How to Approach Personal Questions
Review the brief:
You should look to see the personal question in the context of the scenario. If it’s a team working scenario, then ensure that your life story and reflections are suitable and pertain to team working. If it is an ethical scenario, then ensure that your chosen experience suits the prompt.
As in any question type, look to capture the core concern – consider the single most important issue that is raised by your story, and ensure that you can show that you have dealt with it in an empathetic and professional manner, and have learnt from and reflected on it adequately.
Draw upon your store of experiences:
You should have considered each possible type of personal question well in advance of sitting the CASPer. There are a finite number of possible topics, and a finite number of experiences and reflections that you might draw upon. You should therefore have already prepared a range of experiences, and have considered how to concisely and suitably write these down. You should have also considered the reflections that you made, and how these might relate to questions.
Combine brief and your store of experiences:
Now start writing, with both the prompt and personal experience in mind. You will likely need to both draw upon a prepared reflection, and alter it or your reflection slightly in order to best fit the prompt. The key is that you both have a skeleton of your answer ready to go, and the ability to evolve or change that answer in light of the prompt that you are given.