I am applying to Oxbridge- what should I include in my personal statement?

Before planning your personal statement, you should have a clear idea of what subject you are applying for. The purpose of your personal statement is to demonstrate your interest in this subject and to convince the admissions tutor that you will be an interesting and enthusiastic student to teach. Therefore everything you include should be tailored towards showing your interest in your subject or should show that you have the skills required to do well in this subject e.g debating skills would be good evidence that one may do well in law, as this also requires crafting arguments. Your personal statement should be structured as follows: 1) Introduction explaining why you are interested in the subject. Avoid clichés like 'since I was young...' etc. Instead, try and use a personal anecdote or a particular aspect of the subject that interests you. The admissions tutor will be reading many personal statements and so this can help you stand out from the crowd. 2) Mention your a level subjects briefly and try to link them to your chosen subject, explaining why it makes you a stronger candidate. Mention any academic awards here. 3) Mention supra-curricular activities (extra-curricular activities related to your subject or to academics in general, such as Model United Nations, Maths challenges etc.) Be succinct and mention any awards/ interesting anecdotes which show your contribution rather than merely listing all your clubs. This will help you to stand out as people tend to remember stories more than mere facts.4) Mention any further reading you have done as it shows an outside interest in your subject. But do not just list books; mention a particular concept/idea from the book/essay that stood out to you.5) Finish with a brief paragraph about your extra curricular activities. Don't mention everything you've ever done but mention your key activities/ positions of responsibility- particularly if they make you stand out due to awards/ length of commitment/ uniqueness of the activity etc. Anything that you can't fit in, ask your referee to include in your reference. 6) Write a short conclusion to wrap up your personal statement. Avoid any clichés or cheesy quotes etc.This structure is not definitive and you can definitely change around the order but this is what I would recommend and is what I did to secure an interview at Cambridge.