I’m sure this has been done before (I’m sure everything has been done before), but my D has decided to study a fairly arcane subject this summer using online courseware. The idea would be for her essay to be diary entries starting with why she decided to study the subject and subsequent diary entries would relate something she learned in the course to some life experience.
yay or nay?
Possible. My concern would be how efficiently she could write meaningful vignettes about her life. The CA essay limit is pretty short and every word counts.
I do not think that diary entries would work. There is a limited amount of space in an essay. And in that space it is important for the writer to be in control of the material and the message. That would be difficult to do in a diary form.
On the other hand, I think that an essay about why she chose the arcane subject, what that tells us about her as a person, and what she learned could be great.
It is an interesting idea to write an essay in form diary entries. But I doubt how effective the essay would be. Essay needs to informative, precise and to the point where as diary entries are all about conveying your emotions. With word limit set for essays, it will be next to impossible to convey the message of the essay in the form of free flowing diary entries.
It’s an intriguing idea, however with a limit at 600 words, there’s just not enough space to convey enough information. Emotions and reactions should only be a small part - descriptions, actions, and reflexions/analysis should each have more space.