Firstly thanks to those who have helped me so far with my application, I really appreciate it. My supervisors are just looking at the second draft of my proposal now, hopefully they will like it.

I just need to write my personal statement now, but at PhD level surely the proposal is more important? They all know me very well as I've been there for four years and they have accepted me so this is a formality, but obviously I still want it to be good. Does anyone have any tips for writing a good PhD personal statement?

Thanks, Nxx

Why do you want a PhD, why do you want to do this topic, and why do you think you'll be the perfect match for it. Answer those questions simply and straightforwardly.

Thank you Bilbo - I'm terrible at writing things like this usually, will just do something concise, will keep it to one side as well. Nx

Hi!
Personal statements are such a pain! I feel for you!
I wrote a very short one, it was hardly 200 words. In the first paragraph I wrote what I hope to gain out of it. You can say about your background (1st degree).
In the second paragraph I wrote a very short description of my master's dissertation (I did this and examined this). If you have any publications add them too.
Finally, I wrote what my PhD will be about and what I hope to come up with. Then a kind statement that I hope to be accepted. It looked like "why I want to get accepted in the kindergarden" personal statement, but it worked fine.
Good luck with the results!