College Essay Help?

Question

Questions:

How casual can they be?
And when they say essay do they really mean essay? Thesis and everything?
Can I say "I" in it?

My question is:

Write an insightful essay about your strengths, limitations, interests, academic and non-academic goals and aspirations and those factors which have contributed to your personal development, character and ability to succeed in the future. (500 words)

I don't want responses to the question!!! Just giving you an idea of what they're asking and where I'm coming from.
Because writing a thesis about myself seems a bit confusing

Ok, the first guy clearly did not understand my question.

How casual can I be? And must I write a thesis?

Answer 1

Any paper, especially on for higher academics must have a thesis and should be well structured. In your case it’s easy because you already are an expert on the subject. 500 words is nothing, its like 2 pages.

You must have 3 parts to your paper.

An introduction. This consists of two or three sentences, one that will be your thesis (what are you stating in your paper). Your thesis could actually be as simple as: Pertinent information concerning myself in reaching academic excellence. Ok, but you get the idea. Don’t write your introduction until you have written the second part of the paper.

The body (data) section: I recommend that you start typing and don’t worry about grammar, punctuation or form. After you have written about 500 words, go through and pick out the stuff you like. Correct the grammar, punctuation and order it into clear sentences of like disposition (don't jump around with your ideas). Move the sentences around until you have between 3 and 4 paragraphs, each addressing a different thought about yourself.

Go back and write your introduction using your data and then put together a short sentence that encompasses what you are writing about, this is your thesis.

Now finish the paper by writing your conclusion. In the conclusion do not introduce any new ideas but reinforce your main topics and restate your thesis, remind the reader briefly what they read in the body and close by saying something like “those are my goals for achieving academic excellence.” Do not make this more than one paragraph and try to do it in 3 or 4 sentences.

Ta Da, you’re done.

A couple of more things to add after reading some other comments. It is alway ok to use I if you are writing in prose. The purpose is probably not to "get to know you" but to find out where you are academically.

Answer 2

Hi. I am a mom who is also an RN and an attorney, so I know a bit about writing. I also know how vague professors can be. I am not sure what "casual" means to you, but if you are writing about yourself, it should be OK to use the first person "I" in your writing. With such a short essay the teacher is probably trying to get to know you and to see how much you know about putting together a sentence correctly. Make sure to organize your thoughts and to present them in coherent paragraphs. Always, always spell check--and then print out your paper and read it through again before you turn it in. You would not believe how many errors get by spell check. As for a thesis, you might consider one overall statement about yourself: "I am an intelligent, active woman who has no tolerance for cruelty towards animals/flowers/chocolate chip cookies." Whatever you want to say. But the most important thing of all to do is this: Be sure you answer the questions the teacher asked. Don't write the answer to the question you WISHED the teacher would ask. Answer the hard one they DID ask. Simple advice, but this was a major downfall for a lot of people I went to law school with, and for those who failed the bar. Good luck.

Answer 3

You're making a common mistake made by many college applicants. You are over analyzing the essay question. Simply read it as stated and then answer the question as best you can. Admission Officers are trying to learn more about you - it's that simple. "Write an insightful essay (meaning indepth and personal) about your strengths, limitations, (what do you consider to be your strengths and weaknesses?), interests (what are you passionate about - college admission officers want to know what you're passionate about in life, or what really excites you), academic and non-academic goals and aspirations (so what is your four year college goal?) and those factors which have contributed to your personal development, character and ability to succeed in the future (are there any past examples you can describe that help the admission officer understand better your strengths, and passions, and dreams and how you are able to achieve them?." Just start writing - and edit later. Don't forget to spell check and read through the final draft carefully. Hope this helps...

Answer 4

You can use "I". It's hard not to.
They're basically asking you about yourself, what you've done, and what you want to do with your life. But they're giving you suggestions of topics to cover. This is a relatively informal question to see if you'll "fit in" with their institution. It never hurts to directly relate a point or two to the institution.

Answer 5

Yes you can use "I', they are asking you about yourself. They just want you to write about your goals and achievements and the people who got you there along the way.