• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to mobile menu bar

The Physician Assistant Life

The Physician Assistant Life: The Ultimate Resource for All Things PA

How Can We Help? Essays Interviews Consulting Community 😀

Purchase a RevisionResume/CV Cover Letter

  • Start
    • Services
      • Personal Statement Rewriting and Revision
        • Client testimonials
      • Pre-PA Consulting and Advising
      • Mock PA School Interviews
        • Client testimonials
      • Resume/Cover Letter Writing and Revision
      • LinkedIn Profile Writing and Editing Service for PAs
      • PANCE/PANRE Board Review
      • Perfect Program Picker
  • Interviews
    • The Top 46 PA School Applicant Interview Questions
  • Essay Help
    • Personal Statement Revision Service
      • Client Testimonials
    • Supplemental Essay Editing
    • 31 Sample Essays
      • Personal Statement Workshop
    • How to Write Your PA Personal Statement Book
    • 101 PA School Essays Book
    • Personal Statement Starter Kit
  • Resumes
    • PA Resume/CV Revision Service
    • Downloadable PA Resume Templates
    • Downloadable Recommendation Letter Templates
  • Consulting
  • PANCE/PANRE
    • Free Exams
      • FREE PANCE/ PANRE Podcast
      • FREE Daily PANCE Email Series
    • SMARTY PANCE
      • Genitourinary Blueprint Course
      • More Courses
      • Neurology Blueprint Course
      • Endocrinology Blueprint Course
      • Psychiatry Blueprint Course
      • Hematology Blueprint Course
      • Infectious Disease Blueprint Course
      • Cardiology Blueprint Course
      • Pulmonology Blueprint Course
      • GI and Nutrition Blueprint Course
      • Musculoskeletal Blueprint Course
      • EENT Blueprint Course
      • Dermatology Blueprint Course
      • Reproductive Blueprint Course
    • Sign Up
    • The Audio PANCE & PANRE Podcast
    • Topic Specific Exams
      • Endocrinology
      • More
      • Psychiatry
      • Neurology
      • Dermatology
      • Hematology
      • Cardiology
      • Pulmonology
      • Musculoskeletal
      • Reproductive
      • GI and Nutrition
      • EENT
    • 225 Question Exams
      • Exam 1
      • Exam 2
      • Exam 3
      • Exam 4
      • Exam 5
    • Academy Exams
      • Exam 1
      • Exam 2
      • Exam 3
      • Exam 4
    • The Virtual PANCE and PANRE Home
      • Virtual PANCE Testing Room
        • Virtual PANRE Testing Room
      • Virtual PANCE and PANRE: Block 1
      • Virtual PANCE and PANRE: Block 2
      • Virtual PANCE and PANRE: Block 3
      • Virtual PANCE and PANRE: Block 4
      • Virtual PANCE and PANRE: Block 5
    • Daily Email Series Exams
      • Exam 1
      • Exam 2
      • Exam 3
      • Exam 4
      • Final Exam
    • Legacy Exams
    • End of Rotation Exams
      • General Surgery End of Roatation Exam
      • Emergency Medicine End or Rotation Exam 1
      • Emergency Medicine End of Rotation Exam 2
      • Pediatrics End of Rotation Exam
      • Women’s Health End of Rotation Exam
      • Family Practice End of Rotation Exam
    • Your Exam Progress
  • Downloads
    • The Ultimate PA Job Application Bundle
      • Practicing PA Resume and CV Template
      • New Graduate PA Resume Template
      • PA School Applicant and Pre-PA Resume Template
      • PA Cover Letter and Thank You Follow Up Templates
    • PA Recommendation Letter Templates
    • Expert Panel Audiobook
    • The Expert Panel Workbook
  • Best Books
    • The Best Gear
    • The Best Apps
    • Gift Guide
  • Blog
    • Content archive
You are here: Home / Pre-Physician Assistant / Essay and Personal Statement / 9 Simple Steps to Avoid Silly Spelling and Grammar Goofs in Your PA School Personel Statement

9 Simple Steps to Avoid Silly Spelling and Grammar Goofs in Your PA School Personel Statement

October 12, 2015 By Stephen Pasquini PA-C 1 Comment

9 SIMPLE STEPS TO AVOID SPELLING AND GRAMMAR GOOFS IN YOUR PHYSICIAN ASSISTANT PERSONAL STATEMENTDid you spot my grammar goof?

