RSVP
( R U N N I N G S TA R T V I R T UA L P R O J E C T )
L E S S O N # 4 : T H E R E F L E C T I V E E S S AY
STEPS TO A REFLECTIVE ESSAY
1. Careful read this ENTIRE lesson
2. Choose the best option for you:
 Option 1: A College Admissions Essay
 Option 2: A Personal Statement
3. Craft a high quality piece of personal writing in 300500 words
4. Submit it to your www.schoology.com Drop Box for
feedback from Mrs. Downs & Ms. Bridges
Option #1 for the
RSVP Reflective
Essay
COLLEGES WANT STUDENTS WITH…
1. Proven academic abilities in challenging classes.
2. Involvement in school activities and community
service.
3. Leadership and interpersonal experience.
4. SAT and ACT scores.
5. Goals for the future.
ESSAYS THEY’RE TIRED OF . . .
1. The Story of My Education (I forgot you have my
transcript)
2. The Trip (how I broadened my horizons)
3. My Favorite Things (a list of fluffy things that tell you
I’m a nice person)
4. Miss America (how I’ll work for World Peace)
5. The Jock (how I learned to be part of a team, how I
learned to deal with defeat)
MORE HO-HUM ESSAYS
1. The Three D’s (discipline, determination,
diversity)
2. Tales of My Success (how I overcame adversity
to win the day)
3. Death of Pet or Relative (how I learned to
value life)
4. The Story of My Life (I was born at a young
age)
---from Harry Bauld’s On Writing the College Application Essay
WHAT THE EXPERTS SAY”
“Tell us about an experience that doesn’t show on your
transcripts: your passions and commitments, your hopes,
a personal challenge faced, a hardship overcome, or the
cultural awareness you’ve gained.”
---UW
“Stand out from the swarm of applicants by being offbeat and
daring, as long as you stay in control of your writing.”
“Write as you would in a journal or a letter to a friend.”
---Essays That Worked
WHAT THE EXPERTS ALSO SAY…
Do research on the college. Mention school colors, the
mascot, and majors or programs you are interested in.
Determine whether the college is liberal or conservative.
State or imply how the incident you are writing about has
added to your ability to succeed in college.
Stay away from controversial topics and avoid direct
persuasion.
CONSIDER…
What you “look like” on paper. Use the essay to explain, expand, or
emphasize.
EXPLAIN a low grade in a class, weakness in a tested subject area or
less challenging class choices.
EXPAND by filling a “hole,” e.g. lack of community service or no
leadership experiences.
EMPHASIZE an experience that may not appear in your list of
accomplishments that indicates your strengths or ability to adapt
and learn.
THEN tell the story!
TELL A STORY ONLY YOU CAN TELL
1. a specific event in your life that changed the
way you think
2. one person who helped shape your character
3. a specific challenge that demonstrates who
you are and what you value
4. a specific event that caused you to “walk in
someone else’s shoes”
PAST PROMPTS
Describe an event in your life that either
demonstrates your character or helped to
shape it. --University of Washington
Select a creative work that has influenced the
way you view the world and the way you
view yourself. Discuss the impact the work
has had on you.
--NYU
CURRENT PROMPTS
"Good citizenship comes from good scholarship." What does this
statement mean to you?
As an Honor student you'll be asked to participate in two of the four
following experiential learning areas:
international engagement, service learning, research, and
leadership. Please outline the kind of project within these areas
that you might consider pursuing and explain how such a
project would fit into your broader academic vision.
What do you wonder about, ponder, or wish you knew more about
that isn't within your intended field of study?
Would you ever be willing to put everything else on hold to
satisfy your curiosity?
---UW 2009
YOUR PRIMARY GOALS
1. Make your essay stand out by making it
unique.
2. Make your admissions officer want to meet
you and welcome you to the campus.
How do you do all this?
ADD VOICE!
Option #2 for the
RSVP Reflective
Essay
PERSONAL STATEMENTS…
Are frequently needed for
 job applications
 scholarship applications
 volunteer opportunities
 internships
 college classes
REFLECTIVE ESSAY PROMPT #1:
BEING UNPREPARED
Because you have been sick, out of town , busy at work, or working
on other homework, you didn’t have as much time to study for an
important test as you needed. Everyone going to school has been
in this situation. Think of a specific test that you took that you felt
unprepared for and narrate the events. Tell your readers about
the preparation that you were able to do, the reasons that you
didn’t get to prepare as well as you wanted, taking the test, and
any significant events that happened after you took the test. Your
paper should help readers understand what it felt like to be
unprepared, and explain what you learned from the experience.
