THE COLLEGE ESSAY
ADVANCED PLACEMENT ENGLISH LITERATURE
Introduction
The college application essay is almost always some form of a personal essay. College admission officers are interested in
finding out what type of student and person you are and also, although often more subtly stated, what you will bring to their
school. However, because real people read application essays and grow weary of reading thousands of essays that say “I am a
wonderful student and I will make your already wonderful school even more wonderful,” they often create essay prompts
that will challenge you to express your opinions in creative ways. Accept the challenge, but make sure your creativity does
not obscure your purpose.
Types of Essays
Some colleges will ask that you respond to a specific prompt while others allow you to submit any piece of writing that
meets a broad set of requirements. In either case the sample should demonstrate your ability to think and write and also
reveal something about who you are. In general, the prompts can be divided into the following categories:
Person
Typical Prompt: Describe a person who had influenced or inspired you.
Variation: We recognize all good writers seek feedback, advice, or editing before sending off an essay. When you have
completed your essay please tell us whose advice you sought for help, the advice he/she provided, and whether you
incorporated his/her suggestions.
Object
Typical Prompt: Werner Heisenberg asserted that "Every tool carries with it the spirit by which it has been created."
What tool would you create?
Variation: If you were a kitchen appliance, which kitchen appliance would you be and why?
Event or Experience
Typical Prompt: Describe an experience that shaped who you are.
Variation: Have you witnessed a person who is close to you doing something that you considered seriously wrong?
Describe the circumstances, your thoughts, and how you chose to respond. If you discussed it with the person, was
his/her justification valid? In retrospect, what, if anything, would you have done differently, and why?
Idea
Typical Prompt: Describe something you have learned from your education and how it applies to your life.
Variation: Choose a potential law in your state, country, territory or district and explain what effects its passing or not
passing will have on you and/or your community.
Influences and Environment
Typical Prompt: How has your family history, culture, or environment influenced who you are?
Variation: Often we are unaware of how others see us. Describe how you think other people see you and where those
characteristics originate?
Open-ended:
Typical Prompts: Include a personal statement that provides insight into your personality. Write on any topic of
importance to you.
When you begin writing your essay keep in mind that all of these essays, with the possible exception of the open-ended
essays, are asking for descriptive writing. Occasionally, a college or a scholarship application will specifically ask for a
sample of academic writing; those essays would obviously require a different approach.
Descriptive Writing
Unlike most of the academic writing that you have probably done in high school, descriptive writing requires very little
analysis but a great deal of detail. This detail should come in the form of concrete imagery, quotes and dialogue, and sensory
appeals. The readers in the college admission office should be transported to the world you are describing while they read
your essay. Any analysis included in your writing should be included implicitly as often as possible: don’t tell the reader how
your trip to Guadalajara changed your life, show them. If you need inspiration or examples look at your favorite pieces of
descriptive writing, such as novels or short stories or the sample college essays, and study how they use specific concrete
nouns, interesting and active verbs, connotative adjectives, and rhetorical devices.
Strategies
Telling a Story
Humans are naturally drawn to stories; once we begin a story we are compelled to find out how it ends. A well-written
story will always engage a reader. A story is an excellent way to demonstrate the human side of the subject you are
describing. How you tell the story will also reveal what you value and how you see the world, two important messages
to convey to your audience. Think about effective stories and even jokes that you have heard: why did they work?
Include only relevant information, use literary techniques such as foreshadowing, build and relieve tension, and do
anything else that keeps your reader interested without obscuring your purpose.
Insight Trumps Adventure
Events in our lives are most interesting in how we learn from them and the insights we can draw from them. It is not
enough to write, “Last summer I traveled to China and it really changed me because it was beautiful.” Undoubtedly,
such a trip could be a life changing experience, but it is up to you to figure out why and present it to the reader. Also,
grand adventures are not always needed to make great essays. Insights drawn from everyday experiences are often the
most effective topics to explore in this type of essay.
Sample Essays
The following essays are all examples of descriptive writing with their own strengths and weaknesses.
Close Reading
“Art, Literature, and Music” by Katie Nix
Person
“I have a thing to tell you” by Ke Wu
“The only fish I ever caught…” by Tim Reckart
Object
“When most people think of gloves…” by Chris Lambert
“You may be wondering exactly what…” by Daniel Bartlett
“My violin has all the normal features…” by Una Kim
“Buddha surveys my bathroom…” by Carolyn Hutchins
Event or Experience
“The sweat pours. Bang.” by Paul Tindall
“I am lying on my stomach…” by Jean Morrison
“Everyday Epiphanies” by Celeste Monke*
“Another Day, Another Dollar” by Jessie Marshall
Idea
“Deviation” by James Castañeda
“Personal Statement: My mother says…” by Chang Liu
“I have a thing to tell you…” by Alan Mackey*
“Bean Soup for the Soul” by Jennifer Chapski*
Influence or Environment
“Commentary: Carrying on the family tradition of skilled labor” by Joe Wright*
“One cold January day…” by Leonore Miller
Other
“Two Minutes” by Katie Nix
“Elysium?” by Robert Hanshaw*
“I am a dynamic figure…” by Hugh Gallagher*
Visit the class website at http://edweb.tusd.k12.az.us/dherring/ to find links to more sample essays.