<p>What are everyone's opinions on this? Where on the spectrum between explicit and implicit is/should the college application essay placed?</p>
<p>Implicit Essays:
-figurative
-risky
-implied meanings, like in a narrative type of essay
-creative
-more emphasis on style</p>
<p>Explicit Essays
-direct
-not so risky
-explicit definitions, like in an "activities list" kind of essay
-less creative
-more emphasis on content</p>
<p>Why can't you have both?</p>
<p>You never want an activities list kind of essay, that's the last thing you need; at the same time, style isn't mutually exclusive from content.</p>
<p>You don't want anything to be superfluous, but creative language doesn't have to be that way. Abstraction demands explication. Move between the two -never stay in the middle.</p>
<p>The figurative or implied should be followed by concrete details.</p>
<p>Caught between "can you give me an example?" and "what does that mean?", essays should be implicit and explicit. One should demand the other.</p>
<p>"Abstraction demands explication."</p>
<p>I'm going to keep that in mind while I write. Thanks for your advice!</p>
<p>Any other advice would also be helpful.</p>
<p>To be more specific, what I mean is:
Should the essay approach the reader directly?
(Related to the above) How often can one use the "pronoun" I without sounding too focused on themselves, or repetitive for that matter?
Should the essay describe an event, and what we learned from it?
It seems like most college essays start off with an anecdote. Is starting with a quote or statistic instead a bad idea?
Is it okay to describe a few (2-4) of our qualities with examples, or to give an example little story of one good quality?
Is "boring" (in the sense of being explicit) always bad? True, it is much more common, but, hey, at least nothing can go wrong, right?
Everyone says NOT to write about death, tragedies, adversity, and etc. because they are cliche, but I'm sure somehow one could pull off something like that...just what are some ways how?
If a prompt is creative, can the answer be explicit? Like for one of the kinds that ask for "a page in the book of your life," can the answer be literal? And vice versa--for a technology school, is implicitness looked down upon?
And finally, how can we maintain a balance between the two?</p>
<p>Honestly, you're not a bad writer yourself, and I'm not entirely knowledgeable. But that's helped me write good essays in the past.</p>
<p>It should be alright to approach the reader directly, but make sure it makes a point. While it's certainly okay, I'm not sure you should be trying to talk to the reader the whole time, although it could work. Just remember that you're trying to focus on yourself.</p>
<p>And don't worry about using "I", the essays are about you. And sometimes repetition can make a point, or at least cool parallel sentences. But unless you're repeating it at the start of every sentence for a reason, I'd try not to start two sentences in a row that way.</p>
<p>This is copied and pasted from another source, but take the following example.</p>
<p>"“I worked for three years at ABC Plastics, a small injection molding company. I was responsible for overseeing the overall management of ABC Plastics, from day-to-day operations to strategic planning. I was the manager of 100 people. I worked very long hours, but I learned more than I ever imagined.”</p>
<p>It's a little too much, the "I" gets old. So if you try to take out the I's, you get:</p>
<p>“For three years, I worked at ABC Plastics, a small injection molding company. My responsibilities at ABC included overseeing the overall management of the company, from day-to-day operations to strategic planning. As the supervisor of over 100 staff, my days were long, but I learned more than I ever imagined.”</p>
<p>It sounds a little better. It's alright to keep the focus on yourself, that's what you're supposed to do, but try to keep variety.</p>
<p>The essay doesn't have to describe an event, either. You're supposed to provide clarity on who you are, what makes you different, and how you can contribute to the college. If a significant event demonstrates that, then go for it. At the same time, you can discuss ideas, people, or anything you want. Just provide insight.</p>
<p>If you need an anecdote to do so, then provide one. You always want to provide examples backing up your ideas (and ideas you've gained from the examples). Remember that the essay should be reflective -you want to emphasize the event/idea's relation to yourself, not the event itself. Quotes and statistics can serve similar purposes, they're common as well.</p>
<p>Nothing should ever be boring. This doesn't mean you have to write a poem or be funny, but if you connect it to yourself, your examples shouldn't be boring. Take a local spelling bee as an example -it's not very interesting. But good writing can make anything worthwhile. Covering a spelling bee, as a journalist wrote: "Thirteen year old Lane Boy is to spelling what Billy the Kid was to gun-fighting, icy-nerved and unflinchingly accurate."</p>
<p>I would read the rest of that article. Don't think in terms of boring and creative, just try to explain and relate ideas.</p>
<p>Explicit can be creative.</p>
<p>This is running on a little long, but any topic works if you can connect it to yourself in a meaningful way. Adversity is okay. But how did it change you, what did you get out of it? Essays are meant to reveal yourself.</p>
<p>What do you want the colleges to know about you, and what instances/parts of your life help you express that?</p>
<p>It's all you need to know.</p>
<p>They want to know who you are. "Technology school" or not, they just want to know that a real person is submitting the application. Implicitness would never be frowned upon.</p>
<p>You're splitting implicit and explicit when they shouldn't even be separate.</p>
<p>Great! Thanks for the lengthy but helpful post. Explicit and implicit harmonically...</p>
<p>Your essay should "flow" smoothly, without any evidence that you stumbled on how to make the essay fit the prompt. If you can, pick a "choose your own topic" topic (I think it's on the common application). Write about something important to you, something that NOBODY else could re-create. Deaths, family illness, mishaps, travels, and hobbies are common topics, so if you choose one, make it unforgettable. You must portray a significant personal theme in the essay rather than retelling the story of what happened.
Don't worry about the essay, it will come with time. I had to re-write mine twelve times before i was ready to send it off. Every time I revised it, it got better, more engaging, and more descriptive of myself (I wrote about a family illness). You should include specific details, but don't make them the focus of your essay. The meaning or your reaction to the "implicit ideas" is what matters. The fact that your dad was killed by a drunk driver (example) will not sell your essay with its drama; it needs your perception and ideas to convey a complete meaning. You may wish to volunteer to read/critique some of the essays that members post here on the site. They can provide examples (and ONLY examples) for how to go about doing this.</p>
<p>Feel free PM me if you have any more questions, etc. I've sent my stuff in, so I'd be glad to read anything you come up with.</p>