Video Aided Instruction, Inc.
Roslyn Heights, New York
1
Th
is
s
tu
d
y
g
u
id
e
sh
o
u
ld
b
e
u
se
d
a
lo
n
g
w
it
h
a
p
ro
g
ra
m
p
u
b
lis
h
ed
b
y
V
id
eo
A
id
ed
In
st
ru
ct
io
n
, I
n
c.
Fo
r
m
o
re
in
fo
rm
at
io
n
, c
al
l 1
-8
00
-2
38
-1
51
2
o
r
vi
si
t
u
s
o
n
lin
e
at
v
id
eo
ai
d
ed
in
st
ru
ct
io
n
.c
o
m
.
Writing the Perfect
College Admission Essay
Study Guide
by
Karl Weber, M.A.
#VAI-S1655
v1.0
To inquire about any of our products:
web: videoaidedinstruction.com
email: custsvc@videoaidedinstruction.com
phone: 1-800-238-1512 or 516-939-0707
fax: 516-935-5552
mail: Video Aided Instruction, Inc.
P.O. Box 332
Roslyn Heights, NY 11577-0332
2
Th
is
s
tu
d
y
g
u
id
e
sh
o
u
ld
b
e
u
se
d
a
lo
n
g
w
it
h
a
p
ro
g
ra
m
p
u
b
lis
h
ed
b
y
V
id
eo
A
id
ed
In
st
ru
ct
io
n
, I
n
c.
Fo
r
m
o
re
in
fo
rm
at
io
n
, c
al
l 1
-8
00
-2
38
-1
51
2
o
r
vi
si
t
u
s
o
n
lin
e
at
v
id
eo
ai
d
ed
in
st
ru
ct
io
n
.c
o
m
.
This study guide should be used along with the follow-
ing program published by Video Aided Instruction. The
instructor works through the exercises found in this
guide – and much, much more – during the course of the
actual program.
Writing the Perfect
College Admission Essay
2 DVDs · 4 hrs. 7 mins.
item #VAI-1655 · price $79.95
isbn 1-57385-165-5 · upc 600459165598
Copyright © 2005 Video Aided Instruction, Inc.
To all users of the Video Aided Instruction publication
named above, permission is hereby granted to create
one (1) paper imprint of this document per person. In
addition, teachers and librarians may reproduce paper
imprints of this document in quantities not to exceed
one hundred (100) imprints annually. All imprints and
reproductions made must retain all copyright notices
contained herein. This authorization is granted for this
specifi c document only, and only when the document is
used along with the publication named above.
Any reproduction or distribution of this electronic
document fi le itself – for example, copying this fi le to or
from an Internet server, a disc, or an email message – is
strictly prohibited. In addition, no part of this docu ment
may be reproduced by any means or for any purpose
other than as an aid during self-study or group instruc-
tion along with the aforementioned publication.
Related Video Aided Instruction products include:
Complete SAT Series
programs on 13 DVDs
Complete SAT Series
3 programs on
Writing the Perfect
College Admission Essay
Study Guide
Introduction
Even if you’re Class President, the star of the basket-
ball team, and a nursing home volunteer, you’ll prob-
ably fi nd a rejection letter in your mailbox if your
college admission essay is boring or poorly written.
Now you can make your college application stand
out from the crowd – and end up at the top of the
pile – with this extraordinary course. From advice on
picking a topic to tips for sounding smart, this fun
and easy-to-use program will teach you how to turn
your admission essay into a showcase that really lets
your personality shine through. It can help you craft
a memorable and impressive personal statement that
sparkles with polish and panache!
For easier studying and maximum success, we recom-
mend that you view the program over a number of
short sessions: don’t try to absorb too much at one
time. Review the entire program, or specific sections,
as many times as you find necessary in order to mas-
ter the material.
Perhaps most importantly: don’t forget to take
advantage of your “pause” button while viewing
the program. Keep plenty of scrap paper handy so
you can jot down ideas, work through concepts, and
more. And fi nally, be sure to use the myriad on-
screen graphics to take notes for yourself – when
you’re done, you’ll have a notebook you can refer
back to again and again.
