The final third contains lessons and insights she learned through those actions, reflecting on how her experiences have shaped her. (Again, with the caveat that What She Did and What She Learned are somewhat interwoven, and yours likely will be as well. But the middle third is more heavily focused on actions, and the final third more heavily focused on insight.)
For example, if your thread is “food” (which can lead to great essays, but is also a really common topic), push yourself beyond the common value of “health” and strive for unexpected values. How has cooking taught you about “accountability,” for example, or “social change”? Why do this? We’ve already read the essay on how cooking helped the author become more aware of their health. An essay on how cooking allowed the author to become more accountable or socially aware would be less common.
Fun fact: This essay was written by a student in one of my online courses who, as she shared this version with me, called it a “super rough draft.”
In Narrative Structure, story events connect chronologically.
Narrative Structure
All of these threads stemmed from the brainstorming exercises in this post.
Complete the brainstorming exercises, as these will help no matter which structure you choose. Take special care to complete the Feelings and Needs Exercise, as it will help you outline your essay.
Or explore a different topic. You are infinitely complex and imaginative.
In each of these examples, the little bit of humor covers the brag. Each is basically pointing out that the author had to work a lot and it wasn’t always fun. No need to push this humor thing, though. Essays don’t need to be funny to be relatable, and if the joke doesn’t come naturally, it might come across as trying too hard.
Problem: This is a long-winded way of making a point that's not that important.
- Does the intro make you want to read more?
- Is the progression of events and/or ideas clear?
- Does the essay show something specific about you? What is it and can you clearly identify it in the essay?
- Are there places where you could replace vague statements with more specific ones?
- Do you have too many irrelevant or uninteresting details clogging up the narrative?
- Is it too long? What can you cut out or condense without losing any important ideas or details?
But how do you craft one? Try to determine the most interesting point in your story and start there. If you're not sure where that is, try writing out the entire story and then crossing out each sentence in order until you get to one that immediately grabs your attention.
You'll probably recognize this term if you studied The Odyssey: it basically means that the story starts in the middle of the action, rather than at the beginning. A good intro of this type makes the reader wonder both how you got to the point you're starting at and where you'll go from there. These openers provide a solid, intriguing beginning for narrative essays (though they can certainly for thematic structures as well).
Second Pass
When you start writing, don't worry about your essay's length. Instead, focus on trying to include all of the details you can think of about your topic, which will make it easier to decide what you really need to include when you edit.
Neither asks about your interest in a specific school or program.
Also consider whether some of the prompts are similar enough that you could submit the same essay to multiple schools. Doing so can save you some time and let you focus on a few really great essays rather than a lot of mediocre ones.
In case you haven't finished the rest of the application process, take a look at our guides to asking for recommendations, writing about extracurriculars, and researching colleges.
Choose an order for your examples. Consider describing one example per paragraph.
Q: This is hard! I’m not finding it yet and I want to give up. What should I do?
Complete the brainstorming exercises, as these will help no matter which structure you choose. Take special care to complete the Feelings and Needs Exercise, as it will help you outline your essay.
Even if you’ve faced challenges, you do not have to write about them in your personal statement.
More ways to find a thematic thread for your personal statement
To get a little more nuanced, within those three basic sections, a narrative often has a few specific story beats. There are plenty of narratives that employ different elements (for example, collectivist societies often tell stories in which there isn’t one central main character/hero, but it seems hard to write a college personal statement that way, since you’re the focus here). You’ve seen these beats before—most Hollywood films use elements of this structure, for example.
Effects: Author and his brother shared the mental strain, father was arrested, funds were tight, mom worked two jobs, brothers took care of one another, they kept to themselves when dealing with financial and medical issues, avoided going on certain school trips, at times author was discouraged from meeting new people, grades started to slip
A stand-out personal statement chooses an uncommon topic, makes uncommon connections, and uses uncommon language.
But here’s the question I get most often about this technique: How do I find my thematic thread?
The “hook” is the first sentence of your essay introduction. It should lead the reader into your essay, giving a sense of why it’s interesting.
For this reason, it’s often a good idea to wait until later in the writing process before you write the introduction paragraph—it can even be the very last thing you write.
This introduction to an argumentative essay sets up the debate about the internet and education, and then clearly states the position the essay will argue for.
A thesis statement is a sentence that sums up the central point of your paper or essay. Everything else you write should relate to this key idea.
More examples of essay introductions
Without a clear thesis, an essay can end up rambling and unfocused, leaving your reader unsure of exactly what you want to say.
Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein is often read as a crude cautionary tale. Arguably the first science fiction novel, its plot can be read as a warning about the dangers of scientific advancement unrestrained by ethical considerations. In this reading, and in popular culture representations of the character as a “mad scientist”, Victor Frankenstein represents the callous, arrogant ambition of modern science. However, far from providing a stable image of the character, Shelley uses shifting narrative perspectives to gradually transform our impression of Frankenstein, portraying him in an increasingly negative light as the novel goes on. While he initially appears to be a naive but sympathetic idealist, after the creature’s narrative Frankenstein begins to resemble—even in his own telling—the thoughtlessly cruel figure the creature represents him as.
I have introduced the topic with necessary background information.
- It gives your writing direction and focus.
- It gives the reader a concise summary of your main point.
4. Conclude your admission essay with a sentence addressing the committee or board of your college directly. In a formal manner, let the person reading your admission essay know how much enrolling in this institution means to you and that you will be looking forward to the decision of the board.
1. Carefully read through the website of the university or college to which you are applying. Be sure you fully understand the mission and the direction of development and values the university or college proclaims. Furthermore, each educational institution may also have some specific requirements to narrow down and simplify your essay.
3. Plan your essay structure before you begin writing it. Start with general information about yourself, mentioning only the most relevant and preferably recent experiences that relate to your major. Then write two or three paragraphs about your motivation and rationale for studying at this particular institution. End by mentioning the extracurricular activities and hobbies you are interested in, and how these activities correlate to the institution you are applying for.
5. Lay your writing aside for some time and then do thorough proofreading. Consider revising those parts that are too general or do not have a clear meaning. Make sure every sentence is not just a general statement about how much you want to become a student of this particular institution, but also presents your personality, motivation, and abilities that relate to the selected discipline of your future major.
Do and Don’t
2. Make a short list of points you wish to emphasize in your admission essay. Include answers to questions such as: “Why do I want to study in this particular institution?”
An admission essay is an essay that a student writes when applying for a university or college program. It is normally not more than two pages long (around 300-500 words), so you have to be concise in your thoughts and choose your words carefully. There are various types of admission essays: statement of purpose, personal statement, letter of intent, etc. There is no single guide to success when it comes to admission essays. Every admission essay has to be unique and demonstrate your specialties, your attitude, and your personal traits that will help you successfully enroll in the institution of your choice.
Now that you have acquainted yourself with the basic admission essay writing tips and rules, you can check out our admission essay samples to link theory with practice.