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- Published: 16th September 2026
- Word count: 567 words
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Personal statement example
My interest in archives grew out of the practical problem of not being able to read what I had been given. For my undergraduate dissertation I compared how two Yorkshire parishes recorded relief for widowed women between 1850 and 1880, which meant three months of reading-room visits, a palaeography handbook and a lot of squinting at overseers' accounts on microfilm. What stayed with me afterwards was not only the evidence I found but the shape of the collection itself: the gaps where minute books had been lost, the catalogue descriptions that told me who had deposited the records and when, and the way a reference number could carry the whole logic of a diocesan filing system. I began to see the finding aid as an argument about the records rather than a neutral list, and I wanted to understand how those arguments are made.
Since graduating I have worked as an administrator for a housing charity, and that job has taught me more about records management than I expected. I look after tenancy and support files that contain a good deal of sensitive personal information, and part of my role is applying the retention schedule: identifying what must be kept for audit or legal reasons, what can be destroyed, and what has been quietly duplicated across three shared drives because nobody agreed on naming conventions. Last year I rewrote our folder structure and drafted a one-page guide so that new staff file consistently, and I now sit in on the quarterly data protection review. Dealing with subject access requests has made the balance between access and confidentiality concrete for me: I have had to decide what can reasonably be redacted when a file mentions third parties, and to explain those decisions plainly to colleagues.
My reading has followed these two strands. Elizabeth Shepherd and Geoffrey Yeo's Managing Records gave me vocabulary for what I was doing instinctively at work, particularly around appraisal and the idea that records need context to remain meaningful. Terry Cook's writing on appraisal and the shift away from purely custodial thinking helped me see why decisions about what to keep are professional and contestable rather than administrative. I follow the Archives and Records Association's journal and blog posts where I can, and I have become interested in digital preservation, especially the problem of file formats and born-digital email collections, which is where my current workplace knowledge runs out.
Outside work I transcribe my grandmother's family papers: letters, a wartime ration book, loose photographs with names on the back in at least three different hands. I have built a simple spreadsheet recording date, correspondent, condition and provenance, and I have learned to resist rearranging bundles into the order I would find convenient. I also keep the fixture and scorebook records for a local cricket club, which sounds trivial but involves the same questions of consistency, legibility and whether anyone will be able to use them in twenty years.
I am applying for postgraduate study because I want the professional grounding I cannot get from reading alone: cataloguing standards, digital preservation practice, and the legislative framework that sits behind decisions I currently make by instinct. My longer-term hope is to work in a local authority or university archive service, where I would enjoy the mixture of technical description work and helping researchers who arrive, as I did, unsure how to begin.
Why this example works — strengths and ways to improve
This is a well-grounded statement for a taught postgraduate archives course. You link historical research use of archives with genuine records-management work, and your reflection on finding aids and redaction is thoughtful rather than generic. The main gaps are limited concrete digital experience, a few slightly long sentences, and a closing paragraph that could show more clearly what you hope to learn.
Subject motivation
I began to see the finding aid as an argument about the records
Your motivation grows from a real research encounter, not abstract enthusiasm. Moving from difficulty reading records to questioning how catalogues shape interpretation shows intellectual curiosity suited to archival study. The opening problem gives the whole statement a coherent starting point.
Academic preparation
compared how two Yorkshire parishes recorded relief for widowed women between 1850 and 1880
The dissertation is specific and plausible, with palaeography and microfilm work showing appropriate first-degree preparation. Your reading of Shepherd, Yeo and Cook signals engagement with the discipline. You could briefly note one method or finding from the dissertation to show analytical depth beyond describing the process.
Evidence and reflection
I have had to decide what can reasonably be redacted when a file mentions third parties
This is strong reflection. You show judgement under real constraints and connect it to the access-versus-confidentiality tension, rather than claiming generic skills. Similar reflection on what Cook changed in your workplace decisions would deepen the reading paragraph.
Relevant experience
Last year I rewrote our folder structure and drafted a one-page guide
Ordinary administrative work becomes excellent evidence because you describe concrete actions: applying retention schedules, restructuring files and handling subject access requests. The family papers and cricket records are proportionate supporting examples. Digital preservation is honestly flagged as a gap, which is credible, though any small hands-on attempt would help.
Credibility and voice
which sounds trivial but involves the same questions of consistency, legibility
Your voice is modest, precise and believable. Claims match an early-career administrator's role, such as sitting in on reviews rather than leading them. Wry details like the duplicated shared drives feel authentic without undermining seriousness, and nothing is overstated.
Structure and format
My longer-term hope is to work in a local authority or university archive service
Paragraphs follow a logical sequence: origin, work, reading, personal practice, aims. The conclusion is realistic and echoes the opening neatly. Some sentences, especially in the first paragraph, run long and could be split. The final paragraph lists course topics briefly; one sentence on why now would strengthen it.
What you’ve done well
- You turn routine administrative tasks, such as retention schedules and subject access requests, into convincing evidence of professional judgement.
- The finding-aid-as-argument insight shows genuine critical thinking about archives, not just enthusiasm for history.
- You honestly identify digital preservation as the limit of your current knowledge, which makes your reasons for further study credible.
How this draft could improve
- Add one sentence on a specific digital preservation question you have tried to explore, for example how your charity handles email retention, so the interest feels anchored in experience.
- Break up the longest sentences in the opening paragraph so the dissertation detail and the reflection each land clearly.
- In the final paragraph, explain briefly why professional training is the right step now, connecting it to a decision at work you felt underequipped to make.