<p>Title says it all. Discuss.</p>
<p>Discussions don’t actually go to far in the College Essays forum. Most people are only interested in getting others to read what they’ve already written. But… I’ll take a stab at starting something:</p>
<p>Assumption: You want your essay to be powerful and memorable and put YOU in a positive light.</p>
<p>So, what can you point to that you have recently read/seen that has been memorable and powerful and has left you with strong feelings for a particular character? I would guess that the best example of this is a film, although it also could have been a book. But in either case, I would bet that the form would have been narrative (a story) vs a documentary. And that would apply to essays as well.</p>
<p>Stories have something called a “story-arc” which could also be thought of as “character development.” The very core component of a story is CHANGE, otherwise it wouldn’t be a story. It would just be a static description. And if you want the viewer/reader to come away loving the main character (you, in the essay case), it had best be a transition that takes you from an initial state to one that makes you stronger, wiser, more mature, more empathetic, etc.</p>
<p>There are techniques for doing this (screenwriters know these tricks and use them in almost ALL scripts).</p>
<p>Think about it. Why do so many essay prompts ask you things like:
</p>
<p>The reason for these prompts are to get you to show your character development in those situations. These are great topics for a narrative essay which will be powerful, memorable, and will show how you developed to be a stronger person.</p>