Hello Im trying to write the college admission essay as freshman.
The prompt of UT austin is
Write an essay in which you tell us about someone who has made an impact on your life and explain how and why this person is important to you
What kind of topic would be cliche? I know that write about family is little cliche and.. what else??
wells, since you and i arent applying to the same school, (remeber this is only a suggestion!!)
my personal favorite is writing an essay about someone in your career profession. maybe like the first female (if your a girl) or the first male (if your a guy)
like if you wanna be a pastry chef, maybe write about the first pastry chef and hows she/hes impacted you.
its a pretty good idea i think. i wrote an essay like that (it in this forum somewhere lol)
:P
good luck!!
tal105's idea is good.
But lets not cross out topics just because a lot of people use them. You say that writing about family is cliche. Think about why it is cliche.
Normally when people write about their families they talk about how their family is always their to support them without in depth examples. This is cliche.
If you have had a truly special experience with your family go ahead and write about them.
It's just that family essays tend to become cliche after the author writes about something that they believe is special but actually is shared by almost every family.
Writing about other's can end up just as cliche. Make sure to choose someone who actually influenced you instead of picking someone surprising just to captivate the reader.
It's just that family essays tend to become cliche after the author writes about something that they believe is special but actually is shared by almost every family
^^ yeaaa. like when you do it, youve def. got to be sincere and creative and not just say something that every family does go thru.
well put. but i do agree, dont just cross it off b.c. your scared of being unorignal. if you feel strongly about writing about tu madre, DO IT!
tell us about someone who has made an impact on your life
That's the prompt. So, start by brainstorming, which is coming up with as many
different ideas as you can, without stopping to judge each one as it comes up. Once you've got
several feasible possibilities, list a little bit about what you might say for each. If the choice still isn't clear, jot down the benefits and drawbacks of each topic.
Instead of starting with what you shouldn't write about, why don't you start by explaining who you can write about? I imagine there aren't that many people who have influenced you so strongly that they spring readily to mind as a potential subject for this essay. So, let us know who you are considering, and for what reason, and we can help you decide which narrative seems most likely to end up being original and interesting.
Also remember that cliche topics tend to be written in cliche manners. Even if you decide to go with what many consider a cliche topic, such as writing about your mother or father, if you can express this influence in engaging writing, this should detract from the cliche concept and should in fact make your essay interesting. If however you believe that your level of writing can not accomplish this, then revise the reasons as to why that person has been so influential on you. Consider UNIQUE reasons, rather than the common ones that are likely to be found in similar essays answering the exact same prompt. It becomes a cliche when it is overused to the point it just becomes lame.
Bear in mind, too, that your choice of topic will also show how deeply aware you are of your surroundings. Everyone knows that their primary caregivers have influenced them. It can require more careful, critical thinking to see how a teacher, friend, or even chance acquaintance or bystander, has had an effect on your life.