REFLECTIVE ESSAY PROMPT #2:
LIGHT BULB MOMENT
Think of an experience when you realized that you suddenly understood an idea,
a skill, or a concept you had been struggling with--it might be something
related to a class you took or a certain athletic skill you were trying to
perfect. For instance, you might think about trying to understand how to
identify iambic pentameter in a poem or how to complete a Taylor Series
problem in your calculus class. Or you might consider trying to perfect your
free-throws and suddenly understanding that your follow-through was
affecting your success. Write a narrative that tells the story of your
movement toward finally understanding. How did you finally come to make
this discovery? What changed your perceptions and gave you a new
understanding? Your paper should help readers understand how you felt to
struggle with the idea or skill and then to understand, and what that learning
process symbolized for you.
REFLECTIVE ESSAY PROMPT #3:
CHILDHOOD EVENT
Choose a vivid time from your childhood—You might think
of the first time that you rode a school bus, or of when
you went to the principal’s office, the first A that you
earned on a test or paper, earning money to buy
something that you really wanted, and so on. Narrate
the events related to the childhood memory that
you’ve chosen so that your readers will understand
why the event was so important and memorable, and
what it symbolized to you.
REFLECTIVE ESSAY PROMPT #4:
ACHIEVING A GOAL
Think of a time when you achieved a personal goal—you
might have finally completed a marathon or a
triathlon, or you might have bettered your score on the
SAT’s or another test, you might have learned how to
use a piece of software like Microsoft Word or Excel.
Tell your readers about the story of how you met your
goal. Be sure that your readers understand why the
goal is important to you, and what it symbolized to
you.
REFLECTIVE ESSAY PROMPT #5:
THE GOOD AND THE BAD
Think of an event in your life that seemed bad but turned out
to be good. Maybe you got injured and while you were
waiting for your broken leg to heal, you learned how to use
a computer. What makes the event change from bad to
good may be something that you learned as a result,
something that you did differently as a result, or something
you experienced. Help your readers understand how an
event that seemed negative turned out to have valuable
consequences, and what that experience symbolized to
you.
REFLECTIVE ESSAY PROMPT #6:
BEING A TEACHER
Teaching someone else how to do something can be
rewarding. Think of a skill that you’ve taught someone
else how to do. Perhaps you taught someone else to
swim, showed someone how to bake a soufflé, or
helped someone learn to study more effectively. Think
about the events that made up the process of
teaching the skill, narrate the story for your readers,
and explain what it symbolized to you.
REFLECTIVE ESSAY PROMPT #7:
CHANGING PLACES
Every place has things that change- sometimes as the result of economics,
sometimes because different people are involved, and sometimes for no
clear reason that you know about. Think of a change to a place that you
know well. Perhaps the local grocery store you grew up. Grocery store
was bought out by a regional chain like Safeway or Albertsons. Perhaps
the change was more personal -- an older sibling moves out of the house
and your family changes the room to a guest room or an office. Think of
a specific change and narrate the events that occurred. Readers should
know the details of the change, they should know how you feel about the
changes that occurred, and what those changes symbolized to you.
REFLECTIVE ESSAY PROMPT #8:
PERSONAL RITUALS
Describe a personal ritual that you, your friends, or your family have. Think
about the personal steps that you always go through when you prepare
for an exam. Do you sit at a desk, spread books and notes across your
bed, or use the kitchen table? Do you have to have something to
drink…soda, water, Mountain Dew? There are numerous things that we
do for which we create our own personal rituals. Choose one event—
studying for a test, writing a paper, dressing and warming up before a
game, or preparing and having a special family meal. Narrate the events
that take place when you complete your ritual so that your readers
understand the steps that the ritual includes , why you include them,
and what they symbolize to you.
REFLECTIVE ESSAY PROMPT #9:
STANDING UP
Choose a time when you did something that took a lot of nerve, a time when
you didn’t follow the crowd or a time when you stood up for your beliefs.
Perhaps your friends were urging you to something that you were
uncomfortable with and you chose not to cave into peer pressure. Maybe
you took a stance on a political issue that was important in your
community. Whatever you choose, think about the details of the event
and write a story that tells about what happened. Your narrative should
show your readers why you decided to make a stand or try something
that took nerve, give specifics on the events, share how you felt after the
event, and what it symbolized to you.
