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Essays - approach - Strength and weakness

Launched April 26, 2006
Expert replies
by momentary_lapse » Mon Jul 16, 2007 12:28 pm
Hi Stacy,

While writing the essays for colleges, I thought of two approaches which I could use:

1) Facts and evidence approach: Basically listing my strengths, providing evidence to back it up etc. For ex: I firmly believe in teamwork (with a quote on teamwork) and backing it up with my project team won some distinction at work and my sports team won a tournament without any star players.

2) Life story + anecdotes: Weaving the strengths as part of various experiences. For example, my single mother who battled all odds and taught me strength in adversity, optimism. Or the quote on teamwork and then stating that I played sports on weekends from a young age and my coach, who was like a father figure, taught me the most important thing viz. teamwork.

I see immediately that the second approach is more readable and seems more from the heart. The first one seems to be an objective overview of myself with evidence to back it up.

Which is preferable?

Thanks in advance
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Source: — Ask Stacy Blackman |

by Amy » Mon Jul 16, 2007 12:47 pm
Hi momentary_lapse,

Either style can work. What's really important in essays is revealing your personal qualities and motivations through concrete evidence. If you mention leadership, you need to demonstrate examples of when you have shown leadership. You can do that either through personal anecdotes or straight examples, but either way make sure that the focus is on answering the essay question clearly.

Good luck!

Amy
Amy
Consultant
Stacy Blackman Consulting
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by momentary_lapse » Mon Jul 16, 2007 12:52 pm
Amy,

Thank you for your response. The second approach seems to bring out the qualities more subtly and engages the reader while the first doesnt really hold their attention though it does point out the strengths and weaknesses straight out and provides more concrete examples.

Do you think colleges prefer to read the second kind of essays since the idea of weaving the strengths into a life story sounds better (but more subtle)?

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by Amy » Mon Jul 16, 2007 2:29 pm
Hi momentary_lapse,

I really can't say that one style is better than another - it's a qualitative decision. However, my bias would be towards a plainer style that will allow the content to shine.

Engaging writing will help you grab the reader, but your first priority is clearly communicating the content you need to communicate. These essays are short for a reason, and you often just don't have the space to be extremely subtle. The reader will be hunting for the content in the essay, and will not appreciate a lot of digging.

Good luck!

Amy
Amy
Consultant
Stacy Blackman Consulting
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