About Your Instructor
Karl Weber, M.A., is a professional writer, editor,
and teacher. He is the author of many popular video
programs and test prep guidebooks, and has worked
on books with such noted personalities as former
President Jimmy Carter, Ambassador Richard Butler,
and U.S. Representative Dick Gephardt.
Writing the Perfect College Admission Essay Study Guide
3
Copyright © 2005 Video Aided Instruction, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Th
is
s
tu
d
y
g
u
id
e
sh
o
u
ld
b
e
u
se
d
a
lo
n
g
w
it
h
a
p
ro
g
ra
m
p
u
b
lis
h
ed
b
y
V
id
eo
A
id
ed
In
st
ru
ct
io
n
, I
n
c.
Fo
r
m
o
re
in
fo
rm
at
io
n
, c
al
l 1
-8
00
-2
38
-1
51
2
o
r
vi
si
t
u
s
o
n
lin
e
at
v
id
eo
ai
d
ed
in
st
ru
ct
io
n
.c
o
m
.
PART 1 – The Admission Essay: Your Chance to Shine
Directions: See DVD program.
PART 2 – Typical Essay Questions
Directions: See DVD program.
Common Application
#1. Evaluate a significant experience, achievement, risk you have taken, or ethical dilemma you
have faced and its impact on you.
#2. Discuss some issue of personal, local, national, or international concern and its importance
to you.
#3. Indicate a person who has had a significant influence on you, and describe that influence.
#4. Describe a character in fiction, an historical figure, or a creative work (as in art, music, sci-
ence, etc.) that has had an influence on you, and explain that influence.
#5. A range of academic interests, personal perspectives, and life experiences adds much to the
educational mix. Given your personal background, describe an experience that illustrates
what you would bring to the diversity in a college community, or an encounter that demon-
strated the importance of diversity to you.
#6. A topic of your choice.
Other Essay Topics
#1. Unusual circumstances in your life.
#2. Travel or living experiences in other countries.
#3. Books that have affected you the most.
#4. An academic experience (course, project, paper, or research topic) that has meant the most
to you.
#5. A list of books you have read during the past twelve months.
PART 3 – How Will Your Essay Be Evaluated?
Directions: See DVD program.
PART 4 – Getting Into Training
Directions: See DVD program.
4
Copyright © 2005 Video Aided Instruction, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Th
is
s
tu
d
y
g
u
id
e
sh
o
u
ld
b
e
u
se
d
a
lo
n
g
w
it
h
a
p
ro
g
ra
m
p
u
b
lis
h
ed
b
y
V
id
eo
A
id
ed
In
st
ru
ct
io
n
, I
n
c.
Fo
r
m
o
re
in
fo
rm
at
io
n
, c
al
l 1
-8
00
-2
38
-1
51
2
o
r
vi
si
t
u
s
o
n
lin
e
at
v
id
eo
ai
d
ed
in
st
ru
ct
io
n
.c
o
m
.
Writing the Perfect College Admission Essay Study Guide
PART 5 – Choosing Your Topic
Directions: See DVD program.
Excerpts from Stories by Professional Writers
NOTE: For instructional purposes, some of the following excerpts may contain sections that are abridged
and/or paraphrased.
from Anne Lamott’s Bird by Bird:
I grew up around a father and a mother who read every chance they got, who
took us to the library every Thursday night to load up on books for the coming week. Most
nights after dinner my father stretched out on the couch to read, while my mother sat with
her book in the easy chair and the three of us kids each retired to our own private reading
stations. Our house was very quiet after dinner — unless, that is, some of my father’s writer
friends were over. My father was a writer, as were most of the men with whom he hung
out. They were not the quietest people on earth, but they were mostly very masculine and
kind. Usually in the afternoons, when that day’s work was done, they hung out at the no
name bar in Sausalito, but sometimes they came to our house for drinks and ended up stay-
ing for supper. I loved them, but every so often one of them would pass out at the dinner
table. I was an anxious child to begin with, and I found this unnerving.
from Nathan McCall’s Makes Me Wanna Holler:
The folks in my neighborhood were resolute about trying to protect our physical
safety, but seemed confused when confronted with more subtle racial hazards, such as our
fixation on color. I was a product of that confusion.