If not take a second look at the title.

You have spent days, weeks, and months writing and perfecting your personal (not personel) statement.

You have slaved countless hours in front of the computer screen trying to shed a creative light on your background and highlight your experiences.

Don’t overlook the most common and possibly most devastating mistakes many applicants make when submitting their personal statement.

Spelling and grammar mistakes make us look careless and illiterate. Neither of these are favorable aspects of a PA school applicant.

To maximize your chances of receiving a precious interview spot you are going to want to do everything in your power to avoid them.

Today I am going to give you nine simple steps to avoid these silly goofs and make sure your personal statement is flawless.

1. Don’t trust your spell checker

A spellchecker is probably one of the best innovations to come out of the 21’st century, but it doesn't catch all spelling mistakes. To spot typos, read your text backward or ask someone else to proofread your text.

  • Use Grammarly, which offers a feature-packed set of spell-check and proofreading options in their free web app.  They also have a Microsoft Word plugin that will take your spellcheck to the next level.
  • Download and install this medical dictionary for MS Word. It was built with love by a medical transcriptionist, and he gives it away for free!
  • Write like Hemingway: The author and journalist, Ernest Hemingway, was the master of simple language. His writing is direct and lacks flowery prose. This makes it an ideal model for writing a winning PA School Personal Statement. With this in mind, one of the most useful tools for aiding and improving writing is the Hemingway App.

2. Know how to write physician assistant

Which of these sentences uses the correct capitalization of physician assistant?

How to Write Physician Assistant The PA Grammar Guide
You would be amazed how many people get this wrong! Don't make the same mistake (click here)

We have reviewed 100's of essays through our personal statement editing service. Not a day goes by where we don't see these three typical "PA specific" writing mistakes. According to one admissions director, we interviewed making just one of these errors will land your personal statement in the trash bin - ouch!

  1. It is PAs, not PA’s  - Trust me, the managing editor of the AAPA wrote me personally and corrected me on this one!
  2. It is physician assistant, not physician's assistant
  3. The words physician assistant are not capitalized unless it's part of a name and precedes the name:
    • Here is an example
      • Physician Assistant John Smith has been in medicine for ten years - This is capitalized because it is part of a name (Physician Assistant John Smith) and it proceeds the name.
      • If the word physician assistant (notice I didn't capitalize physician assistant) follows the name as in this example: John Smith, a physician assistant, drinks a lot of coffee, it is not capitalized.

Consider creating your own proofreading checklist which includes a list of the types of mistakes you commonly make. Refer to this list each time you proofread.

3. Proofread on paper

Take the time to print out your final draft on paper. You, and those who you have reading your essay are less likely to skim the text and miss errors.

4. Read your essay aloud

This is a very simple yet commonly overlooked piece of advice that can make a big difference when it comes to editing your personal statement. Sit in a quiet room and read your essay aloud, record yourself reading your essay on your smartphone, rewrite the text where you stumble as you read aloud and listen to yourself read the essay, taking note of text that seems awkward, unnecessary or out of place.

Another effective method is to have the computer read aloud for you.

If you own a Mac, you can copy the text of your paper into a TextEdit file (found in Utilities or Applications). If you have a PC, you may have a reader installed, or check out Natural Reader for free.

Instructions:

  1. Print out a copy of your paper, double spaced.
  2. You need a pen/pencil and highlighter.
  3. Prepare a text file that can be read by your voice software.
  4. Choose a voice you like if you have a choice.
  5. Listen to your paper as you follow along on the printed copy. Stop the program when you hear a problem and note it on your paper.

Listen especially for:

  • Grammar problems, notably missing endings or subject-verb agreement errors.
  • Ideas that don’t fit together—for example, sentences that jump around or don’t seem to be in the right place.
  • Repetition of words or dull repetitiveness.
  • Sentences that don’t make sense to you.
  • Unnatural pauses, or lack of breaks, in the reading. This indicates you probably haven’t punctuated correctly.
  • Words the program can’t pronounce, which could indicate a misspelling.
  • Wrong words.

