How to Write Common App Essay Prompt 5 | 5 Tips and Tricks

Summary

This video script offers five essential tips for crafting a compelling Common App essay. It emphasizes sharing one's personal journey, revealing emotional intelligence, focusing on writing rhythm, narrowing the essay's focus, and including an intriguing introduction and a simple conclusion. The script also suggests using the conclusion as an introduction if it captures the essay's essence better, aiming to connect with the reader and showcase personal growth and understanding.

Takeaways

• 😀 Share your personal journey in the essay, highlighting key moments rather than every detail.
• 💪 Reveal conflicts and how you responded to them, showing your character and growth.
• 🧠 Showcase emotional intelligence by acknowledging your strengths, weaknesses, and self-awareness.
• 📖 Focus on the rhythm of your writing, using a mix of short and long sentences to keep the reader engaged.
• 🎯 Keep your essay focused and personal, selecting a specific aspect of your life to explore deeply.
• 🔍 Include an intriguing introduction to capture the reader's attention and a simple conclusion to signal the end.
• 📚 Use your essay to demonstrate self-motivation, empathy, and social skills, which are important for college life.
• 🤔 Reflect on how you handle failure and what you've learned from it, as this shows resilience and growth.
• 📈 Discuss an accomplishment, event, or realization that led to personal growth and new self-understanding.
• 🌟 Your essay should reveal your humanity and emotional intelligence, connecting with the reader on a personal level.
• ✨ Consider using your conclusion as your introduction if it captures the essence of your essay more effectively.

Q & A

What is the main purpose of the video script?

The main purpose of the video script is to provide tips and strategies for writing a better Common App essay.

What is the first tip for writing the Common App essay according to the script?

The first tip is to share your hero's journey, focusing on personal experiences and how you responded to various situations without going into excessive detail.

Why is it important to reveal conflict in the essay?

Revealing conflict is important because it shows how you responded to challenges or problems, which helps to reveal your character and emotional intelligence.

What does the script suggest about showcasing emotional intelligence in the essay?

The script suggests showcasing emotional intelligence by demonstrating self-awareness, self-regulation, motivation, empathy, and social skills, as these aspects can help reveal who you are as a person.

Why is the rhythm of writing considered more important than word choice in the essay?

The rhythm of writing is considered more important because it helps to maintain the reader's interest and engagement, whereas fancy words might not be used properly and can detract from the message.

What does the script recommend regarding the focus of the essay?

The script recommends keeping the focus narrow and personal, selecting one specific aspect of your life to write about, and making it very personal to reveal your true self.

What is the significance of having an intriguing introduction and a simple conclusion in the essay?

An intriguing introduction captures the reader's attention and makes them want to read more, while a simple conclusion serves as a stop sign, indicating the end of the essay without adding more material.

What is the bonus conclusion tip mentioned in the script?

The bonus tip is that sometimes the best introduction can be your conclusion, especially if you have a strong understanding of your essay's purpose by the time you write it.

How does the script relate to the idea of discussing an accomplishment, event, or realization in the essay?

The script relates this idea by emphasizing the importance of discussing the process and personal growth that resulted from such experiences, rather than just the accomplishment itself.

What does the script suggest about the role of failure in personal growth?

The script suggests that failure is a normal part of life and personal growth, and discussing how you recover from failure can be a powerful way to connect with the reader and show your resilience.

What does the script imply about the reader's perspective on the essay?

The script implies that the reader is looking for a personal connection with the applicant, wanting to see their humanity, emotional intelligence, and the ability to overcome challenges.

Outlines

00:00

📝 Crafting a Personal Common App Essay

The speaker offers five tips for writing a compelling Common App essay, emphasizing the importance of sharing one's personal journey and experiences. They suggest focusing on key moments rather than every detail, revealing conflicts and how one responded to them, and showcasing emotional intelligence by acknowledging personal growth and self-awareness. The speaker also mentions the importance of a strong call to action and the potential for conflict avoidance to be a learning experience.

05:01

🎯 Enhancing Emotional Intelligence and Writing Rhythm

This paragraph delves into the concept of emotional intelligence, advising students to demonstrate self-awareness, self-regulation, motivation, empathy, and social skills in their essays. The speaker also addresses the rhythm of writing, cautioning against the overuse of complex vocabulary and advocating for a natural flow that includes a mix of long and short sentences, drawing an analogy to Nike's impactful marketing slogan 'Just Do It'.