My enchantment with whiteness dated at least as far back as Key West, where our
family got our first television set. I’d spend hours in front of that black-and-white set, gaz-
ing spellbound at whites on TV, drinking in the beauty of their ivory skin, which seemed
purer, cleaner than my own. I was no more than seven or eight years old, but I still recall the
Clairol hair-coloring commercial where they zoomed the camera in for a close-up on some
saucy white broad who sensually tossed her blonde mane backward and forward all over
her face. Near the end of the commercial, a throaty voice chimed in and asked, “Is it true
blondes have more fun?”
I thought of that ad every time I saw a blonde in real life or on TV. It also came to
mind one day when I noticed a group of young whites riding down the street in a convert-
ible ahead of our family car. The convertible’s top was down, and the white people’s long
hair fluttered in the wind, like the TV blonde’s. I thought, White people have more fun.
5
Copyright © 2005 Video Aided Instruction, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Th
is
s
tu
d
y
g
u
id
e
sh
o
u
ld
b
e
u
se
d
a
lo
n
g
w
it
h
a
p
ro
g
ra
m
p
u
b
lis
h
ed
b
y
V
id
eo
A
id
ed
In
st
ru
ct
io
n
, I
n
c.
Fo
r
m
o
re
in
fo
rm
at
io
n
, c
al
l 1
-8
00
-2
38
-1
51
2
o
r
vi
si
t
u
s
o
n
lin
e
at
v
id
eo
ai
d
ed
in
st
ru
ct
io
n
.c
o
m
.
Writing the Perfect College Admission Essay Study Guide
from Eric Liu’s The Accidental Asian:
On the table by my bed is a book unlike any other book I own. On the cover, set
against a faded backdrop of his own handwriting, is a color photograph of my father. The
book was compiled by several of my father’s childhood friends after he died in 1991. There
are pieces in the book, written by my father and his brothers and his classmates, about high
school life, about a favorite teacher, about camping and fishing trips. There are photo-
graphs too; in many of them, Dad and his friends are wearing their school uniforms, baggy
and vaguely military.
It’s through these photographs that I’ll read the book every so often, searching the
scenes for new revelations. That’s partly because the photographs are so wonderful, soft
black-and-white images of innocence. But it’s also, frankly, because I do not understand
the text. Almost all of the entries are written in Chinese, a language I don’t know. So it is, I
sometimes think, with my father’s life. Leafing through these pages, I realize just how little
I know about my father’s life — and about my own identity.
PART 6 – Planning Your Essay
Directions: See DVD program.
PART 7 – The Dreaded First Draft
Directions: See DVD program.
PART 8 – Good Writing Is Rewriting
Directions: See DVD program.
Sample “Ledes”
NOTE: For instructional purposes, some of the following excerpts may contain sections that have been
abridged and/or paraphrased.
“ONCE UPON A TIME”
from Henry David Thoreau’s Walden:
When I wrote the following pages, or rather the bulk of them, I lived alone, in
the woods, a mile from any neighbor, in a house which I had built myself, on the shore
of Walden Pond, in Concord, Massachusetts, and earned my living by the labor of my
hands only. I lived there two years and two months. At present I am a sojourner in civilized
life again.
6
Copyright © 2005 Video Aided Instruction, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Th
is
s
tu
d
y
g
u
id
e
sh
o
u
ld
b
e
u
se
d
a
lo
n
g
w
it
h
a
p
ro
g
ra
m
p
u
b
lis
h
ed
b
y
V
id
eo
A
id
ed
In
st
ru
ct
io
n
, I
n
c.
Fo
r
m
o
re
in
fo
rm
at
io
n
, c
al
l 1
-8
00
-2
38
-1
51
2
o
r
vi
si
t
u
s
o
n
lin
e
at
v
id
eo
ai
d
ed
in
st
ru
ct
io
n
.c
o
m
.
