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VOA慢速英语--大学招生:通过写作讲述你的故事

时间:2018-02-19 23:59:58

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College Admissions2: Telling Your Story through Writing

The application process to almost every college and university in the United States has several parts to it.

Each part tells admissions officials at the schools something different about an applicant3.

Class grades can show the subjects a student is strong in, for example. A list of the student’s activities outside of school can show what his or her interests are.

But Seth Walker says nothing really tells the story of an applicant as well as the essay or personal statement. Walker is with Indiana University, a public university, in Bloomington, Indiana. He is the school’s associate director of international admissions.

The essay is a short, written statement that almost every college and university in the U.S. requires of applicants4. In it, students are expected to write about themselves and express their personal opinions about an issue.

Walker says the statement helps admissions officers answer questions they may have about a given student.

“Maybe your grades dropped a little bit…or maybe you stopped a class halfway5 through the year,” he told VOA. “The essay or the personal statement can be an opportunity, if the school wants it, to explain that, if you don’t think the school will get that explanation through a letter of recommendation6…or something like that.”

But what goes into a good essay?

Walker notes that every school has its own way of looking at the essay. Some schools will ask an applicant a very specific question. Others will let the student choose between different subjects or simply write about anything they want.

Generally speaking, there is no one perfect way to write an essay, Walker says. He says that given a choice, students should choose to write about an issue they care about. This could be about a difficult time when they were growing up or a meaningful relationship they had.

However, they should also be careful about the subject they choose.

“We’ll read the same essays a lot,” said Walker. “We’ll read how a parent…is a hero and you want…to be just like that hero. We read a lot about…your…sports team…or some other difficult experience that you’ve gone through, maybe learning7 a different language…Those are all great topics and great essays to write. But you have to remember that a lot of people write those essays. So...you have to write about them in a creative way.”

Walker notes that schools have an easy time recognizing when students try to write about something they think admissions officials want to see in an essay. And even in cases where students cannot choose the subject, schools can tell when students are writing in a way to make their essay seem more appealing. For example, Walker notes, many students think that telling a sad story makes them easy to remember.

But that is not necessarily8 what admissions officials want to see, he says. What they want is an essay about anything that is truly special or important to the student, and which also shows their better qualities. In addition, it should show the student’s understanding of the world and what their experiences or way of thinking will bring to the school.

Walker admits that getting started in the writing process can be difficult. That is why he says students should remember that schools are not expecting them to sit down and write an essay with little or no preparation. In fact, students should give themselves plenty of time for planning, writing and re-writing.

Most important of all, students should just start with a simple idea and slowly expand that into a full essay, he says.

“Starting very small is always great, because I think if you sit down in front of a computer with…the purpose to write your entire essay without anything else, it’ll be very…overwhelming9,” said Walker. “So start from the small building blocks and go from there.”

He suggests keeping things simple, especially because of the rules most schools have for the essay. Many colleges and universities ask applicants to limit their essay to between 500 and 1,000 words. It is also better when students stay focused on one subject and not include unrelated details.

For example, if a student writes about a time they served as the leader of an organization, the writer should not describe difficulties in a class.

Schools often take into consideration whether or not English is a student’s native language, Walker adds. Reading one’s own writing, especially out loud, can help an applicant recognize mistakes. Also, having someone else read it can help, leading to the removal10 of unnecessary or unrelated parts of the essay. And hearing someone else read your writing out loud can also help you decide if the way the ideas are expressed is really what you want to say.

So, Walker says, applicants should make use of the many resources available to them. In the U.S., many students work on their college essays with English teachers and fellow students during their last two years of high school.

He suggests that students have parents, friends and even special writing services help them work on their essays. Also, students should consider re-writing the statement at least once to improve it.

However, Walker does note one concern he has about students involving other people in the process. At American colleges and universities, doing one’s own work is extremely important. If a school learns a student has asked or paid someone else to write an essay for them, that school will likely remove the student from their study program.

The same is true of the application process, says Walker. It is easy for admissions officials to tell when students have not written their own essays. The wording sounds very general and often very similar to other essays officials have seen before. And it will most likely lead to the applicant not being admitted.

I’m Pete Musto. And I’m Dorothy Gundy.

