Jul 15, 2020 / by Winer PR / In Blog / Leave a comment
Common Application Prompt 6: Be Warned!
Common Application Prompt 6: Be Warned!
The Common Application added two new prompts for 2017-18.
Now students can pick from seven prompts (in place of five) to inspire their personal statement ‘Common App’ essay.
The seventh new Common Application prompt fundamentally allows you to create about anything you would like, and also you can learn more about it and the new prompts in New Common Application Prompts for 2017-18.
The other prompt, the new typical Application Prompt 6, essentially asks you to create about one of your intellectual passions.
The Newest Typical Application Prompt 6
6. Describe a topic, idea, or concept you discover so engaging it enables you to lose all track of time. Why does it captivate you? What or who do you turn to when you wish to learn more?
I like Common Application prompt 6 because it provides you to be able to highlight your heady side (the method that you think).
Since it has a more concept-related theme and is new, I believe many students will be drawn to it.
Nonetheless, in my opinion there may be considered a possible pitfall in writing an essay about one of your intellectual passions.
No matter just how much you love any ‘topic, idea or concept,’ it could still be challenging to come up with in way that is interesting and compelling.
It’s not impossible, but is tricky.
First, there ‘s the trap of writing an essay that is a lot more like an academic essay alternatively of an individual statement since the topic itself is ‘intellectual.’
It’s critical that whatever ‘topic, idea or concept’ you write about for Common Application prompt 6 allows you to help make most for the essay about YOU in place of a report-like essay merely about whatever ‘topic, idea or concept’ you opt to write about.
For instance, if you prefer to create about the ‘topic’ of environment change (because you feel passionately about that topic), try never to make your essay an item no more than what that is, why it is a concern and why it fascinates you.
Instead, look for solution to make the topic more personal in your essay; to personalize your topic. The goal is by using your ‘topic, idea or concept’ to showcase your ‘intellectual fascination.’
‘Intellectual curiosity’ is really a fancy way of saying just how you think and learn.
How to Personalize Common Application Essay Prompt 6
Two Hot guidelines for Common Application prompt 6: Include a story and a problem (usually these go together anyway).
Choose a personal story to illustrate the primary point you would like to help make about whatever ‘topic, idea or concept’ you write about.
( Don’t believe the Common Application folks are selecting real-life stories in these essays? They stated it directly on their site announcing the new essay prompts for 2017: The goal of these (essay prompt) revisions is to help all applicants, irrespective of background or access to counseling, see themselves and their stories in the prompts.)
Find a real-life experience or moment to illustrate what inspired your interest or something linked to your curiosity about this topic. In that way, the essay naturally shifts to being more about you than simply the topic.
One idea is to begin your essay recreating one associated with moments whenever you ‘lost an eye on time’ or were ‘captivated’ by your ‘topic, idea or concept.’
You’ll be able to go onto explain why it ‘captivates’ you so much (ie, why you love it so much), and then share how you sought for more information.
Here’s another Red Flagfor typical Application Essay prompt 6:
If you merely answer all of the questions in this prompt, you can expect to have a potentially bland explanation of why the ‘topic, idea or concept’ excites you.
You can expect to only ‘tell’ us about it and the method that you learned more about it. Good chance this won’t reveal plenty about you and how you would imagine (reason, analyze, etc.) and that which you value your ‘intellectual curiosity.’
That is why it’s helpful to work in some form of challenge/problem/obstacle related to your ‘topic, idea or concept’ so you produce a platform in your essay to generally share your intellectual curiosity beyond a general explanation.
Ideally, you wish to show your critical thinking, reasoning, analytical ability and insights in action in an individual statement and your essay for Common Application prompt 6.
Just because whatever topic, idea or concept you made a decision to write about is fascinating, both on its own and to you personally, doesn’t always mean your essay are equally compelling.
It’s up for you to locate a means to feature your own personality because it relates to your ‘topic, idea or concept’ to make your essay meaningful.
How to Inject Interest in Common Application Prompt 6to Create Interest
Another means to inject interest into an essay by what turns you on intellectually is to think about a ‘time’ you faced just about any obstacle (which is really a type of problem) learning more concerning the ‘topic, concept or idea’ you are currently talking about.
Or any ‘time’ where your passion or pursuit of learning more caused you some form of problem or challenge.
By presenting problem or obstacle related to your passion or curiosity in a particular ‘topic, concept or idea,’ after that you can go onto explain just how you handled that issue and what you learned from it.
(When you share what happened with that problem or obstacle, you can expect to naturally tell a little story. Bingo! You’ll have both an engaging personal story and an interesting problem to feature in your essay.)
I know this seems hard, but I guarantee that using some type of problem linked to your ‘topic, idea or concept’ will juice up your essay in a natural way, and help you work in more about yourself and how you think, feel and learn.
What that you do not want is an essay that goes…
When I learned all about the idea of quantum physics in highschool, I was hooked. It had been so complex and interesting, and made me think in manners I never did before. I went home and read up to I could on the Internet and checked out books from the library to learn as much as I could….
Your fascination for quantum physics could be considered a good topic, but you would want to make it personal. The writing above was too general, and didn’t reveal anything about the writer’s personality or character.
Notice how there was nothing personal or particular. No story and not a problem. Dullsville,
Quantum physics is fascinating, but why did it hook YOU? this is where you’ll want to inject something about your background or experience that shows the reader more about your interest.
