University of Michigan supplemental essay 1

The prompt reads: Everyone belongs to many different communities and/or groups defined by (among other things) shared geography, religion, ethnicity, income, cuisine, interest, race, ideology, or intellectual heritage. Choose one of the communities to which you belong, and describe that community and your place within it.

I’m really confused as to how I should approach this prompt. I have no idea what I want to write about or focus on. I’m Bengali, so I could talk about my tradition but I don’t know where I’m going with this/ it’s too broad. I’m also Muslim but I don’t know what I’d write about that. Can I talk about an online community such as WATTPAD (an app for publishing your stories) and how people share their writings and encourage others to express themselves?? I’m just really confused idk what to write about. Any ideas/ examples would really help

You can definitely write about WATTPAD (or any community for that matter, as the definition U-M provides is very broad) and from what you wrote, it sounds like a very compelling supplement. Don’t forget to include your personal involvement!

as an exercise, list 5 bullet points about each of these topics.
Think of this as a way for them to get to know you beyond the numbers of your SAT/GPA.
Which of these are you most active in? Which of these really defines you? Which one can you describe best?

Are you Bengali who has taken Bengali language lessons and loved it?
Are you Muslim but have a jewish best friend and love to talk about religion?
Are you in WATTPAD and at first were their for the writing but are now their to encourage others?

Which of these do you have a unique story to tell that only you could tell?

Actually, I don’t think that you are confused as you have identified three distinct communities to which you belong & should interest any reader.

Agree with the above. You are over thinking this. It is broad on purpose. You have some nice topics. Pick one that means something to you and start writing. They just want to learn more about who you are and of course your writing ability. So look for errors.