Writing the Perfect College Admission Essay Study Guide
from Azar Nafisi’s Reading Lolita in Tehran:
In the fall of 1995, after resigning from my last academic post, I decided to indulge
myself and fulfill a dream. I chose seven of my best and most committed students and
invited them to come to my home every Thursday morning to discuss literature. They were
all women — to teach a mixed class in the privacy of my home was too risky, even if we were
discussing harmless works of fiction.
from a student sample:
It was still dark when I arrived early that morning at the Doral Golf Resort for the
Pro-Am division of the Doral-Ryder Open golf tournament. As a member of the newly
formed Southwest Miami High School girl’s golf team, I had been presented with the op-
portunity to volunteer as a caddy at the tournament.
“LIGHTS, CAMERA, ACTION”
from Dick Gregory’s “Shame”:
I never learned hate at home, or shame. I had to go to school for that. I was seven
years old when I got my first big lesson.
from Madeleine L’Engle’s Walking on Water:
The apple trees in the orchard at Crosswicks are growing old. Last winter the beau-
tiful green pie-apple tree died during the ice storms. This summer I notice that the leafing
on some of the others is thin. A neighboring farmer friend tells me that these trees have
been “winter killed.”
from a student sample:
“I’m so bad at this,” she said, shaking her red-orange hair. Michaela was standing in
the middle of the soccer field holding a ball in her hands. She was trying to juggle it off her
thighs, but couldn’t do it more than three times in a row.
“YOU DON’T SAY!”
from George Orwell’s “Killing an Elephant”:
In Moulmein, in Lower Burma, I was hated by large numbers of people — the only
time in my life that I have been important enough for this to happen to me.
from a student sample:
I’m in a gang.
We’re not a small group; this gang spans the entire nation, with offshoots in 116
countries around the world.
7
Copyright © 2005 Video Aided Instruction, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Th
is
s
tu
d
y
g
u
id
e
sh
o
u
ld
b
e
u
se
d
a
lo
n
g
w
it
h
a
p
ro
g
ra
m
p
u
b
lis
h
ed
b
y
V
id
eo
A
id
ed
In
st
ru
ct
io
n
, I
n
c.
Fo
r
m
o
re
in
fo
rm
at
io
n
, c
al
l 1
-8
00
-2
38
-1
51
2
o
r
vi
si
t
u
s
o
n
lin
e
at
v
id
eo
ai
d
ed
in
st
ru
ct
io
n
.c
o
m
.
Writing the Perfect College Admission Essay Study Guide
“WELCOME TO MY WORLD”
from Leslie Fiedler’s “The Middle Against Both Ends”:
I read my first comic book on a school playground in Newark, New Jersey, with a
sense of entering a world not only forbidden but magical, like the world of my most uncon-
fessable dreams.
from Russell Baker’s Growing Up:
I began working in journalism when I was eight years old. It was my mother’s idea.
She wanted me to “make something” of myself and, after a level-headed appraisal of my
strengths, decided I had better start young if I was to have any chance of keeping up with
the competition.
from Temple Grandin’s Thinking in Pictures:
I think in pictures. Words are like a second language to me. I translate both spoken
and written words into full-color movies, complete with sound, which run like a VCR tape
in my head. When somebody speaks to me, his words are instantly translated into pictures.
Language-based thinkers often find this phenomenon difficult to understand, but in my
job as an equipment designer for the livestock industry, visual thinking is a tremendous
advantage.
from a student sample:
I come from a country that is economically oppressed, a country where speaking
against the government could cost one his or her life. “Survival of the fittest” is the regula-
tion that we live by. There is no law enforcement and no police to call to one’s rescue when
one is being robbed or attacked.
“SPILL THE BEANS”
from Michael Pollan’s A Place of My Own:
A room of one’s own: Is there anybody who hasn’t at one time or another wished
for such a place, hasn’t turned those soft words over until they’d assumed a habitable
shape? What they propose, to anyone who admits them into the space of a daydream, is a
place of solitude a few steps off the beaten track of everyday life. Beyond that, though, the
form the dream takes seems to vary with the dreamer.
from a student sample:
In the words of a former teammate, “Crew teaches you to find your limits and then
surpass them.”
