CAMAS HIG

H

SCHOOL

RSVP( R U N N I N G S TA RT V I RT U A L P R O J E C T )

L E S S O N # 4 : T H E R E F L E C T I V E E S S AY

STEPS TO A REFLECTIVE ESSAY

1.Careful read this ENTIRE lesson

2.Choose the best option for you: Option 1: A College Admissions Essay Option 2: A Personal Statement

3.Craft a high quality piece of personal writing in 300-500 words

4.Submit it to your www.schoology.com Drop Box for feedback from Mrs. Downs & Ms. Bridges

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Option #1 for the RSVP Reflective

Essay

COLLEGES WANT STUDENTS WITH…

1. Proven academic abilities in challenging classes.

2. Involvement in school activities and community service.

3. Leadership and interpersonal experience.

4. SAT and ACT scores.

5. Goals for the future.

ESSAYS THEY’RE TIRED OF . . .

1.The Story of My Education (I forgot you have my transcript)

2.The Trip (how I broadened my horizons)3.My Favorite Things (a list of fluffy

things that tell you I’m a nice person)4. Miss America (how I’ll work for World

Peace)5.The Jock (how I learned to be part of a

team, how I learned to deal with defeat)

MORE HO-HUM ESSAYS

1.The Three D’s (discipline, determination, diversity)

2.Tales of My Success (how I overcame adversity to win the day)

3.Death of Pet or Relative (how I learned to value life)

4.The Story of My Life (I was born at a young age)

---from Harry Bauld’s On Writing the College Application Essay

WHAT THE EXPERTS SAY”

“Tell us about an experience that doesn’t show on your transcripts: your passions and commitments, your hopes, a personal challenge faced, a hardship overcome, or the cultural awareness you’ve gained.” ---UW

“Stand out from the swarm of applicants by being offbeat and daring, as long as you stay in control of your writing.”

“Write as you would in a journal or a letter to a friend.” ---Essays That Worked

WHAT THE EXPERTS ALSO SAY…

Do research on the college. Mention school colors, the mascot, and majors or programs you are interested in.

Determine whether the college is liberal or conservative.

State or imply how the incident you are writing about has added to your ability to succeed in college.

Stay away from controversial topics and avoid direct persuasion.

CONSIDER…

What you “look like” on paper. Use the essay to explain, expand, or emphasize.

EXPLAIN a low grade in a class, weakness in a tested subject area or less challenging class choices.

EXPAND by filling a “hole,” e.g. lack of community service or no leadership experiences.

EMPHASIZE an experience that may not appear in your list of accomplishments that indicates your strengths or ability to adapt and learn.

THEN tell the story!

TELL A STORY ONLY YOU CAN TELL

1. a specific event in your life that changed the way you think

2. one person who helped shape your character

3. a specific challenge that demonstrates who you are and what you value

4. a specific event that caused you to “walk in someone else’s shoes”

PAST PROMPTS

Describe an event in your life that either demonstrates your character or helped to shape it. --University of Washington

Select a creative work that has influenced the way you view the world and the way you view yourself. Discuss the impact the work has had on you. --NYU

CURRENT PROMPTS

"Good citizenship comes from good scholarship." What does this statement mean to you?

As an Honor student you'll be asked to participate in two of the four following experiential learning areas: international engagement, service learning, research, and leadership. Please outline the kind of project within these areas that you might consider pursuing and explain how such a project would fit into your broader academic vision.

What do you wonder about, ponder, or wish you knew more about that isn't within your intended field of study?Would you ever be willing to put everything else on hold to satisfy your curiosity? ---UW 2009

YOUR PRIMARY GOALS

1. Make your essay stand out by making it unique.

2. Make your admissions officer want to meet you and welcome you to the campus.

How do you do all this? ADD VOICE!

WRIT

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PERSONAL

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Option #2 for the RSVP Reflective

Essay

PERSONAL STATEMENTS…

Are frequently needed for job applications scholarship applications volunteer opportunities internships college classes

REFLECTIVE ESSAY PROMPT #1:BEING UNPREPARED

Because you have been sick, out of town , busy at work, or working on other homework, you didn’t have as much time to study for an important test as you needed. Everyone going to school has been in this situation. Think of a specific test that you took that you felt unprepared for and narrate the events. Tell your readers about the preparation that you were able to do, the reasons that you didn’t get to prepare as well as you wanted, taking the test, and any significant events that happened after you took the test. Your paper should help readers understand what it felt like to be unprepared, and explain what you learned from the experience.

