Table of Contents
Prologue 9
Introduction 13
Words that Matter 16
Chapter 1 The Big Picture 19
What Are Colleges Looking For? 19
What Your Essay Should Do for You 21
Chapter 2 The Four Building Blocks of a Common App Essay 22
Building Block #1: Five Words 22
Building Block #2: Story 23
Building Block #3: Message 25
Building Block #4: Archetype 30
Chapter 3 Three Sample Essays and Analysis 36
Abby's Common App Essay 36
Jackson's Common App Essay 41
Ella's Common App Essay 46
Chapter 4 How to Find Your Topic 52
Story Prompts 52
Questions to Help You Find Your Story 53
Big Impacts 57
A Unique Point of View 63
Accentuate the Positive 69
Intellectual Vitality 74
Learning Differences 79
Creativity 86
Think Outside the Box 90
Chapter 5 Outlining your Essay 95
Structure, Structure, Structure! 95
Three Sample Structures 97
Pick a Tense 101
Chapter 6 It's All In The Details 107
Voice 107
The All-Important First Sentence 108
Quotes 112
Emotion 113
Courage 120
Framing Device 125
Making the Most of This Wonderful Opportunity 130
Chapter 7 A step-by-step guide to writing your common app essay 134
Chapter 8 Those Darned Supple Mentals 144
Epilogue 147
Appendix A Two Sample Essays of Each Archetype 149
The Hero 151
The Seeker 158
The Adventurer 165
The Rebel 172
The Dreamer 179
The Caregiver 186
The Artist 192
The Leader 199
Appendix B Another Unique Point of View 206
Appendix C Same Topic, Different Result 211
Appendix D Art School 215
Appendix E Think Outside Another Box 218
Appendix F When Your Story is Bigger than a Single Moment 222
Appendix G The Evolution of an Essay 227
Appendix H Where'd They Land? 243
Big Thanks 247
Index 249