Words in This Story

application – n. a formal and usually written request for something, such as a job, admission1 to a school, or a loan11

grade(s) – n. a number or letter that indicates how a student performed in a class or on a test

essay – n. a short piece of writing that tells a person's thoughts or opinions about a subject

opportunity – n. a short piece of writing that tells a person's thoughts or opinions about a subject

letter of recommendation – n. a formal letter that explains why a person is appropriate or qualified12 for a particular job or school

specific – adj. special or particular

topic(s) – n. someone or something that people talk or write abou

creative – adj. having or showing an ability to make new things or think of new ideas

recognizing – v. to know and remember someone or something because of previous knowledge or experience

overwhelming – adj. used to describe something that is so confusing or difficult that you feel unable to do it

focused – adj. giving attention and effort to a specific task or goal


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点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 admission 6Kuyx     
n.允许进入;承认;入场费,入会费,入场券
参考例句:
  • We attached a condition to his admission to our school.我们对准许他入校附加了一个条件。
  • By her own admission,she was responsible for the accident.她自己承认,事故应该由她负责。
2 admissions 36041e3ee38a9a1077863142ac4d5abb     
n.准许进入( admission的名词复数 );入场费;入场券;承认
参考例句:
  • a need-blind admissions policy 不考虑经济能力的录取政策
  • He's the Dean of Admissions for the University of Michigan. 他是Michigan大学的新生注册主任。 来自辞典例句
3 applicant 1MlyX     
n.申请人,求职者,请求者
参考例句:
  • He was the hundredth applicant for the job. 他是第100个申请这项工作的人。
  • In my estimation, the applicant is well qualified for this job. 据我看, 这位应征者完全具备这项工作的条件。
4 applicants aaea8e805a118b90e86f7044ecfb6d59     
申请人,求职人( applicant的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • There were over 500 applicants for the job. 有500多人申请这份工作。
  • He was impressed by the high calibre of applicants for the job. 求职人员出色的能力给他留下了深刻印象。
5 halfway Xrvzdq     
adj.中途的,不彻底的,部分的;adv.半路地,在中途,在半途
参考例句:
  • We had got only halfway when it began to get dark.走到半路,天就黑了。
  • In study the worst danger is give up halfway.在学习上,最忌讳的是有始无终。
6 recommendation ItvyJ     
n.推荐(信)建议,优点,长处
参考例句:
  • I wrote him a good recommendation.我为他写了一封很好的推荐信。
  • This method deserves recommendation.这种做法值得提倡。
7 learning wpSzFe     
n.学问,学识,学习;动词learn的现在分词
参考例句:
  • When you are learning to ride a bicycle,you often fall off.初学骑自行车时,常会从车上掉下来。
  • Learning languages isn't just a matter of remembering words.学习语言不仅仅是记些单词的事。
8 necessarily iGQxo     
adv.必要地,必需地;必定地,必然地
参考例句:
  • More work does not necessarily call for more men.增加工作量不一定就要增添人员。
  • A voter must necessarily be no younger than eighteen.选民必须在18岁以上。
9 overwhelming 1m0z13     
adj.势不可挡的,压倒的,无法抵抗的
参考例句:
  • The flood was overwhelming and the city was soon drowned.洪水来势凶猛,很快这个城市就被淹没了。
  • The act was adopted by an overwhelming majority.该法案以压倒多数通过。
10 removal sCyyS     
n.去除,消除;挪走,移走,搬迁
参考例句:
  • After the removal of the soup,fish was served.汤撤去后,鱼就上来了。
  • The factory announced its removal to another town.这家工厂宣布迁往另一座城镇。
11 loan w0RxB     
n.贷款;借出的东西;借;vt.借出;贷予
参考例句:
  • I asked the bank to help me with a loan.我请银行给我一笔贷款。
  • Has the bank okayed your request for a loan?银行批准你的贷款要求了吗?
12 qualified DCPyj     
adj.合格的,有资格的,胜任的,有限制的
参考例句:
  • He is qualified as a complete man of letters.他有资格当真正的文学家。
  • We must note that we still lack qualified specialists.我们必须看到我们还缺乏有资质的专家。

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