8
Copyright © 2005 Video Aided Instruction, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Th
is
s
tu
d
y
g
u
id
e
sh
o
u
ld
b
e
u
se
d
a
lo
n
g
w
it
h
a
p
ro
g
ra
m
p
u
b
lis
h
ed
b
y
V
id
eo
A
id
ed
In
st
ru
ct
io
n
, I
n
c.
Fo
r
m
o
re
in
fo
rm
at
io
n
, c
al
l 1
-8
00
-2
38
-1
51
2
o
r
vi
si
t
u
s
o
n
lin
e
at
v
id
eo
ai
d
ed
in
st
ru
ct
io
n
.c
o
m
.
Writing the Perfect College Admission Essay Study Guide
PART 9 – Polishing Your Style
Directions: See DVD program.
Student Essay Excerpts
from Carlos’s essay:
First Draft
Over the past several years, I have developed a number of personal qualities
through a variety of experiences. My abilities in dealing with individuals of varying person-
ality types have been strengthened through these experiences. My problem-solving skills
have similarly been developed. These abilities will, I am sure, prove helpful in the future.
Revision
As manager of the wrestling team, one of my jobs is to make sure that wrestlers
clean out their lockers and return their equipment when they’ve been thrown off the team
for any reason. It’s never a pleasant task. An athlete who has lost his spot on the roster is
usually angry, and that goes double for wrestlers. But I was especially nervous last October
when I had to go up to a 240-pounder I’ll call “Joe” and remind him to turn over his gear.
You see, the reason Joe had been booted from the squad was because he’d beaten up an-
other student behind the gym the day before. That student was me.
from Jessica’s essay:
First Draft
Starting with my study of European culture in high school, I have pursued an inter-
est in foreign cultures. I feel there is an opportunity to pursue this interest in my future
life. It is for this reason, and the fact that I enjoy traveling in foreign countries and learning
about foreign cultures, that I want to pursue international studies at your school. Interna-
tional studies will be another way of developing this interest that I have.
Revision
I fell in love with Italian Renaissance art during my junior year. I can remember
when it happened: It was the sixth week of my class in World Cultures, and Mr. Beneventi
spent three classes showing us slides of Michelangelo’s frescoes from the ceiling of the
Sistine Chapel. The colors were ravishing, the forms and figures were powerful and grace-
ful, and the overall effect was dynamic and breathtaking. Then and there I decided I would
see those frescoes for myself one day. This is one of my main reasons for applying to your
school. Your international studies program is one of the best, and I want to make living,
working, and traveling abroad part of my college experience.
9
Copyright © 2005 Video Aided Instruction, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Th
is
s
tu
d
y
g
u
id
e
sh
o
u
ld
b
e
u
se
d
a
lo
n
g
w
it
h
a
p
ro
g
ra
m
p
u
b
lis
h
ed
b
y
V
id
eo
A
id
ed
In
st
ru
ct
io
n
, I
n
c.
Fo
r
m
o
re
in
fo
rm
at
io
n
, c
al
l 1
-8
00
-2
38
-1
51
2
o
r
vi
si
t
u
s
o
n
lin
e
at
v
id
eo
ai
d
ed
in
st
ru
ct
io
n
.c
o
m
.
Writing the Perfect College Admission Essay Study Guide
from Matt’s essay:
First Draft
I worked as a volunteer fund-raiser for our town’s community center for the past
two summers. It is only a small organizatio
本文档为【[美国大学申请文章教程】,请使用软件OFFICE或WPS软件打开。作品中的文字与图均可以修改和编辑,
图片更改请在作品中右键图片并更换,文字修改请直接点击文字进行修改,也可以新增和删除文档中的内容。
该文档来自用户分享,如有侵权行为请发邮件ishare@vip.sina.com联系网站客服,我们会及时删除。
[版权声明] 本站所有资料为用户分享产生,若发现您的权利被侵害,请联系客服邮件isharekefu@iask.cn,我们尽快处理。
本作品所展示的图片、画像、字体、音乐的版权可能需版权方额外授权,请谨慎使用。
网站提供的党政主题相关内容(国旗、国徽、党徽..)目的在于配合国家政策宣传,仅限个人学习分享使用,禁止用于任何广告和商用目的。