- Bizarre: You should avoid being bizarre in your essay. Pushing beyond
the limits of your own imagination will undoubtedly make it difficult for
others to follow you. If you are trying to express a complex thought, it is
best to put it in a simple form. Leave your interest in science fiction writing
for your English assignments in college. Make your essay straight forward.
By being bizarre you label yourself as an eccentric and raise doubts in the
reader's mind as to the constructive role you will play in the college community.
- Humor: It may seem surprising to see the cautionary note about humor,
but presenting humor is an art form, and not everyone is a master. Remember,
one person's humorous point may be another person's sensitive point. One never
knows. In cases where applications are read by two or more people your humor
could go awry and hurt your chances for admission. This is not to say that
you should avoid humor entirely. You should use it sparingly and seek expert
advice before relying on humor to make your points.
- Privacy: Often college candidates feel that in order to be unique
and ensure their advantage over other students with similar grades, scores,
and credentials, they must "do something" in their essay that will really
set them apart. So they tell too much about themselves. Mistake!! When you
present a thought or a fact that violates your own privacy, you really intrude
on the privacy of the reader as well. Naturally you want to be candid and
honest and should be. But stop short of relating something that is private
to you and your family.
- Narrative: There is nothing especially wrong in telling a story
in your college essay, but unless the meaning of each event in the story is
clear, you are apt to write too much and lose the reader's attention. Every
student probably remembers his/her English teacher's plea to "show" and not
to "tell." When you write a narrative you run the risk of telling and not
showing. And since your essay will be 250-500 words, you run the risk of repeating
yourself and limiting the breadth of what you want to say.
College Essay Topics
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