Once you’ve decided upon an idea, next is to focus on a theme. The theme is the core of an essay.
Focus on 3 key questions:
1) What is the story? (what happened)
2) How did it change me or what did it mean to me? (the qualities or traits you developed from this experience)
3) How will this experience help me in college or in my career/major pathway?
A theme should be short and concise. Here are some examples:
EXAMPLE 1:
What is the story? I started the first-ever African society in my school. I did this because I was bullied in my previous school. I created a safe-space for other students like myself.
How did this change me or what did this mean to me? I learned to turn a negative into a positive by creating a community. I realized that I can problem solve and build something when I see a problem. I found a community for myself and others. I care about the well-being of others.
How will this help me in college or in life? In college I won't be afraid to get involved, try new things, or encourage others to do the same.
EXAMPLE 2:
What is the story? I spent several weekends a month, participating in beach clean-ups on the coast and eventually establisted a nature action club at my school to clean up lakes, parks, and trails in my city.
How did this change me or what did this mean to me? It opened my eyes to the extreme pollution in the ocean. I became passionate about conservation issues and focused on reducing pollution. I started a nature action club at my school to clean up lakes, parks, and trails in my city and we are starting a food waste composting program to reduce food waste.
How will this help me in college or in life? This shows my passion for my major, environmental science, and my commitment to my community - I plan to get involved in several environmental science groups in college.
EXAMPLE 3:
What is the story? Being a member of my school's game design competition and working to create a game to teach kids about coding.
How did this change me or what did this mean to me? I realized that I like to take on intellectual challenges with other people. Afterwards I joined my high school coding team. I am a problem-solver that likes to work as a team.
How will this help me in college or in life? It shows colleges that I won't be afraid to try hard things. Since I want to go to a smaller college that is more hands-on, it shows that I like working in groups, I'm a team player, and get along well with others - things that smaller schools highlight.
Before you start writing a draft, make sure you can answer these questions:
NEXT STEPS: Go to the Essay Folder in CounselMore files and open doc Step 3: Focus on Theme.
When finished, continue to Step 4.