5. Read your essay backwards

This is a standard technique used by writers: read your essay backwards.

We often become "blind" to our mistakes, seeing the correct word or grammar on the page when it isn't there. To break this pattern you can read your writing backwards, phrase by phrase, or word by word. This will help you see your text in a new way.

6. Make several passes for different types of errors

Try checking spelling and end punctuation on one pass, grammar and internal punctuation on another, and format on yet another pass. Develop a system.

If you are editing in Microsoft Word you can choose to turn formatting marks on or off. This will allow you to go carefully through your document looking for extra dots (spaces) or arrows (for tab characters) as well as returns and paragraph spacing.

Proofreading your PA School Personal Statement

7. Consider using an online service

Invite someone else to proofread your text after you have reviewed it. A new set of eyes may immediately spot errors that you've overlooked. We provide a detailed proofread of your essay as part of our essay review service.   Or, consider sending your personal statement to a service such as eangel which is a very inexpensive email proofreading service.

8. Check for logical order

This is an enjoyable activity I have done with clients as part of our essay collaborative. I'll describe it, but here is also a short video demonstrating the process.

Take your personal statement and follow these instructions:

  1. Make a copy of it on your computer so you are working with a new version.
  2. At the end of every sentence, put a 'return' and leave a few spaces. Do this for your entire piece of writing.
  3. Adjust the size or spacing so you can see only two sentences on your screen. Read the sentences aloud. As a pair of sentences, do they work together? That is, does one sentence follow logically from the one before it?
  4. Now, scroll down, so you see your second sentence + third sentence only on the screen. Ask the same question: does one sentence lead to another? If it doesn't, add transitions, pronouns, or other information to make the two sentences work together.

Do this process for your entire essay-yes, it's long and time-consuming, but you'll get faster at it. This exercise will help you with understanding organization, transitions, and how your writing works together, not just as a series of disconnected sentences.

9. Pay attention to last-minute changes

If you do make a last-minute change to a few words, be sure to check the entire sentence or even paragraph over again.

Many errors are the result of changes made without adjusting other, related words. I do this all the time! Make sure to check the entire document.

Bonus Tip:

Identify and write to the admissions committee

A good exercise is to create a profile of one or two admissions committee members and make it into a separate document.  Go to Google image search and input "physician assistant school faculty" and grab one of those pictures.

What does their profile look like? Are they middle-aged? Experienced administrators, teachers or a PA student? What are they looking for? Creativity, enthusiasm, knowledge of the PA professions, uniqueness?

Once you have created an actual profile for your reader go ahead and re-read your essay.  Does your reader understand it? Does she like it? Does it persuade him/her to take action and send you an invite to interview?

Would you like some more great tips on writing your physician assistant personal statement?

HOW TO WRITE YOUR PHYSICIAN ASSISTANT PERSONAL STATEMENTCheck out our new book "How to write your physician assistant personal statement" which includes 12 interviews with some of the nation's top PA school faculty and admissions directors from across the country-It's available on Amazon for instant download from the Kindle Store and also in paperback.

Click here to read more about the PA school essay collaborative where you can get free advice on your personal statement or submit your essay for one-on-one help through our professional editing/proofreading service.

