Many assume evidence must be grand, formal, or academic, when it can simply be anything that shows curiosity, learning, or progression. As the Collins dictionary puts it, evidence is 'anything you see, experience, read, or are told that makes you believe something is true or has happened', and that’s exactly the mindset students need.
So here are ten ways to help students get engaged with evidence.
1. Turn screen time into subject evidence
Ask students to review what they’ve watched, read, or searched online recently. Perhaps their YouTube rabbit holes, podcast listening or online tasters (like Subject Spotlights) led to them subscribing to an industry newsletter or exploring a new trend. It’s all subject engagement and noticing what caught their interest. Encourage them to identify what links directly or indirectly to the course. If they find nothing, perfect. It’s a starting point.
2. Think beyond qualifications – studies are broader than you realise
Students often overlook the parts of their studies that first sparked their curiosity. Prompt them to identify specific units or topics that opened new questions. Draw on essays, projects, reports, portfolios, or practical investigations where they explored a viewpoint, theory, or technique in depth. This could be exploring material performance in product design and seeing real world applications, or a photography project that led them to investigate algorithmic feeds, ethics, and consent.
3. Competitions and events
Maths challenges, STEM fairs, arts competitions, sustainability days, coding hackathons or any event where students had to problem solve, collaborate, or push their thinking beyond the classroom. These experiences often reveal how they respond to real-world tasks, from analysing data under time pressure, to presenting ideas publicly, to adapting when something doesn’t go to plan – all of which make excellent evidence.
4. Highlight personal experiences
Personal experiences can be powerful when clearly linked to motivation. Caring for a family member, tutoring a younger student, overcoming a challenge, or being inspired by someone can all shape future interests. What matters is articulating the personal growth and how it influenced choices.
5. Bring in trips and visits
Trips, exhibitions, galleries, historic sites or online tours show independent exploration, bringing subjects to life for many. Even something small, like modelling a bridge design after a museum visit, demonstrates applied learning and critical engagement.
6. Think creatively about work experience
Work experience isn’t defined by the setting but by the insight it gives into a role: what the work involves, the skills used, and the attitudes needed to succeed. Virtual experiences, conversations with professionals, organising events, or volunteering can be just as meaningful. Encourage students to focus on what they learned about the field rather than the type of placement.
7. Curiosity from unexpected places
Evidence rings truest when it’s personal. Interests sparked from everyday life can show genuine exploration. A dress at the Met Gala sparking research into sustainable fashion. A travel influencer leading to an interest in urban planning. Students shouldn’t dismiss pop culture, social media, or holidays; if something sparked curiosity and led somewhere, it counts.
8. Extracurriculars with purpose
Extracurriculars often become a list. Using the PEEL approach (Point, Evidence, Explain, Link) can help students move from describing what they did to why it matters. For example, instead of simply saying they play netball, psychology applicants might reflect on observing communication styles, performance under pressure, and group dynamics –and link this to their motivation to learn more.
9. Always explain the 'so what'?
Reflection turns an example into evidence. Students should ask: What did I take from this? Why did it matter? How does it connect to the course? Universities want to see curiosity, research, and confidence that the course is genuinely right for them. That’s where the 'so what' rule makes a difference.
10. Map before drafting
Mapping skills and experiences against their five UCAS choices helps students spot patterns and identify the evidence that best supports all courses. It also gives a clearer structure and helps ensure the most relevant strengths come through centre stage. This blueprint makes it easier to decide what’s genuinely important and to articulate the all-important 'so what'?
Need more ideas?
Our personal statement toolkit is full of classroom activities to save you time and help students write with evidence and impact.
