不超過250字怎么寫好一篇留學(xué)申請(qǐng)Essay？

申請(qǐng)美國留學(xué)的同學(xué)都知道，除了學(xué)術(shù)成績(jī)、課外活動(dòng)、學(xué)術(shù)活動(dòng)等，還有一個(gè)重要元素——文書。在 CA 網(wǎng)申系統(tǒng)上，有一篇650字左右的主文書，但許多大學(xué)還有自己專屬 Essay，一般1-3篇，也就是補(bǔ)充性文書。

主 Essay 的范文、解析、技巧和注意事項(xiàng)，我們已經(jīng)看過許多，但是補(bǔ)充性文書看起來簡(jiǎn)單，字?jǐn)?shù)比主文書短，還要展示出自己特質(zhì)，可謂“字字千金”，要怎么才能寫好呢？

補(bǔ)充文書的重要性不容小覷，既要具有學(xué)校特色的存在，也最能反映出申請(qǐng)人的個(gè)人特質(zhì)和與學(xué)校的匹配度，什么樣的文書才能加強(qiáng)而不是削弱你的申請(qǐng)呢？先以成功申請(qǐng)到塔夫茨大學(xué)的 Ryan Sheehan 補(bǔ)充文書為例，他申請(qǐng)的計(jì)算機(jī)科學(xué)。

補(bǔ)充文書題目：

“Let your life speak.”

Describe the environment in which you were raised – your family, home, neighborhood, or community – and how it influenced the person you are today.

As the son of two journalists, I have grown up under a lifelong inquisition: How is your room such a mess? Can you please stop chasing the cat? Will you come down from the tree already? Granted, those are all from this past year, but the point still stands.

Like any good journalists, my parents have also always had a propensity for uncovering the truth. On the third night that I had my license, I decided to go to the library to study.

Before 15 minutes had passed, I noticed the librarian peering at me through the shelves before quickly averting her eyes and whispering, "He's here," into her phone. Even so, regardless of how many spies they've hired over the years, I have always looked up to my parents immensely.

However, I have found my inherited inquisitiveness to be a trait most useful in a place far from the realm of reporting: the robotics lab. After four years of spending almost more time in the lab than at home, I have learned that nothing is more important than asking the right questions.

As a programmer, I need to be able to communicate with my builders. Come press time, if I don't interview them properly, our robot will invariably end up as a hunk of unresponsive aluminum. To make a machine, the team must work as one. So although I may be writing source code instead of a breaking story, I am glad I had such nosy parents after all.

塔夫茨大學(xué)招生主任 Karen Richardson 表示，這篇 Essay很棒。

簡(jiǎn)單 250個(gè)單詞表達(dá)了很多東西，既告訴我們 Ryan是誰，也能了解到他的家庭、生活、學(xué)術(shù)興趣，甚至展示了他的幽默感，文章非常完整、立體。

每個(gè)人都是與眾不同，有著獨(dú)特的經(jīng)歷，Essay 自然也是豐富多樣，那么補(bǔ)充文書要怎么寫呢？招生官和文書老師給了大家 4 個(gè)通用建議。

1. Answer the question.?

回答問題——看起來有點(diǎn)啰嗦，但是每一位申請(qǐng)人應(yīng)確保認(rèn)真閱讀并理解要求。有學(xué)生可能將同一篇 Essay 用于不同的大學(xué)申請(qǐng)，但是補(bǔ)充性文書只適合某一個(gè)學(xué)校。

2. Start with an outline.?

每個(gè)人可能有自己的寫作習(xí)慣，但仍然建議大家先列一個(gè)大綱。最好先通過頭腦風(fēng)暴將自己所有想在文書中傳達(dá)的個(gè)人技能、素質(zhì)、經(jīng)驗(yàn)都寫出來。

3. Offer something new.?

“補(bǔ)充性”文書——所謂補(bǔ)充，就是給招生官提供更多信息，以進(jìn)一步說明你為什么適合這所大學(xué)？請(qǐng)?zhí)峁┮恍┬碌臇|西，而不是重復(fù)主文書已經(jīng)覆蓋的內(nèi)容。

4. Narrow your focus.?

這一點(diǎn)我們尤其注意，很多人犯的最大錯(cuò)誤就是“話題”太大，嘗試在一個(gè)段落中解決一個(gè)復(fù)雜的政治問題，總是想把握“高大上”的主題，能把小事寫好比只浮夸的提大事要好太多。

最后，對(duì)每一篇文書進(jìn)行仔細(xì)推敲，會(huì)花非常多時(shí)間，所以一定要合理安排時(shí)間。在 6-7月就確定文書主題，頭腦風(fēng)暴并挖掘細(xì)節(jié)，盡量完成初稿，后期完善主文書和補(bǔ)充文書時(shí)才不至于來不及！