<p>Does anyone know what this phrase means when it comes to essays? I was under the impression that essays should be 100% true. My friend disagrees. She believes the essays can be more effective by adding what she calls "a little spice." She's not talking about making up a story to write about. She's talking about adding a few facts that are exaggerated. Who's correct?</p>
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<p>I agree with her.</p>
<p>I would argue it’s very difficult to even write an essay that’s 100% true. When retelling events or anecdotes, you’ll likely make up dialogue and detail, and exaggerate a little to get your point across. If essays were 100% true, they would probably be rather boring.</p>
<p>Are you my friend, Absent? That is exactly what my friend told me. She said that as long as the gist of our story is true, the facts surrounding the story can be exaggerated. </p>
<p>My fear is that if I have an interview and a college representative asks me whether my essay is 100% true, I would have to be honest and admit that I took “poetic license.” Wouldn’t this hurt my chances?</p>
<p>I don’t think that “poetic license” is necessary in writing a good essay. I think a good essay isn’t good because of the facts, but because of its writing style and the insights and character that it reveals about the writer.</p>
<p>In the past, I’ve been an award winning columnist, writing essays about my personal life, and my essays were true. I didn’t have to add facts to “spice them up” nor did I need to have a very unusual life in order to write something that people found to be interesting.</p>
<p>This certainly won’t hurt your chances as the adcoms will never find out.</p>
<p>Not to say I support/don’t support doing this, I’m pretty neutral. Just pointing out that doing/not doing it won’t change your chances (assuming the essay isn’t bad.)</p>