<p>For example… I recommend that students write their first paragraph, but when that is done, go immediately to the last paragraph and write that one, showing “the subsequent tangible changes in himself and his actions toward others,” as you so nicely put it. That allows them to then write the middle paragraphs with much more focus, showing how one got from the beginning to the end.</p>
<p>A mistake that I often see in student essays is the lack of a sharp focus. Sometimes what students think is important is really not and the essay begins to ramble…</p>
<p>Hi Dig,</p>
<p>Let me return to something tat I brought p that I think was not adressed before and I hope you might help here.
I think it may be worth discussing whether creative non-fiction is indeed the best approach to the college essay. I think it is not self-evident, although I am clearly in favor of such an approach.</p>
<p>I think Philipe Lopate’s introduction to his The Art of the Personal Essay, might be a good place to start:</p>
<p>“The essay challenges formal analysis by what Walter Pater called its ‘unmethodical method,’ open to digression and promiscuous meanderings.”</p>
<p>My question is whether this is good advice for those writing a college essay. </p>
<p>Given what you have said in this thread it appears that meandering is not the best approach to writing a college essay. Am I misreading you?</p>
<p>There’s a basic difference between a well-written essay and a well-written college app personal statement.</p>
<p>Thank you. You are then saying that the personal statement is not an essay as people like Lopate and Pater define it. Could you help me learn about the differences?
Would you go so far as to say that a personal statement is a different genre than an essay, and then how would creative non-fiction fall into the former as something to encourage?</p>
<p>I’m sure you know it’s not uncommon to look back at a poster’s other posting history, maybe follow a link. I now realize, after my last comment, that your experience with admissions runs deep. </p>
<p>I think, before verturing into a disagreement about teenaged writing, I’d like to hear what you valued in application essays. I’ll leave it at that.</p>
<p>I hope there is no disagreement here. I am new to CC so I am just stumbling around. I want help from people who know far more than me the best way to guide students who visit this site.
I am trying to get my vocabulary in order here. It seems you posit a substantive difference between the kind of ‘essay’ that Lopate’s introduction to his book encourages and the approaches a student should take to his or her college application ‘personal statement’. Am I misreading you? Thank you for your guidance on this.</p>
<p>Any guidance on this? If I say pretty please?</p>
<p>parkemuth… I sent you an email.</p>