Essays That Will Get You into Law School [Paperback]

Daniel Kaufman (Author), Amy Burnham (Author), Chris Dowhan (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0764106120 | ISBN-13: 978-0764106125 | Publication Date: October 1998

The definitive guide to writing application essays, written with the help and advice of top-school admissions officers. Includes a step-by-step writing program plus 40 successful essays. This practical guide will help you understand what the admissions committees are looking for and demonstrate how to strategize on topic and theme to create the best possible essay. Your personal statement is the one part of the application totally under your control - make the most of it and increase your chances of getting into the law school of your choice!

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

"There were tips on what schools looked for as well as actual essays from students accepted into their respective programs. After reading those essays and understanding what was needed to get into school, I was pumped! I had to be creative, add a lot more color, and show the admissions committee who Renee really was and what she was all about. It only took a few hours to kick out the initial draft. And a couple of weeks in total to complete my essays after I had gotten started."

From the Author

The authors of Essays That Will Get You Into Law School are all part of the core team at www.ivyessays.com, a company that provides help, advice, and professional editing services to students worldwide.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 135 pages
• Publisher: Barrons Educational Series Inc (October 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0764106120
• ISBN-13: 978-0764106125
• Product Dimensions: 10.7 x 7.7 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #753,224 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #76 in Books > Education & Reference > Education > Test Guides - Graduate & Professional > Graduate Preparation

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

32 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars A collection of mediocre cover letters, November 3, 2001

By A Customer

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Essays That Will Get You into Law School (Paperback)

If you're writing a personal statement for a law school in the top 14, stay away from this book. You can already write something more interesting than any of their sample essays.
The advice they give is fine, especially the general tips on how to organize your thoughts. But the book is 90% a collection of essays, and they are uniformly atrocious.
Almost all of the essays are variations on the theme of 'experience in my life that made me want to be a lawyer.' This is not the kind of essay the admissions committee at Harvard or Yale wants to hear. They want an interesting look at the kind of person you are, not a cheesy story about how working for a state senator made you realize the importance of community service. Essays are not the time to list your accomplishments. That's why Yale's application doesn't have you fill out any forms, but instead asks for a resume.
If you're looking for good essays to get your creative juices flowing, avoid this book like the plague.

22 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Best Blueprint for How to Write Your Essay, December 7, 2000

By 

Aaron Jordan (Salt Lake City, Utah) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Essays That Will Get You into Law School (Paperback)

This book is an excellent guide for how to structure and write your personal statement. Some of the tips and writing exercises were a little too remedial to be helpful, but the authors really helped me understand what admissions officers are looking for. By following the guidelines in this book, I was able to make the final draft of my essay much better than the first version was. As this book points out, the key is to write your essay so that it not only grabs the attention of the reader like a commercial would, but also to make it memorable enough so that the admissions officer still remembers your essay after finishing reading a hundred other people's personal statements. This book helped me make the writing in my essay tighter, better organized, and more coherent.

As for the forty sample essays, I was amazed at how dull and boring many of them were. But that actually boosted my confidence level, because I realized that my essay had a good chance of making a positive impression on an admissions officer.

If you need help writing your essay, this book is excellent. It's much better than Boykin Curry's "Essays that Worked for Law Schools."

27 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent book to get you started!, May 30, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Essays That Will Get You into Law School (Paperback)

As someone who works privately with students, helping them with admissions essays for law school, I highly recommend this book. When students call me in regard to assistance with their essays, I recommend that they first buy this book as a means to get started. The guidelines and essays have helped my clients not only to gather their thoughts, but also to organize and write them into interesting and creative essays. By the time they come to me for feedback and editing, they are well on the way to getting into the law school of their choice.