REFLECTIVE ESSAY PROMPT #2: LIGHT BULB MOMENT

Think of an experience when you realized that you suddenly understood an idea, a skill, or a concept you had been struggling with--it might be something related to a class you took or a certain athletic skill you were trying to perfect. For instance, you might think about trying to understand how to identify iambic pentameter in a poem or how to complete a Taylor Series problem in your calculus class. Or you might consider trying to perfect your free-throws and suddenly understanding that your follow-through was affecting your success. Write a narrative that tells the story of your movement toward finally understanding. How did you finally come to make this discovery? What changed your perceptions and gave you a new understanding? Your paper should help readers understand how you felt to struggle with the idea or skill and then to understand, and what that learning process symbolized for you.

REFLECTIVE ESSAY PROMPT #3: CHILDHOOD EVENT

Choose a vivid time from your childhood—You might think of the first time that you rode a school bus, or of when you went to the principal’s office, the first A that you earned on a test or paper, earning money to buy something that you really wanted, and so on. Narrate the events related to the childhood memory that you’ve chosen so that your readers will understand why the event was so important and memorable, and what it symbolized to you.

REFLECTIVE ESSAY PROMPT #4: ACHIEVING A GOAL

Think of a time when you achieved a personal goal—you might have finally completed a marathon or a triathlon, or you might have bettered your score on the SAT’s or another test, you might have learned how to use a piece of software like Microsoft Word or Excel. Tell your readers about the story of how you met your goal. Be sure that your readers understand why the goal is important to you, and what it symbolized to you.

REFLECTIVE ESSAY PROMPT #5: THE GOOD AND THE BAD

Think of an event in your life that seemed bad but turned out to be good. Maybe you got injured and while you were waiting for your broken leg to heal, you learned how to use a computer. What makes the event change from bad to good may be something that you learned as a result, something that you did differently as a result, or something you experienced. Help your readers understand how an event that seemed negative turned out to have valuable consequences, and what that experience symbolized to you.

REFLECTIVE ESSAY PROMPT #6: BEING A TEACHER

Teaching someone else how to do something can be rewarding. Think of a skill that you’ve taught someone else how to do. Perhaps you taught someone else to swim, showed someone how to bake a soufflé, or helped someone learn to study more effectively. Think about the events that made up the process of teaching the skill, narrate the story for your readers, and explain what it symbolized to you.

REFLECTIVE ESSAY PROMPT #7: CHANGING PLACES

Every place has things that change- sometimes as the result of economics, sometimes because different people are involved, and sometimes for no clear reason that you know about. Think of a change to a place that you know well. Perhaps the local grocery store you grew up. Grocery store was bought out by a regional chain like Safeway or Albertsons. Perhaps the change was more personal -- an older sibling moves out of the house and your family changes the room to a guest room or an office. Think of a specific change and narrate the events that occurred. Readers should know the details of the change, they should know how you feel about the changes that occurred, and what those changes symbolized to you.

REFLECTIVE ESSAY PROMPT #8: PERSONAL RITUALS

Describe a personal ritual that you, your friends, or your family have. Think about the personal steps that you always go through when you prepare for an exam. Do you sit at a desk, spread books and notes across your bed, or use the kitchen table? Do you have to have something to drink…soda, water, Mountain Dew? There are numerous things that we do for which we create our own personal rituals. Choose one event—studying for a test, writing a paper, dressing and warming up before a game, or preparing and having a special family meal. Narrate the events that take place when you complete your ritual so that your readers understand the steps that the ritual includes , why you include them, and what they symbolize to you.

REFLECTIVE ESSAY PROMPT #9: STANDING UP

Choose a time when you did something that took a lot of nerve, a time when you didn’t follow the crowd or a time when you stood up for your beliefs. Perhaps your friends were urging you to something that you were uncomfortable with and you chose not to cave into peer pressure. Maybe you took a stance on a political issue that was important in your community. Whatever you choose, think about the details of the event and write a story that tells about what happened. Your narrative should show your readers why you decided to make a stand or try something that took nerve, give specifics on the events, share how you felt after the event, and what it symbolized to you.