10:04

🔍 Focusing on Personal Growth and Resilience

The speaker discusses the significance of narrating personal growth, especially in the face of failure. They encourage students to reflect on how they recovered from setbacks and the lessons learned from such experiences. The paragraph highlights the value of recognizing and overcoming failure as a critical component of personal development and a trait that colleges seek in their applicants.

Keywords

💡Hero's Journey

The 'Hero's Journey' is a narrative framework that outlines the stages a character goes through during their adventure. In the context of the video, it refers to the personal story of the essay writer, showing their growth and development. The script emphasizes sharing this journey to reveal who you are, using the example of baking a cake to illustrate the importance of sharing key moments, not every detail.

💡Conflict

Conflict in the video script represents the challenges or problems the essay writer faced. It's not just about the conflict itself but the writer's response to it that's important. The script mentions various forms of conflict, such as bullying or issues at school, and how overcoming or learning from these conflicts can demonstrate personal growth and emotional intelligence.

💡Emotional Intelligence

Emotional intelligence is the ability to understand and manage one's own emotions and those of others. The video explains it as a buzzword that encompasses self-awareness, self-regulation, motivation, empathy, and social skills. It's portrayed as a key aspect to showcase in the essay to demonstrate personal growth and maturity.

💡Rhythm of Writing

The 'rhythm of writing' refers to the flow and pace of the essay, which includes the variation between long and short sentences. The video advises against overusing complex words and instead focuses on the importance of a good rhythm to keep the reader engaged, using the Nike slogan 'Just Do It' as an example of effective brevity.

💡Narrative

A narrative is a story or account of events and experiences. The video script instructs the viewer to use narrative as a vehicle to convey their personal journey, emphasizing the importance of storytelling within the essay to connect with the reader and reveal personal qualities.

💡Self-Motivation

Self-motivation is the ability to inspire oneself to take action. In the script, it's mentioned as a component of emotional intelligence, illustrating the writer's drive and determination. It's suggested that acknowledging moments of self-motivation, or the lack thereof, can provide insight into one's character.

💡Empathy

Empathy is the capacity to understand and share the feelings of others. The video script relates it to emotional intelligence, suggesting that showing empathy in the essay can demonstrate the writer's ability to connect with others on a deeper level, which is an important trait for college and life.

💡Focus

In the context of the video, 'focus' refers to narrowing down the essay's subject to a specific aspect of the writer's life. It's advised to keep the essay personal and not to stray into multiple topics, ensuring that the narrative remains tight and deeply reflective of the individual's experiences.

💡Introduction

An introduction in an essay sets the tone and captures the reader's interest. The video emphasizes the importance of an intriguing introduction, suggesting that it doesn't have to be overly complex, but should be compelling enough to encourage the reader to continue. It also mentions the strategy of using a strong conclusion as an introduction.

💡Conclusion

A conclusion in an essay serves to wrap up the narrative and provide closure. The video script advises against adding new information in the conclusion, stating that it should be simple and serve as a 'stop sign' for the reader, indicating the end of the essay. It also suggests that the best introduction can sometimes be a well-crafted conclusion.

💡Personal Growth

Personal growth refers to the development and improvement of one's character or abilities. The video script discusses the importance of discussing personal growth in the essay, particularly in relation to overcoming failures and learning from experiences. It's portrayed as a critical element in demonstrating resilience and maturity.

Highlights

Tip 1: Share your hero's journey in the Common App essay to reveal personal growth and experiences.

Avoid oversharing; focus on the narrative's key moments to illustrate your story within the 650-word limit.

Show conflict and your response to it to demonstrate character and personal qualities.

Reveal emotional intelligence by accepting your work-in-progress status and self-awareness.

Demonstrate self-regulation and the ability to adjust actions based on past experiences.

Express motivation, whether self-motivated or influenced by others, to display drive and ambition.

Convey empathy and understanding towards others' situations as a sign of emotional maturity.

Highlight social skills and experiences in overcoming social challenges.

Tip 3: Focus on the writing rhythm rather than complex vocabulary for effective communication.

Use varied sentence lengths to create impact and maintain reader interest.

Tip 4: Keep the essay focused, narrow, and deeply personal to connect with the reader.

Consider writing the essay as a form of therapy to reveal intimate thoughts and fears.

Tip 5: Craft an intriguing introduction and a simple conclusion to frame your essay effectively.

Use a strong opening sentence to capture the reader's attention and entice them to read further.

A conclusion should be straightforward, signaling the end of your narrative without adding new information.

Consider using your conclusion as the introduction for a compelling start to your essay.

Discuss personal growth through an accomplishment, event, or realization to show self-understanding.

