You are reflecting today. In Lesson 1 you answered “Tell me about yourself” in 150–200 words. Today you bank the full personal statement those lessons built, hold it against that first baseline, and write one tight synthesis of what changed.

ALT 1 ends in this period. Strand 1.2 starts next with progression planning, so the value you name today has somewhere to go.

Three terms name what you finish today. Read each row once, then move on to your drafts.

First, annotate Orla’s banking note (about five minutes). Label what shows real growth, what is still vague, what proves the statement is ready to bank, and what belongs in a synthesis rather than in the statement itself. Then reveal the model and notice where you differed. The prompts after the model are sixty-second pair talk or silent think only; they are not a separate write-up.

After the annotation, open your own materials in the Strand 1.1 folder:

• Lesson 1 Tell Me About Yourself
• Your latest personal statement draft (v2 or tailored version)
• Voice revision notes, peer feedback, and spoken introduction if you have them

Bank ALT 1 (bulk of this step): consolidate into one clean personal statement (300–500 words). Keep the specific evidence, cut repeated claims, and make sure it still sounds like you. Save it as Personal Statement V1 Final in Strand 1.1. Minimum viable bank if time is tight: your strongest full draft, cleaned of unproven lines, saved under that exact filename.

Write Strand Synthesis in the same folder: one paragraph covering (1) your biggest insight from Strand 1.1, (2) the most surprising thing compared with Lesson 1, (3) one value you are carrying into Strand 1.2 progression planning. Two to four sentences is enough if every sentence earns its place. Name a value you can point to in the final statement with a real moment, not a poster word (leadership, passion) with no page evidence.

The only required writes this period are Personal Statement V1 Final and Strand Synthesis. ALT 1 is banked when both files are saved, named, and findable in Strand 1.1.

Gate before you start: both Personal Statement V1 Final and Strand Synthesis must already be saved in Strand 1.1. If either file is still open and unfinished, stay on save-and-name first. Do not begin the side-by-side until both banked files exist.

Anyone still consolidating: finish and save Personal Statement V1 Final now; complete Strand Synthesis before you leave if you can, or log it for ALT catch-up with your teacher. The comparison task runs only when both documents are open.

When both files are saved, talk these through with the person beside you, or sit with them quietly if you are working alone.

• Open your Lesson 1 Tell Me About Yourself beside Personal Statement V1 Final. Read the first five lines of each. What changed that a stranger would notice, not only that you feel more confident?
• If Sixth-Year you opened only today’s two banked files, what would still be missing for a Portfolio in Action brief, and what would already be enough to start?

Optional, after both files are saved and non-blocking for ALT 1: three lines under your Strand Synthesis covering what you cut from the final statement, what you kept on purpose, and the value you are carrying into Strand 1.2 in one plain sentence. Not required to bank ALT 1.

In this lesson you:

• Annotated a sample ALT 1 bank note for growth, vagueness, bank-ready moves, and synthesis content
• Consolidated your drafts into Personal Statement V1 Final and banked Applied Learning Task 1
• Wrote your Strand Synthesis: biggest insight, most surprising finding, and one value for Strand 1.2
• Held your Lesson 1 baseline against the final statement to see what actually moved

End-of-lesson banking checklist (confirm before you leave):

• Personal Statement V1 Final saved in Strand 1.1
• Strand Synthesis saved in Strand 1.1
• Both openable straight away from that folder

Strand 1.1 is complete. Next you take that banked statement into progression planning in Strand 1.2.