<p>In preparation for college essays I am brainstorming a couple of topics which I will write about. One idea I had was to format an essay with an open ended question (Such as what can you contribute to our school?) as a series of project logs.
It would encompass various dates and would follow the progress of my project from start to finish with me writing in the first person as a monologue to myself describing various events throughout the project. My hope is that it would achieve a narrative element to the essay and make it easier to follow the series of events for the reader instead of dividing them into various paragraph lengths ad naseum. </p>
<p>My question is if it is generally frowned upon to diverge from the standard essay formatting or can some liberties be taken? I know gimmicks are discouraged but would writing an essay chronicling(sp?) the events of a project I led in a diary/project log style be a valid choice when applying for college?</p>
<p>Hmmm, I think it would depend on what school you are sending it to, b/c were to be a more quirky and eccentric college then I think they would be more up for it, but the more "professional" colleges might frown upon it. Personally, when I applied to Harvey Mudd they have one supplementary essay choice as basically describe yourself, and you may present it in a creative manner if wanted, so I chose to write a rather elementary poem using rhyming couplets and giving some quirky factoids about myself, so I think if they present the essay topic with any word that is synonomous with "creative" then definitely go for it, or if the school is generally known for its quirky personality then I would say go for it.</p>
<p>kwl, what would be considered a gimmick. Just wondering, because I thought I was telling a story in a creative way but now I'm thinking it's a gimmick.</p>
<p>Telling the story in a creative way is a plus. However, what you're describing sounds more like a log of activities, not an essay that would give insight into your personality and character, which tends to be what colleges are looking for, in addition to learning about your writing skills.</p>