PB 1A

A college admissions essay is unlike any other essay  that a student is asked to write throughout their high school career - one might even say it the most important essay a student will ever have to write. Because a college admissions essay is so different from other essays, it falls into its own genre. There are many conventions and rhetorical features of the college admissions essay. This genre of text is usually found attached to a college application, when students begin applying to universities during the fall of their senior year. They are written by students hoping to gain admission into a university, and read by a board of admissions. Readers of these essays can also include parents, friends, and teachers, for the main purpose of proofreading the student’s work. College admissions essays can be written about a variety of different subjects, depending on the given prompt. Many prompts ask for a personal statement, in which the student describes themselves and their aspirations for the future. Other prompts ask the student to describe how their world has shaped them. Some prompts are very different, however - last year, the University of Chicago asked students to write about “what makes odd numbers, odd”. All essays should address a student’s achievements and goals for the future, and should answer the question of why they should be admitted to the university. It showcases the student’s creativity and writing skills.  The purpose of the essay is  for the writer to tell the reader something about themselves that is not disclosed in the rest of the application. It is something that sets the student apart from all of the other applicants. Readers get to “know” each student through their essay, and help them to decide whether the student is worthy of admission.

There are many conventions of this genre. A college admissions essay is formal, and respectful in tone. It is very specific to the student and directly answers the prompt. It typically includes a lot of boasting about oneself. It also follows a certain format - each essay is expected to have an intro, two or three body paragraphs, and a conclusion. The intro has a hook and a thesis. The essay should show organization and structure. The essay also has to be under a certain word count, which is stated in the prompt. Correct grammar, punctuation spelling, high vocabulary, and complex sentences are some other very important components. Students are expected to follow the prompt and put their best foot forward. Proper word choice and subject matter are therefore essential to writing a good college admissions essays. Talking about partying and drinking, for example, would not be appropriate for this genre. Using slang would be detrimental to the essay as well. 

Rhetoric is important to consider when writing in this genre as well. The writer must know that their intended audience is a board of admissions, and the reader must understand that the students writing these essays only have a high school level education. The student can also appeal to ethos, logos, and pathos in their writing. It is important that the writer appeal to ethos, because the more credible they seem, the more their audience will believe that the great things  they say about themselves are true. An appeal to pathos allows the reader to empathize with the writer. Other rhetorical features to keep when writing a college admissions essay are anecdotes and syntax. Anecdotes make introductory paragraphs interesting, and good syntax is important for persuasion.

The best possible outcome for the writer in this genre is being admitted to the university of their choosing. For the reader, it is selecting the best students for the university from the applicant pool. The college admissions essay is a textual genre that, when understood and written properly, makes both the reader and writer’s dreams come true.