also in the clinical one, often doesn't end with the completion of the Ph.D.). Are you going to contribute not only to what the person does now, but to what they think they will be doing five years from now. Yes, there is some mindreading involved. Yes, there is some luck involved. And there are no guarantees. The goal is to write a set of paragraphs that resonate with that individual and that demonstrate your focus, commitment to science, and that you have a plan. Yes, this is really hard. But if you have read papers written by the mentor and have a sense of the what that person's lab or group is working on, then you should have a good sense of where to start (not where to finish, see below). And if you are struggling to write this section (by the way, I recommend writing these sections first, because they will be tailored to each university separately), then, you might want to rethink whether you are going to apply to that particular program. That is, if you can't generate text for why you want to study with this person(s) at this university, then maybe you don't really want to apply there (and again, go back to Part 1).
OK. Once you have written this first one - and this is a draft - then you have to edit it. And I mean edit it a lot. Personally, I recommend the following. Write it. Then go to a blank screen and a new word document, and write a second one that tries to be completely different. Then compare the two drafts and take the sentences that you like from each. A good piece of advice that I have gotten is to try to write multiple drafts of something, and then compare and contrast - you'll find that if you merge them, the final product will be better than either draft on their own. But this is really where an exegesis of your wriitng is called for. Look at every sentence. Make sure that every sentence makes sense on their own, and then in combination with the sentence that comes before and after it (honestly, it's a good habit to get into).
(I didn't say that this would be easy, nor did I say that this could be done quickly).
I posted a service that helps with personal statements. But, here is also where I recommend working with other students and with your research mentor. OK. This is a lot. I know. But I'll close this post by saying that this is the hardest part of the application, but it's also the most rewarding because it clarifies your focus and motivation. And given that graduate school is mostly about delayed gratification, understanding these goals and then accomplishing them is an important piece of intrinsic motivation.