View all posts in this series
  • How to Write the Perfect Physician Assistant School Application Essay
  • The Physician Assistant Essay and Personal Statement Collaborative
  • Do You Recognize These 7 Common Mistakes in Your Personal Statement?
  • 7 Essays in 7 Days: PA Personal Statement Workshop: Essay 1, “A PA Changed My Life”
  • PA Personal Statement Workshop: Essay 2, “I Want to Move Towards the Forefront of Patient Care”
  • PA Personal Statement Workshop: Essay 3, “She Smiled, Said “Gracias!” and Gave me a Big Hug”
  • PA Personal Statement Workshop: Essay 4, “I Have Gained so Much Experience by Working With Patients”
  • PA Personal Statement Workshop: Essay 5, “Then Reach, my Son, and Lift Your People up With You”
  • PA Personal Statement Workshop: Essay 6, “That First Day in Surgery was the First Day of the Rest of my Life”
  • PA Personal Statement Workshop: Essay 7, “I Want to Take People From Dying to Living, I Want to Get Them Down From the Cliff.”
  • Physician Assistant Personal Statement Workshop: “To say I was an accident-prone child is an understatement”
  • 9 Simple Steps to Avoid Silly Spelling and Grammar Goofs in Your PA School Personel Statement
  • 5 Tips to Get you Started on Your Personal Essay (and why you should do it now)
  • How to Write Your Physician Assistant Personal Statement The Book!
  • How to Write “Physician Assistant” The Definitive PA Grammar Guide
  • 101 PA School Admissions Essays: The Book!
  • 5 Things I’ve Learned Going Into My Fourth Physician Assistant Application Cycle
  • 7 Tips for Addressing Shortcomings in Your PA School Personal Statement
  • The #1 Mistake PRE-PAs Make on Their Personal Statement
  • The Ultimate PA School Personal Statement Starter Kit
  • The Ultimate Guide to CASPA Character and Space Limits
  • 10 Questions Every PA School Personal Statement Must Answer
  • 5 PA School Essays That Got These Pre-PAs Accepted Into PA School
  • 7 Questions to Ask Yourself While Writing Your PA School Personal Statement
  • 101 PA School Applicants Answer: What’s Your Greatest Strength?
  • 12 Secrets to Writing an Irresistible PA School Personal Statement
  • 7 Rules You Must Follow While Writing Your PA School Essay
  • You Have 625 Words and 2.5 Minutes to Get Into PA School: Use Them Wisely
  • What’s Your #1 Personal Statement Struggle?
  • 31 (NEW) CASPA PA School Personal Statement Examples
  • How to Prepare for Your PA School Interview Day Essay
  • Should You Write Physician Associate or Physician Assistant on Your PA School Essay?
  • Meet the World’s Sexiest PA School Applicants
  • PA School Reapplicants: How to Rewrite Your PA School Essay for Guaranteed Success
  • How to Write a Personal Statement Intro that Readers Want to Read
  • PA School Reapplicant Personal Statement Checklist
  • How to Deal with Bad News in Your Personal Statement
  • Inside Out: How to use Pixar’s Rules of Storytelling to Improve your PA Personal Statement
  • Ratatouille: A Pixar Recipe for PA School Personal Statement Success
  • Personal Statement Panel Review (Replay)
  • Mind Mapping: A Tool for Personal Statements, Supplemental Essays, and Interviews
  • Start at the End: Advice for your PA School Personal Statement

You may also like -

  • How to Write “Physician Assistant” The Definitive PA Grammar GuideHow to Write “Physician Assistant” The Definitive PA Grammar GuideDo you know the correct answer to these important questions? Do you capitalize the word physician assistant? How do you write the plural of physician assistant? What is the proper name of the PA profession? All these […]
  • 7 Rules You Must Follow While Writing Your PA School Essay7 Rules You Must Follow While Writing Your PA School Essay You know you’re in a war, right? PA school, once a bastion for rebels looking to buck the normal medical school model is now more competitive than ever. The CASPA application is full of standard metrics like GPA, GRE scores, […]
  • The Ultimate PA School Personal Statement Starter KitThe Ultimate PA School Personal Statement Starter Kit If you are struggling to write your PA school personal narrative, then this message is for you. Here's why . . . PA school admissions teams have an uncanny ability (honed on the job) to detect when an applicant's essay rings […]
Share34
Pin21
Reddit
Email
Tweet
Share
55 Shares

Download Your FREE 300 PA School Interview Questions and Answers Workbook

Sign up below to receive your free 65 page 300 PA school interview questions and answers workbook.

You have Successfully Subscribed!

CASPA Personal Statement Help

We offer comprehensive, start-to-finish personal statement assistance or help to perfect a draft you already have. We have services to fit every budget.

Personal Statement Editing

Schedule a Live Recorded PA School Video Interview

We offer 60-minute mock PA school interviews with post-interview feedback and advice. Includes a recorded video of your interview that you can watch, download, or share with family and friends. There is no better way to prepare!

Schedule an Interview

Pre-PA Consulting and Advising

Jennifer Crozier PA-COur pre-PA coaching service consists of a 1-hour phone consultation focused on addressing your specific questions or concerns about becoming a PA and applying to PA school.

