Essays That Worked for Law School: 35 Essays from Successful Applications to the Nation's Top Law Schools [Paperback]

Boykin Curry (Editor), Brian Kasbar (Editor)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0449905152 | ISBN-13: 978-0449905159 | Publication Date: September 3, 1991

"Law school applicants should consider this a guide to producing a competitive, superior essay...These successful examples speak louder than any written how-to instructions could."
THE BOOK WATCH
Each law school applicant gets only one chance to distinguish himself or herself from the pack: the law school application essay. In the essay, you can spotlight the qualities you possess that transcripts and LSAT scores don't reveal. This inspiring book demonstrates that winning essays come in a variety of styles and voices, and includes what are considered some of the best by admissions officers at the nation's top law schools.
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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

While almost anything goes in a college-application essay, law-school applicants are expected to be a little more sophisticated. No navel-gazing allowed. But please, no pontificating, either. Like admissions officers everywhere, those at law schools are looking for something fresh. That means, says Boykin Curry, that unless you are quite certain that you've got a spectacular new approach, you should avoid such topics as "Why I want to be a public defender," "I have always wanted to be a lawyer since I was ten," and "What I think about justice" ("lecturing on the law--before you have studied it--" Curry warns, "is likely to bore and irritate the reader"). Instead, be honest, and be creative. Use these essays for inspiration. One essayist here demonstrates his bargaining skills by relating his Peace Corps experiences haggling over goat meat in Niger. Another writes touchingly of his stated goal: to practice law with the same integrity that his grandfather brought to his carpentry business.

A chart at the beginning of the book illustrates just how much importance various schools place on the essay (the University of Washington gives it little consideration; Harvard and Yale say it's a vital part of the application). --Jane Steinberg

From the Inside Flap

"Law school applicants should consider this a guide to producing a competitive, superior essay...These successful examples speak louder than any written how-to instructions could."
THE BOOK WATCH
Each law school applicant gets only one chance to distinguish himself or herself from the pack: the law school application essay. In the essay, you can spotlight the qualities you possess that transcripts and LSAT scores don't reveal. This inspiring book demonstrates that winning essays come in a variety of styles and voices, and includes what are considered some of the best by admissions officers at the nation's top law schools.
.

Product Details

• Paperback: 112 pages
• Publisher: Ballantine Books (September 3, 1991)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0449905152
• ISBN-13: 978-0449905159
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,161,335 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

83 of 84 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A good idea of what you can do with your law school essays, April 23, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Essays That Worked for Law School: 35 Essays from Successful Applications to the Nation's Top Law Schools (Paperback)

...[This book] was very helpful when I first started thinkingabout how to approach my personal statement.

The fact is that yourGPA and LSAT are the most important factors in law school admissions,so the bars at the front of the book indicating the importance of the essay in the admissions process can be misleading. Harvard may give the essay a "10" in importance, but Salman Rushdie probably couldn't write his way into Harvard with a 2.9/159 and nothing else going for him. On the other hand, if your scores are competitive, the competition at HYS is so intense that it is likely your essays, in conjunction with the other parts of your application (recommendations, etc.), that are going to determine whether or not you get in.

This book is short, concicse, and informative. The "interview with an admissions officer" put me in the admissions officer's shoes, and the concerns expressed by the ad.coms seemed genuine.

This book avoids the "how to," and instead tries to help the reader "understand better the boundaries of tone and content within which [they] can work." This is what I was looking for, and this is what I got.

If you are looking for a "how to" book, you will get more mileage from something like "Essays That Will Get You Into Law School." If you're looking for essays that worked for *Harvard*, check out Willie Epps' book, "How To Get Into Harvard Law School." But if you're looking to read a well chosen selection of essays that made a difference in the minds of admissions officers, this is the book for you.

I found the grouping of essays a useful organizational tool that helped me better grasp the 'boundaries' of acceptable personal statements. Some of the essays were less polished than others, but (IMO) the quality of the essays overall was better than in say, "Essays That Will Get You Into Law School."

Another reason I liked the essay selection is because I found myself thinking "Wow, that's the kind of essay I want to write," or "I wish I had written that essay." Personally, I found that the best and most moving essays in the other books mentioned above were tied to extraordinary experiences or abilities of the essay writer, whereas Curry's book generally (but not always) presented essays that were written by good writers, and did not depend as much on the author's unique gifts or background.

There is a limit to how much any book can do for you in the law school admissions process. I wouldn't believe anyone who said "This essay book got me into Harvard!" But for about ten bucks, this book will give you perspective, and hopefully put you on the road to writing a good personal statement.

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars What I got out of this book is that really anything goes..., November 28, 2000

By 

ShopsTooMuch "but happy in" (Virginia USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Essays That Worked for Law School: 35 Essays from Successful Applications to the Nation's Top Law Schools (Paperback)

I won't begin to write as if I know what law school admissions committees are looking for in an essay. I believe it is common sense that not all schools will review or value the personal statement equally. As a current law school applicant going this alone I bought this book to help give me a clue as to what the PS is all about and I feel the book did that. What it showed me is that you can write whatever you want to write about - just make it meaningful and insightful into WHO you are. I struggled with the format of my essay and after about the 6th revision of the format (nevermind the content :) I came up with a format I would not have even considered before reading the book. As mentioned previously, I am a CURRENT applicant and do not know as of this writing how successful my essay is, but I DO know that I am proud of what I wrote, and feel very comfortable with it - because it is absolutely 'me'. Good luck to us...

20 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good, but not the best, December 7, 2000

By 

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

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Essays That Worked for Law School: 35 Essays from Successful Applications to the Nation's Top Law Schools (Paperback)

This book has some good advice, and the essays are interesting to sample, but this book is definitely past its prime. I regret that I bought it. "Essays That Will Get You Into Law School" by Kaufman, Dowhan, and Burnham was much more helpful to me when I wrote my personal essay for my law school application.