Essay Topic Ideas

College Essays
1

<p>Rising Senior</p>

<p>I'm having a hard time trying to decide which topic I want to use for my applications. Do these sound too cliche?</p>

<ul>
<li>The influence of my family background on my outlook of the world.</li>
<li>The influence of music on my personality.</li>
</ul>

2

<p>Frankly, music and family background are frequent topics. The key to a good essay, however, doesn’t fully rest on the topic, but on the writing itself. If you can take a cliche topic and put a unique spin on it, you will have a great essay. If you’re still nervous, though, take some more time to mull it over; you have plenty of time.</p>

3

<p>Agree with LikeALeon… What you write about is not as important as how you write about it… just remember: Lure them with the first sentence, hook them with the rest of the first paragraph, and reel them in with the last paragraph/sentence. The rest will come. You must be visual, even with the music theme… You might even start with a lyric (I’m much older than you, so I picking a 30 year-old song by The Eagles - I hope you know it): </p>

<p>================================================
“Well I know it wasn’t you who held me down
Heaven knows it wasn’t you who set me free
So often times it happens that we live our lives in chains
And we never even know we have the key…”
Why were those lyrics repeating themselves over and over in my head? Driving away from seeing my girlfriend of 3 years for the very last time, I had every right to be depressed. Even the weather - a dreary, drizzly day - should have brought me even farther down. But the slapping of the windshield wipers was perfectly timed to the song I couldn’t stop hearing. And it was at that moment I realized why I was hearing it: I was using it - using the music - to bring me strength at a time I needed it. A wave of realization crashed over me, and I saw how different music came to me and either mirrored my mood or helped me move on from bad situations.</p>

<p>[[[blah, blah, blah… the meat of the essay, but describing WHO YOU ARE, then come back to the opening scene, and end with another bit of the lyrics to close it out:]]]</p>

<p>Driving home that day, I had every right to be miserable, but instead, a smile started to creep across my face. And I broke into song, singing more and more loudly as my smile broadened.<br>
“And I’m already gone
And I’m feelin’ strong
I will sing this vict’ry song, woo, hoo,hoo,woo, hoo,hoo…”</p>

<p>================================================
The above is not a great essay, just a tool to help you get started, Use lyrics from songs that are meaningful to you, but

  1. Make it about YOU (in this case, how you can use music to bring you through bad times and give you strength).
  2. Use lyrics that the essay reader will know well. You want them singing along with you.
  3. Try to keep it as visual as possible (windshield wipers, drizzle, etc…).</p>

<p>Good luck.</p>