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New Common App (don't know if anyone already posted this)


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Interesting. The changes in essay prompts don't seem too dramatic. You probably couldn't write an essay that was totally off topic (like an essay about a sports team or historical event that didn't relate back to you), but I think just about any personal essay could be made to fit into one of the prompts available.

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I was glad to see the change in the prompts because we were ready for something new. I predicted students would gravitate to a few cliches, at least with first drafts and that's exactly what I'm seeing happen. So, I encourage students to get started early and give themselves some time to work change their topic and revise as needed. Here's my two cents on the new Common Application essay topics.

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I think if I were summarizing how to pick a topic it would be the topic that no one else could write. In my lit class I refer to the Charlotte's Web test for literary analysis papers. If the title of the work under discussion could be replaced with Charlotte's Web without significantly altering the sense of the paper, then it didn't really say much about the book it was supposed to be about. I think a similar test could apply to these personal essays. They ought to be crafted such that they wouldn't apply to most other seniors just as easily.

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I think if I were summarizing how to pick a topic it would be the topic that no one else could write. In my lit class I refer to the Charlotte's Web test for literary analysis papers. If the title of the work under discussion could be replaced with Charlotte's Web without significantly altering the sense of the paper, then it didn't really say much about the book it was supposed to be about. I think a similar test could apply to these personal essays. They ought to be crafted such that they wouldn't apply to most other seniors just as easily.

 

 

What a good tip!

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