Personal Statement Writing9/21-9/22

Warm Up

What do you think college admissions officers are looking

for when they read student essays? What might they want to read? What can you or a student offer in a personal statement? In

other words, what would you want to share?

WHAT DO COLLEGES WANT?

COLLEGES USE THREE GENERAL TYPES OF QUESTIONS:1.WHO ARE YOU?2.WHY US?3.HOW DO YOU THINK?

FOR THE PURPOSES OF TODAY’S LESSON

WE WILL FOCUS ON THE, “WHO ARE

YOU?”

SO LET’S DO SOME PERSONAL

INVENTORY!

NARRATIVE WRITING

To write a narrative essay, you’ll need to tell a story in such a way that the audience learns a lesson or gains insight

To write a descriptive essay, you’ll need to describe a person, object, or even so vividly that the reader feels like he/she could reach out and touch it.

TIPS

Tell a story about a moment or event that means a lot to you—it will make it easier for you to tell the story in an interesting way!

GET RIGHT TO THE ACTION! Avoid long intros and lengthy descriptions—esp. at the beginning of your narrative.

Make sure your story has a point! Describe what you learned from this experience.

USE ALL FIVE SENSES

Personal Statements Cont’d9/23-9/24

WHEN YOU ARE DONE WITH YOUR QUIZ

Take out a sheet of paper and something to write with.

FOR THE NEXT 25 MINUTES:

RESPOND TO THE FOLLOWING PROMPT:

“Tell us a story from your life, describing an experience that either demonstrated your character or helped to shape it.”

NOW,

Switch responses with the person sitting next to you

ANNOTATE with any prior knowledge you have about annotating

PROVIDE FEEDBACK

ANNOTATING

ANNOTATING IS NOT HIGHLIGHTING Why annotate? Slows down the reader in order to

deepen understanding We learn about reading as a process Changes comprehension Promotes active reading Helps improve writing!

Annotations in Grade 12

Underline the major points. Circle keywords or phrases that are confusing or unknown to you. Use a question mark (?) for questions that you have during the reading. Be sure

to write your question. Use an exclamation mark (!) for things that surprise you, and briefly note what it

was that caught your attention. Draw an arrow ( ) ↵ when you make a connection to something inside the text, or

to an idea or experience outside the text. Briefly note your connections. Mark EX when the author provides an example. Numerate arguments, important ideas, or key details and write words or

phrases that restate them.

CATEGORIES OF ANNOTATING

Making predictions Asking questions Stating opinions

Study of the author’s craft Making connections

Reflecting on content or the reading process

The Introduction9/29-9/30

Your essay/statement

MUST grab the reader’s attention! Quote/Dialogue

AVOID introduction that is too general (“From the dawn of history until the present day, mankind has produced music…”) or awkwardly rephrases the question (“If I were to describe a person who is important to me, I would pick…”)

In an academic essay, the intro is usually an entire paragraph, but in a short college essay, the introduction will only be a sentence or two.

Examples of introductions:

The Basic Intro “Among all the fictional characters that have influenced me, the one that

has had the greatest effect on my life is Batman.” The basic intro simply introduces essay in a logical way. The intro is often based on

the question. The basic intro sets a straightforward tone, so the essay that follows this type of intro is often short, sweet, and to the point.

The Narrative Intro “As I raced down the street that hot August day, I saw it rising in the

distance.” The narrative intro grabs the reader and pulls them in right into your story. It can

begin telling the story at the beginning, middle, or end. Called MEDIAS RES, this technique for introducing a story, has made for compelling reading.

Tips:

End with why the event is particularly important to you today before you go into the description

SHOW, DON’T TELL DON’T simply state a fact to get an idea across, such as, “I like to surround

myself with people with a variety of backgrounds and interests.” DO include specific details, examples, reasons and so on to develop your

ideas. For the example above, describe a situation when you were surrounded by various types of people. What were you doing? Whom did you talk with? What did you take away from the experience?

BEGIN YOUR INTROS

TAKE OUT A SHEET OF PAPER AND BEGIN WRITING YOUR INTRODUCTIONS.

DON’T WORRY ABOUT TIME; WE WILL CONTINUE NEXT CLASS.

Sample College Essay 10/01-10/02

Read the sample essay WHEN YOU ARE DONE:

PEER REVIEW THE ESSAY WHAT DO YOU LIKE ABOUT THE PASSAGE? JOT

DOWN NOTES! HIGHLIGHT THE BEST LINE IN THE ESSAY SO FAR QUESTION FLOODWRITE ALL THE QUESTIONS YOU

CAN THINK OF, BETWEEN THE LINES, AS THEY OCCUR TO YOU

Body Paragraphs10/05-10/06

Now that you’ve started your intros, it’s time to move onto: BODY PARAGRAPHS:

FOCUS ON THE ONE MOMENT IMAGERY, IMAGERY, IMAGERY!!! TECHNIQUE IN THE MOMENT WRITING—MAKE US

FEEL LIKE WE ARE THERE WITH YOU STAY ON THE TOPIC AT HAND SHOW, DON’T TELL TRY TO USE DIALOGUE MAKE THE READER SEE THE IMPORTANCE

THROUGH YOUR WRITING

PRACTICE!

REWRITE THE FOLLOWING STORY BY BEING MORE SPECIFIC.

They went to Los Angeles to see his parents.

Conclusions10/13-10/16

TIPS TO MAKE CONCLUSIONS SHINE

EMPHASIZE YOUR MAIN IDEA, BUT NOT BY RESTATING A PREVIOUS REMARK

CONNECT BACK TO INTRO USE THE SAME TONE THROUGHOUT YOUR ESSAY LEAVE THE READER WITH SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUTA GOOD CONCLUSION WILL FLOW NATURALLY FROM THE REST OF YOUR ESSAY. IT SHOULD PROVIDE A SENSE OF COMPLETION. YOUR CONCLUSION CAN BE A PLACE TO BROADEN THE THEME YOU HAVE EXPLORED.

DO NOT

CONTRADICT THE MAIN IDEA OF YOUR ESSAY

INTRODUCE NEW INFORMATIONUSE CLICHES (ANYWHERE IN YOUR

ESSAY)MAKE YOUR CONCLUSION TOO LONGSUMMARIZE YOUR ESSAY

DONE!

NOW THAT YOU’VE FINISHED YOUR ESSAY, YOU SHOULD REVISIT YOUR INTRODUCTION. IF YOU HAVEN’T WRITTEN ONE, NOW IS THE TIME TO DO IT. IF YOU DO HAVE ONE, ASK YOURSELF IF IT IS ALL YOU WANT IT TO BE. DOES IT FLOW WITH THE REST OF THE ESSAY?