#南森外籍专栏# 如何写出一篇好的申请Essay
高中时首次参加ACT即获得35分（36分为满分），申请时同时收获Harvard University ，Princeton University，University of Chicago，Northwestern University，University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill以及New York University的录取，在创造性写作及跨文化交流方面有独特的天赋。
Hi, Everyone!
After reading a lot of application essays, I wanted to share some of my observations in addition to giving you a few tips I think will vastly improve your writing. Application essays are designed to challenge students who are applying. You have to think of the word count, the prompt, and the research behind your response. From everything I have seen, there are three main problems coming up in almost everyone's writing. Organized writing, concise writing, and relevant writing all seem to be problematic and need to be stressed in your essays. Let's take a look at how we can fix these problems.
Where does organization begin? BEFORE you even start writing. Get out a pen and a piece of paper (old school style) and write down your thoughts in a list on a piece of paper. After you have them all written out, see which thoughts belong together. There will be ideas that belong together and complement one another. Once you have your grouping of ideas, decide how they best go together. You want your idea groups to flow and make sense. From beginning to end, there should be a clear direction in your writing. You don't want your thoughts to be scrambled and have a thought group that should go at the end of your essay in the beginning. At the end of your writing, read your essay and move paragraphs around if needed.
This idea of flow also applies to the paragraph itself. Everything you say in a paragraph should relate back to the paragraph topic sentence. If a sentence doesn't flow or relate to the paragraph you are currently writing, you have three options…delete it, move it to another paragraph, or start a new paragraph. Don't try to force a sentence in a paragraph if it doesn't belong…even if you really like it. Challenge yourself and be honest with yourself. Really be critical of your work. This leads us to our next point, concise writing.
Almost all of your essay prompts will include a word limit. It is important to note this is a LIMIT and NOT a goal. If you can answer the question in half of the word limit, do it. Do NOT add words just for the sake of adding words. You also shouldn't be adding descriptive words because you think it will make your English seem better. This often back fires and the added words clearly do not belong there. Not only should you be cautious of not adding words, but I encourage you to DELETE words,
sentences, and paragraphs. That's right…even ENTIRE paragraphs are safe
to delete. I constantly delete paragraph and entire pages in my writing.
You might be sitting there and wondering why you would delete. There are a few reasons. One is strictly a word count reason. If you are 100 words over, it is time to start cutting. Read your essay over and over. Unless the word, the sentence, or the paragraph are not ABSOLUTELY necessary, you need to delete it. This not only helps with your word count, but it shows your admissions officer you are capable of producing concise and quality writing. The next reason you would delete is for organization. If there is an awkward sentence or paragraph, just delete it. Don't try to force it. The third reason is somewhat related to the first reason and also brings us to our next point. You need to write ONLY about the question being asked.
I had a professor in high school who taught me this lesson. He walked in
the class room and wrote, “ATDQ” on the board. My class sat confused
until he explained it. It turns out he was tired of reading off topic essays we had written. ATDQ means, “Answer the damn question!” What exactly does this mean? We all obviously write to answer questions, but are we really answering the question being asked? More than you realize, the answer is NO. I am guilty of this just as much as the students I have consulted. We end up writing off topic for various
reasons. An example that is relevant to you as you being application
essays are as follows. A question asks about what the university will
do for you. You find something you really like about the school and
just write about it. Instead of an essay about how the university will help you, the essay is now about BUSF 301, the hockey team, or that tree students like to sit underneath in the quad. You just wasted a whole essay.
Answering the damn question forces you to be critical of your own work as well as being organized. You have to plan your essay according to the question being asked and you have to be willing to make sacrifices in order to stay concise and clear about the topic.
If you can implement these three tips in your essays, I truly believe your
writing quality will improve. Not only will you begin to produce clearer essays, but your written English will also improve. This isn't only important for your personal development, but admissions officers will be impressed by your writing skills.
Thank you all for your time!
I hope you enjoyed the read. If you likes this article, come visit us at Nanson. We have many more videos and articles in addition to workshops and one on one counseling to help you be admitted into your dream school!
Looking forward to seeing you,
Jake
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