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Probably the most common comment I have on an application is to ask a candidate to be more specific. To me, this is one of the best ways to stand out.

I realise it's not always clear what it means to be more specific, so let me give an example:

One candidate recently discussed the lengths a senior lawyer at a firm went to support another junior member at the firm as one of their reasons for applying (an excellent specific reason). The candidate then went on to make a brief reference to how this shows the firm's training (a generic reason).

To improve the second part, the candidate should be more specific about why it matters to them that the partner went the extra mile. Perhaps, for example, it might tell a candidate that training at the firm is treated as a firm-wide commitment, no matter how senior a lawyer may be. It could also be very important to the candidate that junior lawyers are respected as an integral part of the firm.