REFLECTIVE ESSAY PROMPT #10: DISAGREEING Think of a time when you disagreed with a decision that had been made and did

something about it. The decision might have been made by someone you know personally—your biology teacher announced a new policy to grade for spelling and grammar on your quizzes and homework, or an older family member decides to cancel a subscription to a magazine you liked to read. You might have responded by discussing your concerns with your principal or dean, or you might have decided to get a part-time job to earn money to buy the magazine yourself. Or the decision could have been made by someone you never met met—perhaps your school board decided to change the lines in your school district so that you would have had to go to a different school, or your state legislature has passed a bill that you disagreed with. Your response might have been to write a letter to the editor, to your state representative, or to the school board. Whatever happened, your job is to write a paper that narrates the events that occurred—from the decision that was made to your response. Be sure that your paper gives enough details that your readers understand why you disagree with the decision, why you felt that your response was appropriate, and what you learned through the process.

IMPO

RTANT

GUIDELIN

ES FOR

THE R

EFLECTI

VE

ESSAY

Follow these when writing your

Option 1 or Option 2 Essay…

10 SECONDS TO MAKE A GOOD IMPRESSION ~ HOOK OPTIONSBegin with a scenario.Begin with a rhetorical question.Begin with a shocking statement.Begin with a refutation of conventional

wisdom.Begin with a contrast ~ “There are two

types of students…”Begin with a confession.Begin with what you learned.

WRITER’S TRICKS

Magic 3

Three examples in a series can create a poetic rhythm or at least add support for a point, especially when the three items have their own modifiers.

The terror in his eyes, his trembling hands, and the hoarse words “Run!” all made me realize I was in danger.

FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE

Connotative comparisons such as similes, metaphors, and personification add spice to writing and make thought-provoking connections.

“My thoughts teetered around in my head like acrobats losing their balance.”

REPETITION FOR EFFECT

Repeat strategic words or phrases to make a point or emphasize an idea.

“As I stood in front of the entire student body and raised the mike to my mouth, I knew this was the day. The day to end all days.”

EXPANDED MOMENT

Emphasize an important moment by “expanding” the actions and making it slow-motion.

“The finish line slid closer and I realized I would never catch up to number 10. At that moment, the memories of sweat, pulled muscles and countless practices faded away and I stopped thinking of cross country as work. As I lost the final race of the season, I felt the hands of my teammates on my shoulders, I saw my friends still smiling and I realized that cross country, all along, had been fun.”

HUMOR

Humor can turn an ordinary piece into an interesting one.

“When I set the basement on fire, I learned a valuable lesson: spider webs are very flammable. I’m sure there are no spiders in the dorms at West Point.”

HYPHENATED MODIFIERS

Sometimes writing something in a new way by hyphenating adjectives can cause the reader to look again.

Use this tactic only once in your essay.

“Mom stalked out of the room with a mess-with-me-and-I-won’t-be-responsible-for-the-consequences look on her face.”

FULL-CIRCLE ENDING

Repeat an idea, word, image, or phrase from the beginning of the piece for a memorable, “feels complete” ending.

“Anyone else letting out a screech like Andrew’s would have annoyed me, but I knew this little autistic boy was having the time of his life…”

Last topic sentence: “Although Andrew can’t explain what he gets from the experience, I can…”

RE-ENVISIONING

Put your essay away for awhile to let it “ripen.”

Be sure your essay is more descriptive and expository than narrative.

Apply past learning to your future in your conclusion.

Add transitions between paragraphs.

Be sure your tone isn’t whiney, accusatory or boastful. Stories about challenges should end with a solution. Sad stories should end with redemption.

CUT THE DEADWOOD

Needless restatements

“Thesaurus” writing

Qualifiers: clearly, somewhat, rather, kind of, seems, sort of

Extras: who, what, which, that

Vague words: good, bad, nice

Vague verbs: get, do, have, went

Count to three: if you have three sentences in a row that start with “I,” reword one.

COMMON CONVENTIONS ERRORS

Its (a possessive pronoun) and it’s (it is)

Effect (the result) and affect (changes)

There, they’re, their

Choose/chose & loose/lose

Semicolon misuse.

Comma splices are bad, they’re also common

Capitalization should be consistent.

FINAL TOUCHES

Read your essay out loud.

Does this sound like you? If it does, good!

Ask yourself “What does this essay prove?” Do you make the impression you want to make?

Proofread!

Then proofread again.

Show your essay to as many people as you can.

Good luck!

WHAT NOW?

Pick a prompt presented in this lesson or find a current application prompt from any college and craft an example of your best thinking and writing in 300-500 words

Submit your essay to your www.schoology.com Drop Box

Questions? Email Ms. Bridges kristi.bridges@camas.wednet.edu