PPre-PA Consulting and Advising

Download Your Free Copy of the How to Write Your PA School Essay Workbook

We created a free workbook to help you craft a personal statement that the admissions directors will be dying to read. Tell us where to send your free copy.

About Stephen Pasquini PA-C

Stephen has been a family practice PA since 2004 and is the creator of The PA Life and Smarty PANCE Board Review websites. A National Health Service Corps Scholar and a graduate of The University of Medicine and Dentistry of NJ (Rutgers) PA Program and the University of Washington in Seattle, WA. Stephen's goal is to provide one-of-a-kind online resources for those interested in or practicing in the PA profession, to promote better access to healthcare for all, and foster universal recognition/awareness of the PA profession. Read more about Stephen.

Previous Post: « A Question for Physician Assistants: Why Are You In It?
Next Post: 238 Free Online Science, Math and Pre-Medical Courses »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Duke says

    October 12, 2015 at 1:14 pm

    Great post with very valuable information.

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

THE ORIGINAL CASPA PERSONAL STATEMENT EDITING AND REVISION SERVICE

We offer comprehensive, start-to-finish personal statement assistance or help perfecting a draft you already have. We have services to fit every budget.

Learn More

Mock PA School Interviews

Why do you want to be a PA? We have helped 100's of PA school applicants just like you answer this question. We offer affordable, recorded online interviews with an unprecedented chance for self-critique, with feedback and advice from our team of top PA school admissions experts. Schedule a Mock Interview

PA Resume, CV and Cover Letter Editing

Don’t send your Resume, CV or Cover Letter without a second set of eyes. We offer CV, Resume and Cover Letter revision specific to PAs, Pre-PAs and PA students.

Learn More

Admissions Directors Share Their Secrets

Buy on Amazon

31 Personal Statement Examples

31 Physician Assistant School Essay Examples and Samples

Below, are 31 PA school application essays and personal statements pulled from our FREE personal statement and essay collaborative comments section. This is an unedited sample of PA school essay submissions, meant to … Read Essays about 31 Physician Assistant Personal Statement Examples

Featured Posts

The Physician Assistant Essay and Personal Statement Collaborative

Are you ready to get started? Choose your package, and we will begin today! Single Edit One-on-one Service Supplemental Essays Your success is our passion. (See just some of our 100's of testimonials … [Read More...] about The Physician Assistant Essay and Personal Statement Collaborative

How to write the perfect PA school personal statement

How to Write the Perfect Physician Assistant School Application Essay

Over at Inside PA Training Paul wrote a wonderful blog post about the common pitfalls that many PA school applicants fall victim to while preparing their PA school essay. Common Physician Assistant … [Read More...] about How to Write the Perfect Physician Assistant School Application Essay

5 Things I’ve Learned Going into My 4th Physician Assistant Application Cycle

5 Things I’ve Learned Going Into My Fourth Physician Assistant Application Cycle

Many of life's failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up - Thomas Edison I will be honest; this is not an article I ever thought I’d be writing. I … [Read More...] about 5 Things I’ve Learned Going Into My Fourth Physician Assistant Application Cycle

31 NEW CASPA PA School Personal Statement Examples - The Physician Assistant Life

31 (NEW) CASPA PA School Personal Statement Examples

Several years ago, I published a blog post titled 31 Physician Assistant Personal Statement Examples, which has been viewed over half a million times. The chance to read other people's PA school … [Read More...] about 31 (NEW) CASPA PA School Personal Statement Examples

Do You Recognize These 7 Common Mistakes in Your Personal Statement?

You've written your essay. You know what you want to say. But will the admissions committee get your message? You've read through countless PA school essay samples. You've chopped … [Read More...] about Do You Recognize These 7 Common Mistakes in Your Personal Statement?

