Q. I've started to write some application essays and haven't had much success so far. I started with the short answers first because the longer ones are way too daunting. But when I reread what I wrote it was all so boring.
Is every little thing you write supposed to be super creative and introspective, or can you just answer the question, "Why do you want to attend this university?," without a big production?
As for the longer essays, I just can't come up with anything that interesting about myself to write about. I haven't had any huge setbacks, I haven't read a book that changed my life and I wasn't involved in any significant local issue. I've read all the tips on writing these and know it doesn't have to be about something extremely major, but I can't think of anything at all.
For one, I was asked to write a profile on myself in news or features style, as if I had interviewed myself. Should I focus on something small, or give an overview of my life? Would they want to hear more about my writing or something completely different?
StuckA. At every level, from school applications to job applications, readers are looking for similar things:
- How do you write?
- How do you think?
- Do you have passion?
- What can we learn about you?
The first two are about the quality of what you write. Use a tight outline, a beginning that has a little mystery to entice them to read and a conclusion that ties it together or takes us back to the beginning. Don't be stuffy, be creative. But then have someone good edit your work.
For the last two, seize on one to three issues, events or influences that have contributed greatly to the relevant parts of who you are. Increasingly, this will mean who you are as a professional. If you are going to study or commit to journalism, look for those epiphanies when you decided to go into journalism -- or when you really realized how powerful journalism is for you.
Think about role models. When did you choose them and why? Lessons and inspiration from real people will resonate louder than what you read in a book -- even if it is a book that the person judging your essay has also read.
Think about setbacks or challenges that you overcame.
Tell a story about something someone said about your work that made you realize this was the right stuff for you. Or write about the excellent kind of work you plan to do.
You'll be able to think of one or two clear, meaningful turning points.
Please e-mail your career-related question to Joe. You'll have an answer soon.Coming Friday: This journalist is afraid that years of covering NFL sports and working on a sports desk will limit his options in some editors' eyes. How does he change that perception?
