Common Essay

The Essays from Common Application

In the space provided below, please elaborate on one of your activities (extracurricular, personal activities, or work experience) (150 words or fewer).

描述一个你参与或者组织过的活动,主要描写你在活动中的职责和表现,可以是遇到的困难和挫折,如何去克服,以及这个活动教会你什么。

SHORT ANSWER

PERSONAL

ESSAY This personal statement helps us become acquainted with you in ways different from courses, grades, test scores, and other objective data. It will demonstrate your ability to organize thoughts and express yourself. We are looking for an essay that will help us know you better as a person and as a student. Please write an essay (250 words minimum) on a topic of your choice or on one of the options listed below. 下面六个题目至少选两个 1 Evaluate a significant experience, achievement, risk you have taken, or ethical dilemma you have faced and its impact on you. 描述一次对你来说比较重要的经历,可以是任何事情,成功的,失败的,以及让你难以抉择的一些困境,这件事情和经历对你产生了什么样的影响。 2 Discuss some issue of personal, local, national, or international concern and its importance to you. 谈论一件个人的,当地的,国家的或者国际的事情或话题,以及它对你的影响。 3 Indicate a person who has had a significant influence on you, and describe that

influence.

对你影响比较大的一个人,是什么样的影响呢?

4 Describe a character in fiction, an historical figure, or a creative work (as in art, music, science, etc.) that has had an influence on you, and explain that influence.

描述一个虚构的角色,历史人物,或者是艺术、音乐或者科学里的任何一样对你产生过影响的东西,是什么样的影响。

5 A range of academic interests, personal perspectives, and life experiences adds much to the educational mix. Given your personal background, describe an experience that illustrates what you would bring to the diversity in a college community, or an encounter that demonstrated the importance of diversity to you.

说说你个人的生活背景和经历,并说明这些你特有的经历能给未来的大学带来些什么,或者描述一些能让你体现出与众不同的东西。可以是学习方面的兴趣爱好,个人观点,生活经历。

6 Topic of your choice.

任何其他你想说的话题。

Tell us about a personal quality, talent, accomplishment, contribution or experience that is important to you. What about this quality or accomplishment makes you proud and how does it relate to the person you are?

CLASSIC

TOPIC 这是申请中大部分学校都会涉及到的一个题型。

Tell us what You’d like to major in our college and why, how your past academic or experience influenced your decision, and how transferring to our college would further your academic interests.

简言之,为什么要选择转学,选择我们学校?(可以以一个理想中的学校来进行阐述)

WHY

TRANSFER

**Transfer students only

What is your intended major? Discuss how your interest in the subject developed and describe any experience you have had in the field — such as volunteer work, internships and employment, participation in student organizations and activities — and what you have gained from your involvement.

为什么要选择这个专业?

 

第二篇:Essay 1

Qiang Dong

Professor Dr. Christine Marks

Eng102.0834

9/26/2011

Essay #1 (Topic #1)

Revision

Life Is for Living

When I finished the poems “Say Uncle” and “Why We Must Struggle” by Kay Ryan, I questioned myself why we must struggle and suffer in our lives? Difficulties just like a rock on Prometheus back; odds like a great eagle eats Prometheus’s liver every day. In the real life, we are just like “Prometheus” to keep struggling and suffering with the “Rock” and “eagle.” But most people struggle with life without even knowing it because human beings must live their lives no matter how difficult and unexpected it is. The only difference is how you choose to live it. Life is a choice, life is fair, and life is for living.

In Kay Ryan’s poem “Say Uncle,” the author reveals what attitude we should have when we are struggling with life: we won’t say “uncle.” In this poem, the author writes, “You will/ say ankle/ You will/ say knuckle/ Why won’t/ You Why/ won’t you/ Say uncle?”(8-15).The author uses assonance in “ankle”, “Knuckle” and “uncle” to symbolize the various difficulties and odds. The world “uncle” means surrender or submission. At the end of this poem, Kay Ryan directs this question “why won’t you say uncle”. It is a warning and profound meaning of the poem. It makes readers think deeply about their own lives. Every day we may face a new adversity and try to gain something. If you reject to deal with it, you will lose anyway. You will learn nothing

and won’t solve the problem so that you won’t gain anything from it. Don’t easily say “uncle” to any difficulty.

In the poem “Why We Must Struggle,” Kay Ryan describes how struggle shapes our lives and personality. As her poem indicates, “If we have not struggled/ as hard as we can/ at our strongest/ how will we sense/ the shape of our losses or know what sustains us longest or name/ what change costs us, saying how strange…” (1-9). The author implies that if we never try to struggle as hard as we can, we won’t ever recognize “the shape of our losses”, “what sustains us longest”, and “what change costs us”, confront them and you will be much stronger. If we go through life without any struggles, it is a kind of like expecting flowers without wind and rain. Life is beautiful struggles.

Comparing to these poems “Say Uncle” and “Why We Must Struggle”, both try to tell us how to try our heart and soul to accomplish our goals so that we can figure out the meaning of our lives to overcome the barriers and make our lives the way we want it to be. As to me, I am still struggling with a new culture, and new language. Also, I admit that struggling has shaped my personality. When I just came here, I was afraid of talking to people in English and making new friends. I have been struggling with those obstacles for a long time. I persuaded myself to face those various hardships. Gradually, my English is improving. I become the person who is voluble, optimistic and who likes to share my thoughts with people. I realize struggles are exactly what we need in our life sometimes. I tell myself never say “uncle” to them.

As we know, everyone will become aged and move forward to the death which is the ultimate destination of human life. No matter how hard we endeavor, how many accomplishments we have, and how brilliant we are, we still cannot get rid of this destiny. Just as God created us, he gives us the ultimate mission to figure out the meaning of life by struggling and suffering, and also, he won’t forgive who makes an attempt to avoid struggles and difficulties through suicide. Therefore, we have to survive and struggle with our lives. We would be able to make our life more pleasurable and meaningful.

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