不超過250字怎么寫好一篇留學申請Essay？

申請美國留學的同學都知道，除了學術成績、課外活動、學術活動等，還有一個重要元素——文書。在 CA 網申系統上，有一篇650字左右的主文書，但許多大學還有自己專屬 Essay，一般1-3篇，也就是補充性文書。

主 Essay 的范文、解析、技巧和注意事項，我們已經看過許多，但是補充性文書看起來簡單，字數比主文書短，還要展示出自己特質，可謂“字字千金”，要怎么才能寫好呢？

補充文書的重要性不容小覷，既要具有學校特色的存在，也最能反映出申請人的個人特質和與學校的匹配度，什么樣的文書才能加強而不是削弱你的申請呢？先以成功申請到塔夫茨大學的 Ryan Sheehan 補充文書為例，他申請的計算機科學。

補充文書題目：

“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.

塔夫茨大學招生主任 Karen Richardson 表示，這篇 Essay很棒。

簡單 250個單詞表達了很多東西，既告訴我們 Ryan是誰，也能了解到他的家庭、生活、學術興趣，甚至展示了他的幽默感，文章非常完整、立體。

每個人都是與眾不同，有著獨特的經歷，Essay 自然也是豐富多樣，那么補充文書要怎么寫呢？招生官和文書老師給了大家 4 個通用建議。

1. Answer the question.?

回答問題——看起來有點啰嗦，但是每一位申請人應確保認真閱讀并理解要求。有學生可能將同一篇 Essay 用于不同的大學申請，但是補充性文書只適合某一個學校。

2. Start with an outline.?

每個人可能有自己的寫作習慣，但仍然建議大家先列一個大綱。最好先通過頭腦風暴將自己所有想在文書中傳達的個人技能、素質、經驗都寫出來。

3. Offer something new.?

“補充性”文書——所謂補充，就是給招生官提供更多信息，以進一步說明你為什么適合這所大學？請提供一些新的東西，而不是重復主文書已經覆蓋的內容。

4. Narrow your focus.?

這一點我們尤其注意，很多人犯的最大錯誤就是“話題”太大，嘗試在一個段落中解決一個復雜的政治問題，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，對每一篇文書進行仔細推敲，會花非常多時間，所以一定要合理安排時間。在 6-7月就確定文書主題，頭腦風暴并挖掘細節，盡量完成初稿，后期完善主文書和補充文書時才不至于來不及！