Recognize and articulate the lessons learned from failures as part of your personal growth journey.

Show resilience and the ability to overcome challenges as a key trait for college and life.

Transcripts

so you need a little help writing the

commonapp essay huh

well if you give me five minutes i'm

gonna give you

five great tips they're gonna take and

make your essay so much better

at the end of that i'm gonna give you a

link that's gonna show you how to make a

good essay great

so let's get started

the first tip to writing a better common

app essay is to share your hero's

journey

so this is a personal question right

there all of these topics are asking

something about you how you've responded

what did you do all of that so you got

to share that with them

but don't share too much we don't need

to know every step in how you bake a

cake

we just need to know that hey i gathered

the ingredients i mixed them i put it in

the oven

and then at the end i got this awesome

thing right

that's your story you only have 650

words so we don't need every detail

we just need an idea of what happened so

that you use that

right the story is the vehicle takes you

from one thing to the next

we need to see how that went so we

really get an idea of who you are

best way to reveal who you are reveal

some conflict

all of these topics lend themselves to

showing some sort of conflict

but most importantly it's not the

conflict it's how you responded

right so cta call to action

was there something that you felt

compelled that you had to step up

a kid was getting bullied there was a

problem with a teacher or a coach

there was an issue at school and you

felt the need to to rise up and

do something right to make it better

that's a great one

was there a time where you avoided

conflict hey you're just a teenager

you're growing up

it's okay to reveal that you need to

learn more

and this was a terrific experience

because i screwed up

i shrunk from the conflict but now i'm

going to know

next time i see that i'm going to know

how to react or finally

hey i lead a conflict-free life and

that's a problem

because i recognize that i haven't done

enough

growing and that i need an experience

like college

to put myself into these small

situations so that i can grow

so that when i go into the workforce and

out into my life i'm ready to go

so make certain that you reveal your

conflict

tip number two is to showcase your

emotional intelligence

so this is a fancy buzzword that's been

going around lately

and this emotional intelligence is you

understanding

who you are and what you have so

as i mentioned earlier you're a work in

progress

and you're and it's okay to accept that

in fact showing that your work in

progress

is revealing your emotional intelligence

as is recognizing your self-awareness

there are kids smarter than me their

kids better than me i'm also better than

some kids

right so knowing where you fit into that

world is

showing some level of an emotional

intelligence self-regulation

hey was there a time where you uh you've

took the call to action but maybe you

went too far you were too aggressive you

did too much

okay i recognize that all right i'm not

going to do so much next time

or gosh i didn't do enough and then i

beat myself

up over it for for weeks months or years

yeah so you overdid it okay so now as

you're getting older you're regulating

so that's a good level of emotional

intelligence to reveal in your essay

motivation listen i i have to

self-motivate sometimes sometimes

i'm human i need someone else to

motivate me and then i'm also really

good at motivating

others right another critical element

empathy one of those things that happens

as you get older you've

had more life experience you recognize

that there are times

where you're going to see a situation

that you've been in that now you see

someone else and that you can help them

and then finally social skills a college

is a very social place

and so this is gonna be a place that

you're gonna want to say

i've gone through i've had some

struggles with with

friends but i've figured out how to do

that and work through those problems

and now i'm in a real comfortable spot

those are going to be all

great issues to show to exhibit

your emotional intelligence

tip number three is to focus in on the

rhythm of the writing

all too often and i've seen this for

years of teaching english

that students when they want to spice

something up they throw in a big fancy

word they run to thesaurus

often a horrible choice because you

don't actually know how to use that word

properly

so what i tell people is that your

rhythm is more important than word

choice

and if it's good enough for nike it's

good enough for you so too often

students will write long sentence long

sentence long sentence long sentence

well imagine if we were just to go in

and vary that up

and maybe you put in a short sentence

there to start something off just boom

hits them right out of the gate

then you go through and you talk about

the story and then maybe instead of

having a long boring last sentence

we put in another short one and if we

think about nike

right one of the greatest marketing

slogans ever is just do it

so if you take a look at a nike

commercial maybe there's a little short

snippet

then they're going to talk about the

athlete's progress and everything

they've done

and then the final scene is just maybe

those three words just do it

again good enough for nike good enough

for you

tip number four keep your focus narrow

and personal

so you have seven essay topics to select

one and you've got to write 650 words

650 words goes by pretty quickly when

you start really getting into

all of these other aspects that we

talked about so make certain that you

only pick

one specific narrow part to focus in on

in your life whatever that is

and make certain that you make it very

personal you really need to reveal your

soul

so make this essay as personal as

possible

and think of this as therapy you want to

