核心提示： As you’ve probably discussed in your homeschool English courses, knowing your audience is a vital part of effective writing
As you’ve probably discussed in your homeschool English courses, knowing your audience is a vital part of effective writing. Understanding who reads college admissions essays and what they are looking for will help your student.
Questions As you get started on your college essays start it may make sense to start with a few questions:
The Essay is an Opportunity With all writing it is a good first step to figure out why you are writing and who is going to read it. Perhaps that seems obvious: you are writing the essay for people at the college because they require it. Let’s dig a bit deeper than that. The essay is an opportunity. Through your transcript, test scores and application you’ve shared some concrete pieces of information about yourself, but you haven’t had an opportunity to really reveal your personality, values and what makes you tick. The essay is your opportunity to give a more complete picture of who you are and what is important to you. Obviously, this is also an opportunity to show that you can write.
Your Audience It may help you write a better essay if you consider who is reading your essay. Your reader may be an old timer who has worked in the admissions office for his whole career or she may be a recent college graduate who just joined the admissions office. Most likely your essay will be read by at least two admissions officers. While the age and experience of your readers may vary, most will share a similar desire to get to know you through your essay. Admissions officers are looking to create a class of students who will fit in well academically and socially at the college. They are not looking to admit a class full of ideal clones, but instead to find a balance of students who help strengthen the college or university. As a homeschooler you have experienced a unique education and your essay is a place to share some part of that experience.
You Can Do This The good news is that you are not expected to sound like a genius humanitarian who cures cancer in your spare time. You are not expected to write like you work for the New Yorker. You are not expected to come up with an entirely new witty take on the college essay. Your assignment is much more simple. The essay should sound like you and reveal a real part of yourself. It should be well written and revised. It does not need to be perfect. So, I encourage you to think a bit about your audience and what they might enjoy learning about you… and start writing!
