What Reviewers Look For in the Law School — Application Addendum
This rubric looks for an addendum that clearly identifies the issue, gives the necessary facts and timeline, and provides relevant context or current status. A strong addendum is direct, neutral, complete, and limited to the information needed to address the application issue or question.
What We Check
Whether the addendum identifies the issue it explains or the disclosure question it answers.
Whether the visible facts let a reader follow what happened and when.
The explanatory relationship or present-status job that applies.
Whether the addendum completes its job without advocacy theater, a second personal statement, or unrelated material.
Mistakes We Flag
- Leaving the issue unclear
- Do not make the reader guess which grade period, test result, gap, incident, or application fact you are explaining. Name the specific issue and connect any personal context to it.
- Using vague timelines or indirect facts
- Phrases like “during that difficult period” can hide the sequence of events. Give the smallest useful date range and state relevant events, outcomes, or dispositions plainly.
- Treating context as an excuse
- Context can explain an effect on a grade, result, gap, or incident, but it does not erase the record. State the connection without arguing that the underlying fact no longer matters.
- Turning the addendum into a personal narrative or argument
- Broad background, character testimonials, and arguments about what admissions should conclude can obscure the needed information. Keep the focus on the facts, context, and current status that answer the issue.
- Omitting part of a disclosure question
- If a question asks for several types of information, address each requested part. Do not rely on a transcript, record, or other document to supply facts that belong in the addendum.
References
Frequently Asked Questions
What kinds of issues can this addendum address?
It can explain academic performance, testing, an education or employment gap, comparable application context, or an affirmative character-and-fitness question.
Do I need to include the exact application question?
Not necessarily. But when responding to a disclosure question, identifying the requested incident or topic helps make clear what you are answering. Without the exact question, the completeness of a disclosure cannot be confirmed.
Should I apologize or tell a growth story?
Use neutral facts and address responsibility, remediation, recurrence, or current status when the event and question make them relevant. Emotional self-condemnation is not required, and a no-fault or unresolved outcome should not be rewritten as an admission of fault.
How long should an addendum be?
The provided materials set a maximum of 500 words. A concise explanatory addendum may fully address its issue in about 150 words, while a disclosure should include all information the question requests.
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