After you include a story the relates to the ‘topic, idea or concept’ you are passionate about, and how you pursued learning more about this, don’t stop there.
Shift into what you learned from that pursuit to dig deeper into your intellectual curiosity.
Here are a few questions you could ask linked to your ‘topic, idea or concept’:
- Did you learn whatever you never likely to learn about it, or YOURSELF?
- Share both the good while the bad about that which you learned. ( Nothing is black and white.)
- Did you learn any life lessons from delving into your ‘topic, concept or idea’ (something you learned about YOURSELF)?
- Why does that which YOU learned about your ‘topic, idea or concept’ matter to you, to others and also to the planet?
- Did learning about this topic, concept or idea lead you to other ideas or passions in yourself?
- While trying to master more about your topic, concept or idea, what did you find out about YOURSELF and how you think and learn?
- Looking right back at your exploration of this topic, concept or idea, what did you understand exactly what YOU value most that you experienced?
- Have you been still learning about this topic, idea or concept? Can be so, why is that good, too?
For college admission counselors, English teachers, parents and educational counselors who have worked with the Common Application prompts in the past:
This new Common Application prompt 6 reminds me of the old Common App prompt: ‘Describe a spot or environment what your location is perfectly content.’
It was ditched by The Common Application folks last year, purportedly since it failed to inspire strong personal statements.
Word on the street among admissions counselors and college application essay wonks like myself (and based on what I saw with my students) ended up being it prompted dull and often sappy essays.
I believe this new Common Application prompt 6 has got the same possible pitfalls.
In place of describing place, it asks about a ‘topic, idea or concept.’ In place of being ‘perfectly content’ there, it should cause you to ‘lose all track of time.’ Same a few ideas. Same pitfall.
People want to say, oh yay, a positive prompt like this Common Application prompt 6 because it does not directly ask the students to incorporate some type of problem or ‘bad thing’.
But there’s a valid reason for soliciting issues in essays. (Notice virtually all the other prompts include some form of problem, in the form of obstacles, stories, setback, challenge, failure, problem, question, etc.)
There’s good reason with this: When students wrote about their blissful places, the essays were often terrible because they were boring.
Why?
It’s hard to write an essay by what you like if nothing occurs. I love the library, or I love visiting my grandparents or I love hiking in the woods. Those are great things to love, however if all you write about is just how much you love them and just why, odds are the essay isn’t all that compelling.
Exactly What makes essays interesting are stories. Something has to happen. And for something to occur, something has to go sideways an issue.
If you knocked over a shelf of books onto the head librarian, or your grandparents home flooded throughout a hurricane or you came face-to-face with a mama bear in your hike, your essay might be interesting.
Why? Because we instantly feel for you and wish to understand how you handled the issue and what happened. This is why real-life stories are so powerful while the most useful college admissions essays include them.
My guess is that Common Application prompt 6 will inspire a lot of dull essays for the same reason as the old ‘perfectly content’ one: It asks students to create about something they love.
It’ll be up to counselors, teachers and parents to simply help students push themselves with this essay prompt to help make sure something happens, that it includes not just reflection and thinking but an experience or moment.
This may be a generalization, but in my opinion the very students who will want to write about Common Application prompt 6 are the same ones that will need to be encouraged and coached to help make certain not to let it get too medical or weighed down in esoteric or language that is technical theme.
These are often the same students (those who are thinking about chemistry, gaming, engineering, technology, physics, computer science, etc.) who need that extra push to find means to make their essay readable, personal and non-academic.
The magic bullet?
Find a juicy problem (a personal experience) that linked to whatever ‘topic, idea or concept’ you come up with!
When you have a little story, you are on your means to an excellent essay.
Here’s a sample outline that is meant to help you get started and work out sure to address the questions in the prompt. You will find many means to approach your essay, so make use of this if it’s wise and feel free to go in any direction you want.
Here’s a Sample Outline for typical Application Essay Prompt 6
- Begin by sharing moment, incident or experience that illustrates something about (or is related to, or an example of) the topic, idea or concept you are currently talking about. Decide to try to incorporate some type of problem (an obstacle, challenge, error, setback, etc.) This is known as an ‘anecdote.’ (1 to 2 paragraphs)
- Back story: Now provide some background or context for that moment, incident or experience and explain more about your topic, idea or concept. Include your main point: Why you like it so much.
- Share more about your experience using this topic, idea or concept using other real-life examples that further support your primary point (Why you like it a great deal). If you included some form of ‘problem’ related to your topic, concept of concept, explain the method that you handled it.
- Go onto share the steps you took to learn more about your topic, idea or concept. If you included a problem, this is where you can go in to the step you took to manage it and then share what you learned. Include the method that you thought about it, how you felt, who you worked with, etc.
- MOST SIGNIFICANT: show (look back) on this experience related to your topic, idea or concept and describe what you learned not only concerning the topic, idea or concept but what you learned about yourself (the method that you learn, exactly what you value, etc.)
- Link back once again to the start of your essay and provide a status change on that problem or moment you described in the beginning of one’s essay. Then restate the main point that you learned about your topic,idea or concept and about YOURSELF. End with just how you be prepared to apply that which you learned in your future dream and goals.
Please don’t allow all my warning scare you off this prompt if it speaks for you.
More Brainstorming Tips for Common App Prompt 6
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