August 20, 2008

A Winning College Essay

Granted, most high school seniors find the most difficult part of their senior year to be brainstorming the ideas for their college admission essays and then, once they’ve got their topic chosen, writing it in the preferred amount of words. Before I go any further, let me say here what I know to be true, the application essay(s) are the most important component of the applications. The point is not to be well-organized with the transition sentences and the specific number of supporting arguments. The point is to be creative and execute whatever you undertake to write (a poem, song, short story, typical essay, etc. . .) with style and verve. Take a risk. Challenge yourself.

That’s the point of pursuing a college education, right? It’s one big risk. You have to move away from home, live with a complete stranger, eat in the same place all the time, get yourself to 8am class, live on hardly any money, choose for yourself what you want to get involved in and be happy about it all—and when you’re not coping with the pressures of this transition, recognize it yourself and seek out your own help. See, college is all about testing YOUR limits. May as well start testing yourself during the application process.

Believe me, I understand how difficult it is to sit down and write about a specific topic, especially when the topic is personal. Writing about oneself is THE most difficult. The only people who seem to be really effective at this are politicians and I don’t know if any of them truly write their own books anyway. Then again, they have lots of practice talking about themselves. The everyday layman, however, does not. This doesn’t mean you don’t have some really interesting or tragic experiences to write about. And, if you can’t think of any- no worries. I always tell my students, the topic doesn’t have to be brilliant. You could write 1,000 words about staring at a fish in a bowl. Just so long as you make it fascinating. You see, the essay is a different type of exam. Though it is by no means standardized, the admission essay does test your ability to say something important about yourself (your terms) but in a regulated number of words (their terms). It’s sort of like your chance at an interview. But it’s also a bit like your first true test of expression.

In high school, no one cares about expression. Your assignment is never to write a poem or a passionate stream of consciousness piece, right? Correct. Your job in high school is to comply with the various and varied standardized tests and write all assignments in such a manner that you’re constantly preparing your organizational writing skills to look like this:

Paragraph 1- Present your generic point of view

Paragraph 2- Present your first supporting argument and example

Paragraph 3- Present your second supporting argument and example

Paragraph 4- Present your thi- . . . and on and on and on

Conclusion - Conclude your paper by re-stating your point of view but don’t present any new facts.

Wow! Doesn’t this just bleed creativity? I know that I, for one, am fairly confident that if a student can write creatively in order to express him/herself caring not whether every thesis statement is perfectly positioned in the first paragraph (as students are taught in high school to be the ONLY proper way to create an introduction) but that the thoughts are organized in a manner that promotes flow and easy understanding for the reader, they will not have to be taught the concept of written expression as it pertains to communication in the post-high school years. And I don’t think there is a single university professor out there who is anxiously awaiting a group of really inept freshmen writers hoping to teach them all how to write a creative and well-thought paper. You see, every person must be able to express emotions and ideas on paper if, for no other reason, than the fact that he/she wants to become effective in the professional world (not to mention one’s personal life where writing and written communication are becoming more and more necessary with the advent of email). I have conversations all the time with both students and parents, alike, where the ability to effectively communicate inevitably comes up as a significant concern of both groups.

The biggest concern for most parents is that their student(s) cannot express themselves on paper. Have they ever been taught? Regardless, this is not the issue. In my opinion, if a student is an avid reader, whether or not he/she has ever had good writing instruction, the level and reading ability comes through in his/her writing. Writing is so unique in that it is not really a teachable craft. I believe that grammar is teachable and a basic knowledge of it certainly will benefit any writer. However, to truly be able to convey a message, one cannot be pushed or prodded but instead must be creatively inspired and practiced. In other words, start writing NOW! Write for ten minutes every day. Write poetry: haiku; limerick; stream of consciousness, etc . . . Write fiction using creative first lines to get you started. If nothing is coming to mind, try this: “Stuck. She was experiencing another case of writer’s block and this time . . .”

Seriously, go for it. Write away. Oh, and don’t forget, the key to all good writing- err, at least the key to all things written well is READING. You’ve taken the first step by reading this blog. Now, go read something more interesting. Then, if you finish your fiction and poetry writing and you are, for whatever reason, craving another assignment but cannot conjure up any ideas, drop me an email, actgroupbrady@gmail.com and, if you want me to read it (and respond), make sure that you have expressed yourself clearly and creatively. I’ll look forward to great things from you in the future.