1. Start with the purpose: First, take a minute to consider the role of the application essays from an admissions officer’s perspective. Your writing serves to give a human element to your application file, creating a connection between you and the reader who likely hasn’t had the opportunity to meet you in person. Your essays help us understand your voice beyond the academic data and learn about your personality, values, interests, priorities, and background. Essays also help us see your fit for Tufts specifically: does the attitude you showcase in your writing match the “vibe” of our community? That’s our purpose in requiring you to submit all these essays. But you get to have a purpose, too. Each essay you write should have a clear intention behind what you’re communicating, an intention that you can actually identify and articulate. What do we need to know about you to have the fullest picture possible of (a) what you care about and (b) how you will engage academically and socially on our campus? Those ideas and qualities should deliberately align with the essays you send us.
1.从目的出发:首先,花一点时间从招生官的角度考虑申请论文的作用。你的写作可以为你的申请文件提供人性化元素,从而在你在没可能有机会与你的读者见面之前建立联系。你的论文有助于我们了解你在学术数据之外的声音,并了解你的个性,价值观,兴趣,优先事项和背景。文书也有助于我们看到你对塔夫茨这所学校的匹配度:你在文中展示的态度是否符合我们社区的“氛围”?这是我们要求你提交这些论文的目的。但你也有你自己的目的,你写的每篇文章背后都应该有一个明确的意图,这是你可以实际识别和表达的意图。我们需要通过一个全景画面来了解(a)你关心的事项以及(b)你将如何在我们的校园中进行学术和社交活动?这些想法和品质应该与你发给我们的文章一致。
2. Make the most of each essay: By asking you to write two short supplemental essays in addition to your longer personal statement/college essay, we provide you with multiple opportunities to share what matters to you. That means you get multiple chances to showcase the multiple interests and experiences that make you a multifaceted human being. By writing all your essays about a similar theme or overlapping topics, you’ve likely missed out on a chance to share other dimensions of your identity. When a college requires supplemental essays or short answer questions, it can be helpful to think of your writing as a package or a set, the way it will be read by an admissions officer. I’m trying to learn as much as I can about the many things that make you interesting, smart, likable, and engaging. Ideally, your personal statement and supplemental essays will come together to reflect a range of qualities that comprise your voice as a whole.
2.充分利用每篇文章:除了你的长篇主文书/大学的附加文书外,还要求写两篇简短的补充文书,我们提供的多种机会可以使你分享那些对你而言比较重要的内容,这意味着你将有多种机会展示使你成为多元化人类的多种兴趣和体验。通过撰写关于类似主题或重叠主题的所有文章,你可能错过了分享你本身其他方面的机会。当一所大学需要补充论文或简答题时,将你的写作视为一个包或一组,以这种方式呈现出来给招生官员阅读可能会有所帮助。我正在尽可能多地学习那些让你变得有趣,聪明,讨人喜欢和引人入胜的东西。最理想的情况是:你的个人陈述和补充论文汇集在一起去反映包含你声音的整体的一系列品质。
3. Focus on the details: Now, while your essays as a whole set help paint a broad picture of who you are, each individual essay should tell me something very specific. Rather than trying to squeeze your whole life story into a 650-word essay or writing broadly about your interest in science or your passion for public service, try to keep your topics narrow and go deep with them. Describing a single experience/interaction/memory/source of inspiration with vivid detail and deep reflection can often have the most powerful and original impact. A former colleague used to describe this idea as “letting the micro inform the macro.” Small details – in your storytelling and in the interpretations you offer in your writing – can be representative of the macro-level ideas you want to leave the reader pondering.
3.专注于细节:现在虽然你的论文作为一个整体有助于描绘出你是谁,但每篇论文都应该呈现出一些非常具体的内容。而不是试图将你的整个人生故事写成一篇650字的文章,或广泛地写下你对科学的兴趣或对公共服务的热情,可以尝试让你的选题范围缩小,并深入研究它们。用生动的细节和深刻的反思来描述单一的体验/互动/记忆/灵感来源,通常可以产生最强大和最原始的影响。一位前同事曾经把这个想法描述为“让微观通知宏观。”小细节 – 在你讲的故事和写作中提供的解释 – 可以代表你想让读者出发宏观层面的思考。
4. Maintain your voice: Let me assure you, from our perspective, your college application essays should not be approached with the same tone as a research paper or book report. While your writing should be grammatically correct and show evidence of care, the language, style, and spirit of your essays certainly can and should be authentic to how you speak in real life. If your friends, family, and teachers would describe you as goofy, outgoing, or relaxed, you probably shouldn’t submit a collection of essays in a formal, subdued tone. If your real-life personality is more subtle, perceptive, and insightful, that can certainly make for a great college essay, too! Whether your communication style is witty, sarcastic, lyrical, pensive, earnest, animated, or sensible, I encourage you to infuse that flavor into your written language to complement the character qualities found in the content of your writing.
4.保持你的声音:我向你保证,从我们的角度来看,你的大学申请论文不应该与研究论文或书籍报告的语气相同。虽然你的写作应该在语法上正确并且要突显谨慎,但你文书的语言,风格和精神完全可以用你在现实生活中说话的语气。如果你在朋友,家人和老师的眼中是笨笨的,外向的或懒散的,那么你可能不适合以正式的,柔和的语气提交一系列文书。如果你在生活中的个性是比较微妙的,富有洞察力和洞察力,这当然可以成为一篇伟大的大学文书!无论你的沟通风格是诙谐的,讽刺的,抒情的,沉思的,认真的,栩栩如生的还是睿智的,我都鼓励你将这种风格融入你的书面语言中,以补充你写作内容中的个性品质。
5. Be thoughtful in seeking feedback: I’ve seen plenty of students go overboard in their pursuit of essay feedback and I feel pretty confident that sharing a Google Doc with your 20 closest friends and mentors is the surest way to become overwhelmed with conflicting advice and edit your own voice out of your college essays. There are lots of well-intentioned people whose college essay advice can be a bit misguided. Stick to sharing your drafts with just 2-3 people you trust; a former colleague suggests including one person who’s a particularly strong writer and one person who knows you REALLY well and can gauge the authenticity of your writing. Editing to catch typos and incorrect spellings is essential, but I encourage you not to let the editing phase sanitize the creative expression that should make your essays yours.
5.在寻求反馈时要深思熟虑:我看到很多学生在追求文书反馈时过于苛刻,我非常有信心与20位最亲密的朋友和导师分享Google Doc是最可靠的方法,让他们对冲突的建议感到不知所措 并从你的大学论文中编辑你自己的声音。有很多好心相助的人,但他们的大学文书建议可能有点误导。坚持与你信任的2-3人共享你的草稿; 我的一位前同事建议:包括一个特别牛的写作高手和一个非常了解你的人,并且能够衡量你写作的真实性。编辑及检查拼写错误和语法错误是必不可少的,但我建议你不要让这些编辑过程干扰了你文章的创意性,你的文章就是要体现你的创意表达。