<p>I've written a few essay for my common app and supplements and i feel like each one is doing something that we apparently are not supposed to do. </p>
<p>You're not supposed to sound too philosophical as the admins know that you are just a high school student and couldn't have experienced something that great; plus writing like this is not descriptive "show don't tell"</p>
<p>but when you write descriptively, the essay is no longer about you, and the reader loses the connection with you. </p>
<p>Try combining these and write something more poetic or metaphoric; nope, apparently these are cliche and irritate the admins.</p>
<p>I have had teachers read all of my essays, and they all say that they are good. But then I go online and see that I am doing everything that I should not be done; so my question is: What is the right way to write the essay?</p>
<p>I share your confused sentiments. What if being philosophical is just part of my personality? What if I honestly look at everyday life deeply just as a habit?</p>
<p>I feel more confident writing AP English essays than I do these admissions essays.</p>
<p>Exactly! Im better at writing essays like that than I am at creative writing, so why is it so wrong to want to make your essay more analytic than descriptive?</p>
<p>This is a common confusion. I once googled “show not tell” to see if someone described it better than I was- and it was all about flowery, scene-describing phrasing. </p>
<p>That’s not what’s meant. We’re talking about “showing” the college-relevant personal qualities and strengths these adcoms know they need for their class. Maturity, flexibility, motivation, ability to evolve, grit, concern, etc- depends on what you choose. Not how the room looked or who said what to whom or your opinions on a topic or expounding on an issue the way you would for a hs assignment. Instead, in the tale you craft, showing them those strengths, letting them clearly come through. </p>
<p>That’s why any challenge prompt works well. It’s inherently a format that allows you to “show” how you responded, your awareness and flexibility. Or whatever.</p>
<p>You can be philosophical- of course, in relating your essay, you will have observations. But, this isn’t an assignment to strut your philosophical muscle.</p>
<p>thanks for the clarification; so, for example, would necessarily have to write about a specific event in my life, as the event would do the showing of what I am telling? right now I have an essay that is a little weird, but shows who am i, how i think, and where i want to go.</p>
<p>I guess its kind of the difference between showing how i think vs showing an event where I put that thought into action, if that makes any sense.</p>
<p>Also, if I have to submit to essays, would it be ok to have one of both types, kind of hitting all bases to see what the adcoms would respond best to?</p>
<p>You can write about specific events, that is one way to ‘show’ something, but you don’t have to. Showing how you think is just fine. But I have read essays that are just lists of what people think about but without analysis or action it is just surface. It’s okay to be philosophical, but it is true that not all that many HS students can express philosophical thoughts well and it can come off as immature, although you are not expected to be some accomplished philosopher or anything. The format is pretty open. I wouldn’t worry so much about ‘what they want’ or ‘what not to do’ if you have an essay that is good and speaks for you. It’s the good part that is hard.</p>
<p>When multiple essays are required, you can use them to show different aspects- but in general, it should still feel like the same kid. You don’t want adcoms to feel a disconnect. Make one smooth self-presentation. Depending on how competitive the college is, one great essay may not make up for another that falls flat.</p>
<p>The bottom line is, when they read the essay(s), you want them to recognize the qualities they seek. In general, weird isn’t one of the qualities. (I know you may have simply used that word.)</p>
<p>Long ago, shortly after the earth cooled, and I was applying to colleges, one of the essay prompts was about an EC.</p>
<p>I wrote about a band-related event, a regional ensemble competition . I was in a trio that did well at the local level and were going on to the state level. But this required us to add a piece. We had fun learning and practicing and were relatively confident going into the competition. Our first piece was great as usual. Our second started off well but ended terribly – you know it’s bad when you don’t all end together on the same beat! LOL It was simply awful – and we had a good laugh about it. This is what I wrote about. It wasn’t any profound “T26E4’s view on life” essay. It was just a snippet of my HS existence and how I dealt with a common event.</p>
<p>It was good enough for all the colleges I targeted.</p>