Imperial Values Essay: Actions, Decisions and Impact
The values essay asks for a time when you embodied one or more of Respect, Collaboration, Integrity, Innovation and Excellence, and the impact it had. Choose an experience with a meaningful action rather than a declaration that you possess every value.
Choose one situation for the values essay
Look for a real decision, tension or difficulty. A smaller experience with clear personal responsibility can be more useful than a large project in which your contribution is unclear. Record what happened before deciding which value the event best demonstrates.
Explain your choice in the values essay
The values essay needs to show what you personally did and why. Distinguish your action from the team’s overall work. Explain the alternative you rejected or the challenge you had to resolve. This is where a general story becomes evidence of judgement.
Make impact visible in the values essay
Describe the effect that your evidence supports. It may be a corrected decision, a more inclusive process or a lesson that changed later behaviour. Do not invent a percentage because a numerical result sounds stronger. A qualified, observable outcome is more credible than an unsupported claim.
An original values essay excerpt
Fictional example: ‘Our presentation used an estimate I could not reproduce. I told the team before the deadline, checked the original calculation and replaced the unsupported figure with a range. We revised the recommendation and documented the uncertainty.’ This demonstrates integrity through a decision rather than naming the value repeatedly.
Common values essay mistakes
Avoid five shallow stories for five values, a long description of other people’s mistakes or a heroic account in which you learned nothing. If the result was mixed, explain both the useful outcome and what you would change. Reflection should follow the evidence rather than replace it.
Review the values essay with the other answers
Check that the experience is accurate and consistent with your CV. Keep the values essay focused on behaviour and impact, leaving the full career plan to its separate field. The supplied form permits 3,500 characters for this answer, independent of the first PS response.
Next steps
Separate personal impact from the team outcome
Write down your personal impact before drafting: what changed because of your decision or action? Use a values example to explain the choice you faced. In the values essay, distinguish personal impact from a result that depended on the whole team, and acknowledge the contributions of others.
Identify the request
Begin the Imperial MSc values essay with the actual task. Choose a decision in which your behaviour mattered and explain the effect you can support. The name of a value is a lens for examining the action, not a substitute for showing what happened. Keep the Imperial MSc values essay focused on the requested explanation.
Study a fictional situation
Explore the values essay through this teaching example: A fictional team discovers that one figure in its presentation cannot be reproduced. A member raises the issue, checks the calculation and helps replace the unsupported claim. The example concerns the choice to make uncertainty visible, not a heroic rescue story. In the Imperial MSc values essay, learn the method without borrowing the fictional history.
Outline the response
Give the Imperial MSc values essay a clear structure. Give enough context to explain the difficulty, describe your responsibility and decision, then connect the action to an observed effect. Acknowledge other people’s work and distinguish a personal contribution from the team’s overall result. For the values essay, select evidence before polishing sentences.
Revise the explanation
Review the Imperial MSc values essay for one missing connection. Cut broad statements that you always demonstrate every value. Add the alternative you considered, the reason you chose your action and the limit of the outcome. Reflection should show learning from the event rather than simply praising your character. Compare the Imperial MSc values essay before and after the change.
Avoid the shortcut
Check the values essay for this pitfall: Do not invent a dramatic conflict or a measurable improvement because the real event seems modest. An honest mixed outcome can explain judgement when you describe what you learned and what you would change next time. Revisit the Imperial MSc values essay when a claim exceeds the supporting evidence.
Ask for a focused review
Give another reader Imperial MSc values essay and the original prompt. Ask which part remains unanswered and where the reasoning is unclear. Revise the values essay using specific feedback, rather than asking only whether the response sounds impressive.
Try a related prompt
Practise the Imperial MSc values essay with different wording. Keep the method of selecting evidence and explaining its relevance, but check whether the previous answer still fits. Returning to the values essay this way tests understanding rather than memorisation.