When you’re writing, everyone tells you: “show, don’t tell!” Right?
It’s the right advice. But I always found it hard to follow. Here’s a different way to think about it that might help you: prove you mean it.
Don’t tell me you love space; prove you mean it by showing me you love space. How do you do that? Here’s one simple, but excellent method: Just get specific.
Watch. Let’s imagine you’re writing an essay on how you love space:
Common: “That’s one small step for a man, one giant leap forward for mankind.” And with those words, Neil Armstrong ushered in a new era. I want to take the torch from Armstrong and keep bounding forward by studying astrophysics.
Cliché. I’m not buying you really love space. But watch:
Compelling: The first foot to imprint the Moon’s surface was a left one: wrapped in 14-layer sidewalls of aluminated plastic with a rubber silicone sole. On Earth that boot weighs more than four pounds; on the Moon, 12 ounces. Armstrong said the surface was “fine layers like powdered charcoal.”
Do we believe this student loves space? She doesn’t need to tell us. She just showed us. By getting specific. She proved it.
That paragraph took work. It required research. But not a lot. So do research and be specific. Most students won’t. They’ll rely on their memory and say something general. If you put in a little effort and get specific, you’ll stand out.
–MCS