Arabic with Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies MA (Hons) personal statement example

Why do you want to study this course or subject?

In a Spanish lesson last year our teacher wrote almohada, aldea, alcalde and azúcar on the board and said they had entered Spanish from Arabic during the centuries of al-Andalus. That evening I tried to find out what the 'al' was. It turned out to be the Arabic definite article, absorbed into Spanish as part of the noun. It struck me that a language I had studied for five years rested partly on another I could not read a single word of. I want to study Arabic because even a beginner's grasp of its structure has changed how I understand history and language I thought I knew. The root system interests me most so far. Seeing that kitab, maktab and katib share the consonants k-t-b, with patterns of vowels and prefixes building related meanings of book, office and writer, made Arabic feel systematic rather than impenetrable. I am equally drawn to studying the region itself, because I have found that words make little sense without the societies that used them. A degree combining the language with Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies would let me build real reading ability alongside the history, belief and politics behind the texts.

How have your qualifications and studies helped you to prepare?

My Advanced Higher History project examines the surrender of Granada in 1492 and how the promises of religious freedom made to its Muslim population were set aside within a decade, ending in forced conversions. Working through translated sources, I became frustrated that nearly everything I could easily reach was written from the Castilian side, and I began to want access to the other voices. Spanish has given me habits I rely on: learning grammar in small, tested steps and accepting that fluency comes slowly. Arabic is not taught at my school, so last spring I borrowed Mastering Arabic by Jane Wightwick and Mahmoud Gaafar from the library and worked through it for twenty minutes on the bus most days. By the end of the summer I could write every letter in its joined forms and read short vocalised words, though unvowelled text still defeats me. To understand the wider context I read the early chapters of Albert Hourani's A History of the Arab Peoples, which showed me how Arabic spread as a language of administration and scholarship, not only of religion. In Modern Studies, comparing how two newspapers reported the same events in Syria taught me to notice which sources a journalist trusts, which I now try to apply to my own reading.

What else have you done to prepare outside of education, and why are these experiences useful?

Because I had no teacher, I made my own practice material. I walked the length of my high street and photographed every sign with Arabic script: a takeaway, a barber's and a grocer's. At home I transliterated each one and checked it against my textbook. When I showed my attempts to the grocer, he was happy to help and corrected my pronunciation of the letter 'ayn, which I had been treating as a vowel. I now buy my bread there and practise a few greetings each week. It is a small project, but it showed me how much I learn by listening carefully and asking. On Saturdays I work the counter of a busy bakery. Serving a long queue before nine, remembering regular orders and keeping the till accurate have made me calm and reliable under pressure, and my manager now trusts me to open up with one other colleague. I have played badminton since I was twelve, and on Tuesday evenings I help coach the juniors, setting up drills and keeping younger players focused. Explaining a backhand grip to a nervous nine-year-old has taught me patience and to break skills into clear steps, which is also how I approach learning a language. I would bring that steady persistence to a demanding course.