College Application Essay Unit – Essential Questions
What is the purpose of a College Application Essay?
How does the audience effect one’s writing choices?
What makes a college essay “work” or “fail”?
How can a writer reveal him or herself through their writing?
Other Notes I am NOT! Goal Practice writing with a combination of narrative - concrete (description of object) & abstract – reflection (your identity)
Directions: Find a physical artifact that represents something that is completely the opposite of yourself. Then in your composition: 1) Name and describe elements of your object. These can be physical elements, functional elements, etc. 2) write a reflective response to explain in what ways you are NOT like that artifact.
So, the less interesting answer might be a more literal response: “dog. Because I am human.” An interesting response might be: “flower. Because flowers are soft and I am tough as nails.” An even more creative answer that takes a risk will think metaphorically – making an interesting leap in thinking. Here is gist of one I was surprised by: “the flip-top from a discarded can. Because it did not serve a purpose without being manipulated by some other force. I, on the other hand, am able to serve a purpose on my own.”
FILL THE REST OF THIS SPACE with your written response OR type (less than 500 words) and bring a printed copy to class. TIMELINE pre-writing Create a timeline of significant events in your life. Think broadly. Get at least 20 items on your list. Aim for 10 of them to be “major” events like births, deaths, travel, coming of age rituals. Aim for at least 10 more mundane moments that have marked you in some way – a car ride, a dinner, a chance meeting, a sweet card, a walk in the Botanical gardens, etc. Title Admit, Refuse, Wait Evidence & Specifics to Justify List Your Decision Wisconsin Recall
Trying New Things
Basketball
Poker CA Essay Conference Sheet You must complete and bring this sheet to your conference. Part of your grade for the conference is based on the completion of this pre-conference work. You will also need an annotated copy of your essay – See #4.
1. If you did not write the prompt and word count on your essay, do that here:
2. What abstract qualities about yourself were you trying to showcase in your essay?
3. Why this topic?
What was topic choice #2?
What topic did your parents want you to write about?
4. Be able to identify any figurate language devices you used intentionally in your essay? Be able to explain what effect your were trying to achieve with the rhetorical strategy. If you did not use any figurative language, list one or two strategies do you think would elevate your essay?
5. Write 1-3 goals or questions for your conference which you would like us to complete together (ex. examine verb choice). This could be about content, organization, showing details, proportions, mechanics, etc. You should look over the grading rubric to help you establish your goals. Pre-Writing prompts:
How am I different from most people I know…. A time I felt truly satisfied… A person I admire… An object I own that tells a lot about me… Something funny that I did or that happened to me… A time when I was, or felt, rejected … Something I am really proud of … Something that changed the way I think or look at the world… A time I felt humbled… One thing that very few people know about me is… Something I regret… A significant relationship I had or have… A treasured object I possess… A time I took a risk and it did or didn’t work out…
UNC 2015
The second essay will be specific to the UNC application. You’ll choose one prompt and respond in an essay of 400-500 words. Here are the questions: 1. Why do you do what you do? 2. You were just invited to speak at the White House. Write your speech. 3. What one thing should all students know before their high school graduation? 4. What concerns you about your world? What do you hope to do to make it better? 5. UNC Professor Barbara Fredrickson – an expert in positive emotions – has defined love as “micro-moments of connection between people, even strangers.” Tell us about a time when you experienced a “micro-moment of connection.” What did you learn?
2014-15 Essay Questions: University of Chicago Essay Option 1. What's so odd about odd numbers? Inspired by Mario Rosasco, Class of 2009. Essay Option 2. In French, there is no difference between "conscience" and "consciousness." In Japanese, there is a word that specifically refers to the splittable wooden chopsticks you get at restaurants. The German word “fremdschämen” encapsulates the feeling you get when you’re embarrassed on behalf of someone else. All of these require explanation in order to properly communicate their meaning, and are, to varying degrees, untranslatable. Choose a word, tell us what it means, and then explain why it cannot (or should not) be translated from its original language. — Inspired by Emily Driscoll, an incoming student in the Class of 2018 Essay Option 3. Little pigs, french hens, a family of bears. Blind mice, musketeers, the Fates. Parts of an atom, laws of thought, a guideline for composition. Omne trium perfectum? Create your own group of threes, and describe why and how they fit together. — Inspired by Zilin Cui, an incoming student in the Class of 2018 Essay Option 4. Were pH an expression of personality, what would be your pH and why? (Feel free to respond acidly! Do not be neutral, for that is base!) — Inspired by Joshua Harris, Class of 2016 Essay Option 5. A neon installation by the artist Jeppe Hein in UChicago’s Charles M. Harper Center asks this question for us: “Why are you here and not somewhere else?” (There are many potential values of "here," but we already know you're "here" to apply to the University of Chicago; pick any "here" besides that one). — Inspired by Erin Hart, Class of 2016 University of Chicago 2015-16 Essay Option 1. Orange is the new black, fifty’s the new thirty, comedy is the new rock ‘n’ roll, ____ is the new ____. What’s in, what’s out, and why is it being replaced? —Inspired by Payton Weidenbacher, Class of 2015
Essay Option 2. “I learned to make my mind large, as the universe is large, so that there is room for paradoxes.” –Maxine Hong Kingston. What paradoxes do you live with? —Inspired by Danna Shen, Class of 2019
Essay Option 3. Joan of Arkansas. Queen Elizabeth Cady Stanton. Babe Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Mash up a historical figure with a new time period, environment, location, or occupation, and tell us their story. —Inspired by Drew Donaldson, Class of 2016
Essay Option 4. “Art is either plagiarism or revolution.” –Paul Gauguin. What is your “art”? Is it plagiarism or revolution? —Inspired by Kaitlyn Shen, Class of 2018.
Essay Option 5. Rerhceseras say it’s siltl plisbsoe to raed txet wtih olny the frist and lsat ltteres in palce. This is beaucse the hamun mnid can fnid oderr in dorsdier. Give us your best example of finding order in disorder. (For your reader’s sake, please use full sentences with conventional spelling). —Also inspired by Payton Weidenbacher, Class of 2015. Payton is extra-inspirational this year!