REFLECTIVE ESSAY PROMPT #10:
DISAGREEING
Think of a time when you disagreed with a decision that had been made and did something
about it. The decision might have been made by someone you know personally—your
biology teacher announced a new policy to grade for spelling and grammar on your
quizzes and homework, or an older family member decides to cancel a subscription to
a magazine you liked to read. You might have responded by discussing your concerns
with your principal or dean, or you might have decided to get a part-time job to earn
money to buy the magazine yourself. Or the decision could have been made by
someone you never met met—perhaps your school board decided to change the lines
in your school district so that you would have had to go to a different school, or your
state legislature has passed a bill that you disagreed with. Your response might have
been to write a letter to the editor, to your state representative, or to the school board.
Whatever happened, your job is to write a paper that narrates the events that
occurred—from the decision that was made to your response. Be sure that your paper
gives enough details that your readers understand why you disagree with the decision,
why you felt that your response was appropriate, and what you learned through the
process.
Follow these
when writing your
Option 1 or
Option 2 Essay…
10 SECONDS TO MAKE A GOOD IMPRESSION ~
HOOK OPTIONS
Begin with a scenario.
Begin with a rhetorical question.
Begin with a shocking statement.
Begin with a refutation of conventional wisdom.
Begin with a contrast ~ “There are two types of
students…”
Begin with a confession.
Begin with what you learned.
WRITER’S TRICKS
Magic 3
Three examples in a series can create a poetic
rhythm or at least add support for a point,
especially when the three items have their
own modifiers.
 The terror in his eyes, his trembling hands,
and the hoarse words “Run!” all made me
realize I was in danger.
FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE
Connotative comparisons such as similes,
metaphors, and personification add spice to
writing and make thought-provoking
connections.
 “My thoughts teetered around in my head like
acrobats losing their balance.”
REPETITION FOR EFFECT
Repeat strategic words or phrases to make
a point or emphasize an idea.
 “As I stood in front of the entire student
body and raised the mike to my mouth, I
knew this was the day. The day to end
all days.”
EXPANDED MOMENT
Emphasize an important moment by “expanding” the
actions and making it slow-motion.
 “The finish line slid closer and I realized I would never
catch up to number 10. At that moment, the
memories of sweat, pulled muscles and countless
practices faded away and I stopped thinking of cross
country as work. As I lost the final race of the season,
I felt the hands of my teammates on my shoulders, I
saw my friends still smiling and I realized that cross
country, all along, had been fun.”
HUMOR
Humor can turn an ordinary piece into an
interesting one.
 “When I set the basement on fire, I learned a
valuable lesson: spider webs are very
flammable. I’m sure there are no spiders in
the dorms at West Point.”
HYPHENATED MODIFIERS
Sometimes writing something in a new way by
hyphenating adjectives can cause the reader
to look again.
Use this tactic only once in your essay.
 “Mom stalked out of the room with a messwith-me-and-I-won’t-be-responsible-for-theconsequences look on her face.”
FULL-CIRCLE ENDING
Repeat an idea, word, image, or phrase from the
beginning of the piece for a memorable, “feels
complete” ending.
 “Anyone else letting out a screech like Andrew’s
would have annoyed me, but I knew this little
autistic boy was having the time of his life…”
 Last topic sentence: “Although Andrew can’t
explain what he gets from the experience, I
can…”
RE-ENVISIONING
Put your essay away for awhile to let it “ripen.”
Be sure your essay is more descriptive and expository
than narrative.
Apply past learning to your future in your conclusion.
Add transitions between paragraphs.
Be sure your tone isn’t whiney, accusatory or boastful.
Stories about challenges should end with a solution.
Sad stories should end with redemption.
CUT THE DEADWOOD
Needless restatements
“Thesaurus” writing
Qualifiers: clearly, somewhat, rather, kind of, seems, sort of
Extras: who, what, which, that
Vague words: good, bad, nice
Vague verbs: get, do, have, went
Count to three: if you have three sentences in a row that start
with “I,” reword one.
COMMON CONVENTIONS ERRORS
Its (a possessive pronoun) and it’s (it is)
Effect (the result) and affect (changes)
There, they’re, their
Choose/chose & loose/lose
Semicolon misuse.
Comma splices are bad, they’re also common
Capitalization should be consistent.
FINAL TOUCHES
Read your essay out loud.
Does this sound like you? If it does, good!
Ask yourself “What does this essay prove?” Do you
make the impression you want to make?
Proofread!
Then proofread again.
Show your essay to as many people as you can.
Good luck!
WHAT NOW?
Pick a prompt presented in this lesson or find a
current application prompt from any college
and craft an example of your best thinking and
writing in 300-500 words
Submit your essay to your www.schoology.com
Drop Box
Questions? Email Ms. Bridges
kristi.bridges@camas.wednet.edu