Ultimate Guide To College Application Essays

Ultimate Guide To College Application Essays I look around my room, dimly lit by an orange light. On a desk in the left corner, a framed picture of an Asian family is beaming their smiles, buried among US history textbooks and The Great Gatsby. For this essay type, I recommend the Montage Structure. A montage is, simply put, a series of moments or story events connected by a common thematic thread. Complete the brainstorming exercises, as these will help no matter which structure you choose. Okay, this isn’t necessarily a perfect way to outline an essay. You may not want to spend an entire paragraph describing your feelings, for example, or you may choose to describe your needs in just one sentence. However, the sideways Feelings and Needs chart can help you think about how the chronology of your experiences might translate into a personal statement. If you’re interested in writing about challenges, I highly recommend using the Narrative Structure. I have learned to accept my “ambiguity” as “diversity,” as a third-culture student embracing both identities in this diverse community that I am blessed to be a part of. Although the idea of being so vulnerable initially made me nervous, I soon realized that this vulnerability was essential to my growth. Like the faint scent of mustard oil in my hair, the war followed me to the United States. Here, I was the villain, responsible for causing pain. In the streets, in school, and in Baba’s taxi cab, my family and I were equated with the same Taliban who had pillaged our neighborhood and preyed on our loved ones. I never fully escaped war; it’s evident in the chills that run down my spine whenever an untimely call reaches us from family members in Pakistan and in the funerals still playing on Geo News. But I’m working towards a war-free life, internally and externally, for me and the individuals who can share in my experiences, for my family, and for the forgotten Pashtun tribes from which I hail. War has taught me to recognize the power of representation, to find courage in vulnerability, and best of all, to celebrate humor. Within a few weeks, my panel and interview were accessible worldwide, watched by my peers in school, and family thousands of miles away in Pakistan. Take special care to complete the Feelings and Needs Exercise, as it will help you outline your essay. You may also choose to write about the struggles you’ve faced without getting into all the details. Saying, for example, that you experienced verbal abuse from your father, for example, may be enough; you don’t necessarily need to share the specifics. For the Type A essay, give us a sense of your vision, even if you don’t name your precise career. In The Birth of Sher Khan essay above, for example, you can track both. The Type D essay section delves more deeply into other ways of weaving thematic threads. Well-known examples from movies include the “training” montages from Mulan, Rocky, or Footloose, or the “falling in love” montage from most romantic comedies. In just a few minutes, we learn the entire history of Carl and Ellie’s relationship. One purpose is to communicate a lot of information fast. Another is to allow you to share a lot of different kinds of information, as the example essay below shows. As with rock-paper-scissors, we often cut our narratives short to make the games we play easier, ignoring the intricate assumptions that keep the game running smoothly. Like rock-paper-scissors, we tend to accept something not because it’s true, but because it’s the convenient route to getting things accomplished. We accept incomplete narratives when they serve us well, overlooking their logical gaps. Other times, we exaggerate even the smallest defects and uncertainties in narratives we don’t want to deal with. A montage essay can come together in many different ways. For the purposes of this section, your future goal or career is the theme that connects all the parts of your story. A Korean ballad streams from a pair of tiny computer speakers. Pamphlets of American colleges are scattered about on the floor. A cold December wind wafts a strange infusion of ramen and leftover pizza. On the wall in the far back, a Korean flag hangs besides a Led Zeppelin poster.