MYP/IB Personal Project - Personal Statment - Part 4
The personal statement is the only personal record of the process you followed to complete your project. It is as important as the final product itself. In a previous post I stated “The process journal will be used to write your Personal Statement later on, so be sure to keep it organized!” Well, I meant it. Everything that you have included in your process journal will be utilized in the Personal Statement.
The Personal Statement is a reflection and evaluation of the links you established to the Area’s of Interaction (AOI’s); the process you followed to prepare your final product; and the overall success of your project in terms of your initial goals.
You must include the following information:
- Cover Page/Title Page
- Table of Contents Page
- Introduction (gives the reader an understanding of why your project was worth 6 months of your life)
- Rationale (why you chose to do this project and what you hoped to achieve)
- The Process (outlines the steps you followed in order to achieve your initial goal)
- Conclusion (an evaluation of your project including: what you learned, what you could do better, and how the project has personally affected you)
- Bibliography (might need to be annotated depending on what school you go to)
- Appendices (include if necessary)
- Copy of Personal Project (if possible)
Your teachers will hand out the specific criteria for writing the Personal Statement.
Your Personal Statement NEEDS to include significant links to your AOI(s). Evaluators will not accept links like:
“I linked my project to the AOI Human Ingenuity because I made something.”
You can come up with something better than that. If you are having a rough time significantly connecting to an AOI, talk to your supervisor, peers, or other MYP teachers. If you are struggling, they WILL help. Remember, if you do not pass the personal project, you will not move on from MYP to IB. This is a crucial grade and should be taken seriously. Ask for help when needed and utilize all of your available resources.
Here is an example of what a Personal Statement looks like. It’s the Personal Statement I created for my Personal Project. I recieved a 7 (highest score — bragging a litte) on my Personal Project, so this is a valid example of how to write one.
Here’s my Personal Statement: Writing Process
Hey, I’m currently in the process of writing my written statement, and i just wanted to say that being able to read yours and this outline has really helped me. I was pretty stuck, and the MYP Personal Project guideline book doesn’t really help with the structure of the written statement.
I also chose to write a novel for my Personal Project, but it sounds as though you had quite a bit of experience writing before you started this project. I didn’t. I read a lot, so I figured it wouldn’t be too hard to write a novel also, but I didn’t time manage very well and it turned into a big mess.
Anyway, I just wanted to say thankyou for making this available, as it has really helped me.
Tayla
x
You’re welcome. Let me know how it turns out.
Hi! Thanks for posting your report. I’m currently doing my written statement, but I’m stuck on 1700 words. The deadline is soon and I just might not finish it on time. Thanks for your inspiration, at least I knew something to write.
However, I was supposed to write more than what you did. There’s a lot of sub sections that I must answers besides the outline you have in your report. Would you please tell me the tips to get 7? It’s a very high mark, in my school not much gets it.
G’day, best regards,
Edward
Edward,
The biggest thing that you need to remember for the personal statement that you’re probably stuck on is that it is personal. Remember to include all of the details of what you have gone through to finish your project. Talk about all of the challenges that you’ve faced to complete the project (time management: dealing with school, life, sports, clubs, and the personal project). If there was something that went horribly wrong, but you fixed it, include it in your personal statement.
The evaluators don’t just want to know that you produced something, they want to know what you went through to get to this point. No one’s perfect, your evaluators know that you must have made a mistake or two, your personal statement is where you admit to it, talk about how you overcame it, and explain how it fit into your project as a whole.
Also, be sure to make as many references as possible to the Areas of Interaction. The evaluators love to see numerous connections to the Areas of Interaction and it makes your statement longer.
-What your evaluators are looking for are:
-What was your objective?
-Did you accomplish it?
-How did you accomplish it? / What was the process that you took to accomplish it?
-If you didn’t accomplish it, why?
-What were some challenges you faced?
-What was interesting about this project?
-What have you learned from completing this project?
-Has this project changed you as a person?
-How does your project and process connect to the Areas of Interaction?
-What could you have done better? (again, you’re human, there is something that you could have done better).
-What were some resources that helped you reach your goal?
If you answer all of these questions and add some personal information about what happened during the composition of your project, then you will be fine and your word count will soar.
Hope this helps.
PS, there is a copy of my personal statement attached to the page if you would like an example to look at and follow.
~Chloe~
Hi chloe,
I wrote to your blog earlier, not sure if it is the same as this blog.
I am trying to decide on what to do with my PP. I have a great passion in music and my dream is to be a concert cellist. While this will not come true in real life, I wish to do a proper concert for my PP. I plan to design a balance program, make proper program notes, although the pieces are not composed by me. I am going to listen to CD, watch relevent DVD, interview professional performer… and analyze on whatever information I have collected to improve my performance. However I don’t know what AOI I should address. Is it human ingenuity where I create a concert of my own? Please advise how I can present this dream as my pp and get good grade. Thank you.
Hi Chloe! I’m still on the stage of filling up my Commencement Form for my PP. Honestly, I’m way behind schedule (4 months) because I changed my topic. Twice. I was stuck on how to link an AOI to my personal project and reading your introduction gave me a rough idea of how to frame mine. Thank you for posting!
Rin,
Thank you for the comment, I’m glad that I was able to help you.
~Chloe~