Formatting guidelines
- Around 1 page of A4
- 47 lines long
- About 4000 characters including spaces
- Verdana size 11 font
- Unique to you: remember, all applications go through Copycatch, the UCAS plagiarism checking system, so please don't copy any content from anywhere else, just be yourself.
Writing guidelines
- Thoroughly research the course and give yourself enough time
- Write your text in Word (or similar) before uploading and proofread for spelling, grammar and punctuation; ask someone else to proofread. Avoid italics, bold and underlining.
- Make sure you give examples with evidence. Your evidence should demonstrate your capabilities: be upbeat, concise, positive, enthusiastic and clear.
- Don't use jargon, and watch out for any irrelevant, negative or redundant phrases (e.g. “I like reading and socialising with friends”, “Although I do not have experience in," “I have always wanted to be a teacher”, “I like working with children”)
Example of breaking down a question and answering it:
Transcript: "Describe briefly your [reasons for wanting to teach], giving the [relevance of your previous education and experience], including [teaching, visits to schools] and [other work with young people]"
Transcript: "Thinking about my own experience in education, [I appreciate the incredible impact that teachers have on the lives of young people]. I know that teachers provide [skills and knowledge used by young people throughout life]. Therefore, [as a teacher, my greatest aim is to be a role model]. I want to cultivate [open minds, the knowledge and ability to look at the world critically, and students' belief in their own capacity to make positive contributions to society]."