More Posts from this Category

Testimonials

Carly Hallman did an amazing job helping me with my personal statement! I was feeling conflicted and uncertain about my own personal statement, but she helped set my mind at ease! I now have peace of mind regarding my personal statement. She was so helpful in correcting any grammar errors and also informed me of what I could add to my essay. I knew I was missing something in my essay, but could not quite put my finger on it. Carly identified what was missing so I could make those changes to my essay. I’m so thankful for her help because I do not think I could have figured out that “missing piece” had it not been for her. I now feel confident about my essay and I am extremely happy with it! 🙂 Thank you so much!!!
Ramsha, Pre-PA
This is Tyler. I hope you remember helping me with my essay back in May. As promised, I wanted to update you with news of my PA school journey and I am excited to tell you that I was accepted to Stony Brook’s PA program!! THANK YOU VERY MUCH for helping me write an essay that was truly reflective of who I am as a candidate and as a person! It played a pivotal role in this whole nerve-racking process and has helped me achieve a major life goal. You are a godsend to Pre-PA students.
Tyler, PA-S
I worked with Duke to edit and complete my essay. It was a terrific experience that I would recommend to everyone! Duke has an amazing ability to help you move things around and change it a little, while still making it feel like 100% your own work. We talked out every change we made, and we both conceded to each other in different places. He made extra time for me when I got stressed out about the deadline, and worked with me for a while each time we sat down. I paid $199 for this service, and I think that was the best bargain I ever got! I have been invited back to submit supplemental applications to some schools, and I will keep the team updated about my interviews. Thanks Duke!!!
Carly Bransky, Pre-PA
I was extremely stressed out about writing my personal statement, and finally decided to search the internet for advice and assistance. I came across the personal statement editing service on the PA Life, and decided to give it a try. I received a response within a day, and my stress was instantly relieved. I worked personally with Duke to edit my statement, and he is a phenomenal writer. He didn’t change the content of my statement, but rather helped me tell my story in a way that is much more desirable! I cannot recommend this service enough to others seeking help on their personal statement. Duke was friendly, sincere, and definitely experienced! I felt 100% confident in his editing abilities, and we worked together the entire time so that we were both pleased with the results! Thanks again, Duke, for all of your help!
Chelsie W. Pre-PA
Deanna was amazing! She really went above and beyond the single-edit that I could afford. I consider myself a pretty good writer, but she helped me focus and ground my story without sacrificing the overall creativity of the original piece. All I can say is wow! If there ever was something worth the money, this service is it!
John S. Pre-PA
Sue did an excellent job. Despite my sending a request just in time for a holiday, not only did she meet my deadline-she was early. She asked questions beyond the provided text, in an effort to gain deeper insight into me as a person. Her positive attitude and professional review help to ease my stressful anticipation. I am happy I sought her service! (Thanks, Sue)
Angela, Pre-PA
The ease, frequency, and promptness of communication were some of the best aspects of this service. I found the review and revisions to be very thoughtful and explained in a way where I knew exactly how to apply them to my essay. I would 100% recommend the PA Life PS review to any applicant, and especially enjoyed working with Carly. I am hopeful my personal statement will gain the attention of PA programs I am applying to.
Charlie, Pre-PA
Sarah from The PA Life was an incredible resource for editing my personal statement. Her edits took into account the big picture of the message of the statement and helped guide me when writing additional content my statement was lacking. Her edits and responses were both prompt and thorough, and I truly feel that she made a huge positive impact on my personal statement.
Travis, Pre-PA
This service was invaluable – I felt decent about my essay, but it’s remarkably better. I appreciate the level of detail and courtesy even with my discounted rate. You guys are too great!
Taylor Hamstra, Pre-PA
Susan did a fantastic job of editing my essay! She guided me and gave me suggestions for strengthening certain sections and equally took out weak parts. After I followed her recommendations, I really felt like I had an essay where every sentence mattered and reflected who I was. Thank you so much Susan for your help. I feel that I have a stronger essay because of your honest feedback and your help!
Patrick, Pre-PA

Are you struggling to write your PA School Personal Statement?

We have options to fit every budget

Click Here To Get Started

Essay Review Service

  • PA School Essay Collaborative
  • 31 Sample PA School Essays

Useful Links

  • Recommended Reading
  • Support The PA Life
  • Terms and Conditions
  • Privacy Policy
  • Pre-PA Consulting
  • LinkedIn Profile Editing
  • Essay Revision
  • Resume/CV Revision
  • Mock Interviews
  • Testimonials
  • Program Picker
  • Archive
  • About
  • Contact
  • Affiliate Portal

Copyright © 2022 The PA Life, INC • Terms & Conditions • Privacy Policy • Disclaimer • Refund Policy · Log in