AP Literature and Composition “It’s a College Work Wednesday!” Mr. Houghteling October 17, 2012

Tips for writing an effective essay: First of all, you need to keep in mind that colleges want you as a student and as a person. Because they need to know a bit about you, you must demonstrate your voice throughout your application essay. In other words, your essay should not read like a laundry list or encyclopedia. Rather, it should be MEMORABLE. You reader should be able to picture you behind the words. How to accomplish this?

How to be memorable: Specifics. Don’t simply talk about how you like to read. Talk about curling into a ball on your grandmother’s porch swing and delving into Breath Eyes Memory only to get up four hours later in the dark and covered in mosquito bites. -Proper nouns -Tell stories/memories that are unique to you Write about something that you actually care about…as much as possible. You may not get to pick your essay topic, but you have full control over what happens in it.

Topics that work: Topics that work: Consider your approach to a given topic. Are other students like to address the essay in the same way? Can you think of a more original approach or topic altogether? Brainstorm, brainstorm, brainstorm. We are exchanging the “Hello, my name is Keith, and I’m from Chicago” essays in favor for something more fresh, so we need to consider the possibilities.

Topics to avoid:  Sex. Enough said. Crimes and misdemeanors. You will be asked about these on your application, so you don’t need to provide the details. Being under the influence. Enough said. Bad grades. Schools don’t want excuses. Find other and more creative ways to explain your growth. Simple description of why a school is perfect for you. Major news story or disaster unless it affected you directly and specifically.

Topics to avoid:  Insecurities. You don’t need to be infallible, but this isn’t the forum to question yourself. Your plan to create world peace. The Big Game. If you choose to write about a sporting event or competition, you must make sure that you approach it in a highly unique way. Deep Confessions. Save them for your spiritual advisor. Religion. Unless you’re applying to a religious institution, you never know who is going to read your essay.

Introductions and Leads When we write, keep in mind that writing an introductory paragraph is like greeting someone. The paragraph should be short and to the point like saying, “Hello!” Also, you don’t want to get into the meat of the essay. Simply give the audience a concise idea of your essay’s purpose.

Types of Leads Leads QuotationShort narrative / anecdote Interesting Fact / Startling Statement Startling StatementOpinion Question“In Medias Res”

1. Begin with a quotation Find a quote that seems to get at the problem you're dealing with. State it at the beginning of your introduction and discuss how it relates to what you're trying to prove. Make sure you explain its relevance.

Quote Example: St. Augustine famously wrote that “…an unjust law is no law at all.” Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. embraced Augustine’s message and used it to motivate people to join the civil right movement of the 1960s.

2. Begin with a very short narrative or anecdote that has a direct bearing on your paper. The anecdote - This works particularly well for a historical essay, and even better if you have some ability at creative writing. Pick a specific incident that represents the underlying conflict of your piece, and briefly narrate it like a story. Explain afterwards how the instance reflects a problem you're attempting to solve.

3. Begin with an interesting fact or startling statement On September 15, 1963, a white man placed a box underneath the stairs of the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church. A short time later, four girls attending Sunday school were killed and twenty-four others were injured in the blast. The assailant, Robert Chambliss, eventually was found not guilty of murder but had to pay a hundred-dollar fine for owning dynamite.

Startling or Surprising statement Have a minute? Good. Because that may be all it takes to save the life of a child— your child. Accidents kill nearly 8000 children under age 15 each year. And for every fatality, 42 more children are admitted to hospitals for treatment. Yet such deaths and injuries can be avoided through these easy steps parents can take right now. You don't have a minute to lose.

Statement Examples Almost every time that you turn on the television you will find a number of shows which are extremely violent. Many public schools have decided that their students should use uniforms.

4. Begin with an opinion After being criticized for inciting hatred and violence, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. created his own open letter that dissected the clergymen’s opinions and the men themselves, and he also proved to the world that his nonviolent approach to achieving civil rights for all Americans was a true fight for justice.

5. Begin with a question Throw out a broad question of universal interest, and demonstrate how a possible answer can be related to your thesis. Examples: In the United States, we celebrate Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s birthday as a federal holiday. Have you ever wondered what his achievements were that our country has chosen to honor him?

5. Begin with a question Throw out a broad question of universal interest, and demonstrate how a possible answer can be related to your thesis. Examples: Are you ever bothered by the excessive violence on prime time television? Do you think that to improve our public school education the students should be required to wear uniforms?

6. “In medias res” From Latin, “in medias res” means “in the middle of things.” Similar to the anecdote lead, the “in medias res” lead is a narrative lead in which the author drops the reader directly into the action. Think of the lead in “Twelve Bobby Pins.”

Practice! Using your brainstorming sheets, write two different leads (short introductory paragraphs) for your personal statement. You need to write your introductions using two different types of leads.