COLLEGE APPLICATION

ESSAY UNIT2015

THE BASICS: 5 ESSAYS•4 INFORMAL:

•DUE: AUGUST 19/20

•DUE: AUGUST 27

•DUE: SEPTEMBER 1

•DUE SEPTEMBER 8

•1 FORMAL:

•DUE: SEPT 16/17

THE PROMPTS: YOU CHOOSE

•MOST PROMPTS ARE PERSONAL NARRATIVE IN NATURE

•YESTERDAY’S EXERCISE WAS A BRAINSTORMING EXERCISE FOR A PERSONAL NARRATIVE PROMPT

• YOU DID NOT HAVE TO WRITE ABOUT YESTERDAY’S MEMORY, CONFLICT, OR OPPORTUNITY

• YOU CAN SUBMIT YESTERDAY’S EXPERIENCE AS YOUR FIRST INFORMAL ESSAY.

THE RUBRIC

•NARRATION IS ENGAGING

•PLOT IS COMPLEX (INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL CONFLICT)

•SETTING IS RELEVANT

•CHARACTERS ARE DEVELOPED (AS NECESSARY)

•WRITER USES FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE AND SOPHISTICATED WORD CHOICE

SOPHISTICATION

: THE RESULT OF BECOMING CULTURED, KNOWLEDGEABLE, OR FULL OF LOGICAL REASON

REMEMBER THE ADVICE:•INTERPRET THE PROMPT

•DON’T FOCUS ON THE WHOLE STORY; FOCUS ON THE MEANING OR MORAL

•HAVE A KILLER FIRST LINE

•“INTERPRET” YOURSELF FROM YOUR DATA

•END WITH A CONVINCING PITCH FOR YOUR FUTURE

INTERPRET THE PROMPT: HARVARD

OCCASIONALLY, STUDENTS FEEL THAT COLLEGE APPLICATION FORMS DO NOT PROVIDE A SUFFICIENT OPPORTUNITY TO CONVEY IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT THEMSELVES OR THEIR ACCOMPLISHMENTS. IF THERE IS SOMETHING YOU WOULD LIKE US TO KNOW, PLEASE INFORM US BELOW. IF YOU WISH TO INCLUDE AN ESSAY, YOU MAY DO SO.

POSSIBLE TOPICS: UNUSUAL CIRCUMSTANCES IN YOUR LIFE; TRAVEL OR LIVING EXPERIENCES; BOOKS THAT HAVE AFFECTED YOUR LIFE; AN ACADEMIC EXPERIENCE THAT HAS HAD IMPACT; A LIST OF THE BOOKS YOU HAVE READ DURING THE PAST TWELVE MONTHS

INTERPRET THE PROMPT: STANFORD

PEER EDITING:

•SUGGESTIONS FOR REVISION ONLY.

•CREATE QUESTIONS THAT WILL HELP THE WRITER DRAW OUT THEIR IDEAS.

•REFER TO THE INTERVIEW METAPHOR.

REMINDERS FOR ESSAY 2

•STAPLE THE PROMPT TO THE PAPER.

•INCLUDE YOUR WORD COUNT.

• MLA FORMATTING

•INCLUDE ALL DRAFTS