tell these people things that you would

be bashful about telling your friends or

your parents

now you're not looking to shock them but

you're really looking to tell them hey

this is what i'm afraid of or this is

what i want to do

any of these things are all going to be

the best way to make your essay personal

tip number five make certain you include

an intriguing intro

and a simple conclusion

you need to capture their intention

right that is the most important thing

so you've always been taught oh have an

attention getter have

something a hook that's going to go

through and really grab the reader's

attention

well it doesn't have to be that fancy it

could actually be just the carving up of

the words that you've selected

and then you position that first so it

leads the reader to want to read more

that's all you need to do you don't need

to shock them you just need that first

sentence

to capture their attention and have it

be interesting enough to read more

so sometimes taking a sentence from the

middle of a paragraph

and putting out at the very beginning

leads this oh it's an intrigue what am i

going to do

so after you've captured their attention

you write their story you need a very

simple conclusion

but make certain whatever you do do not

add more material to your conclusion

a conclusion is just a stop sign it's

letting the reader know hey i'm all done

as a reader we want to be fulfilled and

we want that

strong introduction the story and then

that conclusion

all right your bonus conclusion tip for

today's video

sometimes your very best introduction is

your conclusion

so this is the thing that i've learned

from years and years of

reading and editing papers from my

students that when you start your paper

out

you don't really know where you're going

and as you start writing and you start

having all

of these different ideas towards the end

you really have a great idea of what

your essay is about and you write this

killer conclusion

well what i've seen is the very best

introduction that we can have is to take

that conclusion

move it from the bottom to the top and

now you've got this killer introduction

but you've left without any sort of

conclusion that's okay

again a conclusion just needs to let the

reader know you're all done

and you're just summing up it doesn't

have to be this awesome thing

but if we don't capture their attention

in that first couple of sentences

there's a good chance they may not read

further

okay so now that you have some

strategies and tips on how to write a

better essay

let's dig into prop number five discuss

an accomplishment

event or realization that sparked a

period of personal growth and a new

understanding of yourself

or others so as with all of the prompts

what you write about is really not as

important

as the process for what you went through

how you felt any sort of struggle that

you came across

that's what they want to see they want

to they want to see that you can reveal

that you're human

right you're in that touch with that

emotional intelligence that that's so

critical for these essays

so discuss an accomplishment um yeah

i set the school record we my team won

the section

championship okay big deal a lot of kids

do that

but um what was the understanding of

yourself once you did that

was there more pressure put on yourself

after you set that record or in the

attempt

to set the record did you put tremendous

pressure on yourself did you recognize

how motivated you could be

what happens if you had a failure along

that way you had

a bad game a bad race in the midst of a

very big piano recital

you just blew it right you froze how did

you recover from that

this is all this concept that really is

it's

sparked a per a period of personal

growth

and so you have to recognize failure

is a wonderful teacher so we all

like to have the success stories but if

we think about

and we talk about this hero's journey we

think about all the

i use disney movies because they they've

got a lot of this

but we see the hero fail

and then we see the hero doubt him or

herself

and then we see the the hero kind of

struggle to get back in the game and

then all of a sudden

the hero succeeds right you know there's

a big

there's a big level of success

at the end now that's fantastic

if you have that big level of success

right that's a uplifting movie

but you know what's just as fantastic is

that you recognize that you're not a

success yet

but you're not going to stop trying

you're going to keep on going

success is your goal

but you're still in the middle here you

still are doing things that you still

have to keep working

and that this is a never-ending story

and that hey i tried i failed i got up

you know famous proverbs and almost

every single

um nationality is

fall down seven times get up eight right

so

hey this was my period of personal

growth is that i recognized

failure's normal failures everyone's

going to fail we're human

but it's what did i do how did i come

back and

beat that and what do i now get this

sense of i can accomplish anything

and the reason that's so critical is

that when you get into college

you're going to have a failure you're

going to you're going to

have you're going to blow an assignment

you're going to have a bad project

you're going to

screw up a test hopefully not a class

but if that happens you've got to

recover

you might have a bad roommate or have a

bad relationship in the class

excuse me you know with your teacher or

or whoever

and what did you do

how did you recognize how to overcome

those steps

so revealing all that is what's going to

give you

this personal trait that the reader is

going to be able to connect to

and they're going to say this is the kit

i want on my campus

okay thanks for checking out my video

this was just

a start this is a great way to improve

your essay

but if you want to take your essay from

good to great make certain that you

check out the essay that i have on how

to write a great common app

essay good luck

you