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I know you're supposed to write your PS about why you want to be a lawyer, and, for me, it's because I enjoy and think I have a knack for argument, in the sense of common pursuit of the truth through logic. I want to expand on that a bit, and discuss how I want to use that talent for the betterment of society.

But I don't want admissions people to look at it with a "Not another one of these ..." idea.

Is this topic well-worn to the point that adcoms would look at it that way?

You need to be more specific.
Talk about wanting an intellectual challenge not only in school but in your future employment.
Get specific about what intellectually stimulates you about law.

Or...Pick a different topic. It is a bit trite.

Who ever said you are supposed to write your PS about why you want to be a lawyer? That is only one possible topic out of literally thousands you can write about. And yes, your reason is the most jaded and cliched response you could possibly give to a jaded and cliched type of personal statement. Sorry, but I'd go for something else that would stand out a bit.

personally, i wouldn't want to read that PS. I would chose something else

It might work, but I would imagine it would be very difficult to pull off effectively (it really sounds like another one of those "I want to change the world/society" personal statements). Why not actually focus on something more personal and specific to your background, while relating it to your interest in law? That's what a PS should focus on.

MPeterson wrote:I know you're supposed to write your PS about why you want to be a lawyer

No, you are supposed to not do that.

Personal statements don't matter unless you want Yale. hth.

Thanks for the advice, everyone!

I'm not sure how you could stretch "a knack for argument" to PS length, but if there's strong anecdotal evidence, then maybe. Remember, you need to show, not tell, the adcomms that you have such a knack. I suggest reading TLS's guide to personal statements and samples, then seeing how you feel about your topic.

http://www.top-law-schools.com/statement.html

And, to agree with the others, you shouldn't feel like you have to explain why you want to be a lawyer. For the most part, they already know you want to be a lawyer, and the reasoning, especially when it seems very abstract and unrelated to personal experience, is mostly irrelevant.

A good PS is more about writing style than the subject matter or overriding theme(s). If you can write well then your PS will come across as honest and meaningful. That is far more important than having an interesting life story to write about.

I wrote my PS about wanting to be a lawyer because of my first experience in a courtroom. How many of those do you think adcoms have to read every day? I focused on making my PS easy to read and tried to make it sound like something I would say if I was speaking out loud.

That being said, I don't like the 'knack for argument' approach. If you can do it well, go for it, but I think the I-can-argue-well-and-will-use-that-to-fix-society line fails not because it's used often, but because it just sounds blah.

Also, your PS does not have to be about why you want to be a lawyer, seriously. That gets blown way out of proportion on this site. It can be a great place to start for those who are struggling to come up with a topic, but you could certainly impress an adcom by simply highlighting something interesting about yourself that would make you a good candidate for law school (and being good at arguing isn't it).

There was one piece of advice that someone gave me that helped me immensely when thinking of a topic and getting that topic to paper. Imagine yourself walking into the room with the adcoms while they are reading you file. You are given one minute to speak to them and tell them something that they don't already know from your file. One minute flies, and they will be anxious to finish up with you and get onto the next one. What do you tell them about yourself that will keep them the slightest bit interested in a single minute? The answer to that question is what you write your personal statement about. There are so many personal experiences that you could speak of that would say volumes more about you as a person than telling them about a "knack for argument".

MPeterson wrote:[strike]Thanks for the advice, everyone![/strike] Alright it was a bad idea. I was mistaken. You can let it go now.

I love the "ok thanks for the advice please quit making fun of my ignorance" posts...I had a few of those in my day...just had one a minute ago actually...lol.