<p>I heard there are so,e essay topics to avoid that are cliche. Can anyone help me make a consolidated list. Here's one. Sports as a metaphor for life.</p>
<p>saving abandoned children in Uganda</p>
<p>There are no cliche topics.</p>
<p>There are only cliche treatments of topics.</p>
<p>ADad- That was the same exact thing I was going to post.</p>
<p>I hate the essays like, “I tore my ACL omg it was so bad but i was strong and got through it”.</p>
<p>Please, never write one of those unless its a serious disease.</p>
<p>Alright,so what are cliche treatments of topics?</p>
<p>overcoming racism and getting in touch with your (chinese, korean, etc) culture</p>
<p>being an immigrant in a country and saying how hard it was at first but you overcame the language barrier and became a good student </p>
<p>Any “Green” topics: trying to save the environment etc.</p>
<p>However I do agree that you can turn a cliche idea into something very original if you manage to write it in a good, skillful way. Thus the “treatment” matters. But it sure as heckhelps if your main topic isn’t cliche to begin with.</p>
<p>bump, i think this helps…</p>
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<p>A good essay is personal, detailed, and revealing. Ideally, it is so personal, detailed and revealing that only you could conceivably write it. It sets you apart from other applicants.</p>
<p>A cliche essay is the opposite. It tells pretty much what everyone knows, and could be written by many people. It does not set you apart.</p>
<p>So, for example: a sports essay that tells about winning the big game and concludes that hard work pays off is cliche. However, it is quite possible to write a personal, detailed, and revealing college essay about sports. </p>
<p>The same can be said for any other “cliche” topic. </p>
<p>For good advice about college essays, see [Essays</a>, Admission Information, Undergraduate Admission, U.Va.](<a href=“http://www.virginia.edu/undergradadmission/writingtheessay.html]Essays”>http://www.virginia.edu/undergradadmission/writingtheessay.html)</p>