Essay #3 Common Application

In your writer’s notebook:  Have you every been forced to stand up for something you believe in? What happened? Would you make the same decision again?

Agenda/Objectives Discuss Essay 4 prompt Identify narrative techniques, strong transitions, and a coherent outcome/conclusion in an essay Plan and start writing essay appropriate for a college admissions panel (draft due next class, final draft due class after that)

Where Do You Stand?  Boys should act like boys, girls should act like girls  It is a civic duty to speak out against injustice  Students should stand up against bullies  It is important to be a loyal friend … even if your friend is doing something you don’t agree with  I could never be friends with a bigot  Colleges should not consider race or gender when admitting students  It is a civic responsibility to take part in the democratic process  Teenagers should listen to adults  High school students should not follow the rules with which they disagree  Art/music/drama should not be considered core subjects  Academics are more important that extracurriculars

Answer the prompt directly and completely Essay 4 Prompt: Reflect on a time when you challenged a belief or idea. What prompted you to act? Would you make the same decision again?

Answer the prompt directly and completely Break it down: What are the key words in the prompt? Reflect on a time when you challenged a belief or idea. What prompted you to act? Would you make the same decision again ?

Ideas ACADEMIC: Unfair grade or school policy Unpopular view on a topic being studied EXTRACURRICULAR: Sports eligibility The cost of prom tickets Homecoming court selection PERSONAL: Getting to school on-time Earning a driver’s license Eating a healthy diet/working out

Narrative Techniques  Imagery/Sensory Detail -visually descriptive or figurative language  Vivid Verbs and Modifiers - descriptive verbs and modifiers substituted for boring ones  Metaphor/Simile - a figure of speech in which two unlike things are explicitly compared. A simile uses the word “like” or “as”  Dialogue - written or spoken exchange between two or more people  Flashback/Flash forward – an interruption of chronological sequence of a story

Essay Samples  Identify THREE narrative techniques that this author used in the essay to make it dynamic (dialogue, imagery, vivid language, metaphor/simile flashback/flash forward).  Identify TWO transitions that the author used.  Identify ONE conclusion or outcome in the narrative. Also…  Identify what the author wants the admissions committee to know about him/her from the essay.

In your essay…  Use at least three narrative techniques to make it dynamic.  Use transitions to make the essay cohesive.  Have an identifiable conclusion or outcome  Be able to tell me what you want the admissions committee to know about you from the essay