Formatting tips for your MSW personal statement (APA Style)
The Master of Social Work personal statement is one of the most important aspects of an MSW application. It gives you, as the applicant, a space to discuss your motivations for pursuing social work, and allows you to explain how your experience, aspirations, and goals all intersect to make you a top candidate for the program you are applying to.
Why you should write your personal statement in APA format:
One thing I often see applicants overlook is formatting their personal statements. The personal statement serves as a sample of your academic writing abilities, so properly formatting your MSW personal statement is a simple way to help your application stand out and look more professional.
To format your personal statement, I suggest following the formatting style you adhered to while you were in your undergraduate program. The most common formatting style in social work programs (and social sciences in general) is APA formatting, so that’s what I’ll be focusing on here.
What to include in an APA-style personal statement:
Here’s what I usually suggest applicants include:
Title page:
An APA-style title page should include the title of your personal statement, your name, the date, and the school you are applying to. The title page should be centered and double-spaced.
What should the title of my personal statement be? The title of your personal statement should be simple. I recommend naming it what the school names the paper. For example, an appropriate title would be Personal Statement, Statement of Interest, or Program Proposal.
What should the date of my personal statement be? The date on your title page should be the due date for the application – not the date you started or submitted your application. For example, if you started your personal statement on September 18th and the program deadline was October 1st, you should put October 1st as the date on your title page.
Subheadings:
There will often be several prompts for answering your MSW personal statement. If there are, they should always be separated with subheadings. This makes it easier for the person reading your statement to read your statement as well, and we always want to make it as easy for the reader as possible. Subheadings should be bolded and oriented to the left side of your paper.
What should my subheadings say? Your APA subheadings should be condensed versions of the prompts provided.
For example:
Prompt: Describe your experiences (work, volunteer, social, personal, and professional) that contribute to your motivation to pursue graduate studies in social work, and to your commitment to social justice and to creating change.
APA heading: Motivation for Pursuing Social Work
Prompt: Explain why you have chosen your area of interest (i.e., child welfare, health, gerontology). Discuss your current understanding of social problems in that area.
APA heading: Area of Interest
Word formatting and spacing:
In APA formatting you should always use 12 pt. Times New Roman font, as well as double spacing. Make sure that you use consistent formatting throughout your personal statement!
Page numbers and running head:
Add page numbers and a running head to the margins of your paper.
Page numbers should be in the top right-hand margin, and the running head should be in capital letters on the left side of your paper.
References:
When writing an MSW personal statement, you should include research to back up the points you are making. In addition to demonstrating your critical thinking skills adding research can strengthen your points and prove that there is a need for social work in your area of interest.
If you can include a reference page, that’s great. If you can’t (due to page limitations or formatting limitations) you can include a modified citation (Name, Year, Source). Most applicants don’t include research in their personal statements, so even if your citations aren’t perfect you’ll still stand out! Tip: Use Bibme to help you create APA style references
Use the APA Style template below that is ready made for your personal statement.
The APA style template is a Word Doc that has already been formatted in APA style, and includes tips and resources for adhering to APA format. Simply plug your personal statement into the template to start your APA style personal statement!
Adhere to instructions from the school you are applying to:
Be sure to follow any specific instructions from the school you are applying to, and if any of these contradict those instructions you should always default to what the school wants!
More Helpful Resources:
Ready for the next step?
The MSW personal statement template was designed to help you write the rough draft of your social work personal statement. It’s a great starting point for those of you who are starting the process of applying to social work graduate programs.
You can also sign up for personal statement editing with our Application Advisors who specialize in social work applications. We’re here to help you craft a top personal statement for your MSW, and we can help you make sure that your personal statement adheres to APA formatting. Click here to learn more about MSW Personal Statement Editing
Happy writing!
-Michelle from MSW Helper
