SPECIAL: WASHINGTON POST

"A 'McEssay' will not allow a student to stand out in the admissions
process."

For Students Meeting January College Applications Deadlines:	
GURU OFFERS ADVICE ON WRITING ESSAYS THAT WILL BE NOTICED FAVORABLY BY
ADMISSIONS OFFICERS

	With his glasses and rumpled hair, Parke Muth looks like a
stereotypical scholar.  But his expertise is one that would be valued
by hundreds of thousands of high school students nationwide as they
struggle to write essays to meet January college application
deadlines.  Muth, an assistant dean of admission at the University of
Virginia, is widely considered a guru on entrance-essay writing.

	"Few of the students applying to colleges believe themselves
to be run-of-the mill.  Yet they choose essay topics that thousands of
other students take," said Muth.  He remembers one academic year when,
of the 16,000 applications he read, 3,000 described students'
participation in gifted summer programs and 3,000 depicted a
"small-world-after-all" theme about their European travels.

	Author of "Writing The Essay: Sound Advice From an Expert" in
the 1996 and 1997 "America's Best Colleges" guide, Muth enjoys giving
workshops nationwide to students on how to write essays that will be
received favorably by college admissions officers.  Following are
Muth's answers to frequently asked questions:

1.  What do admissions officials look for in essay answers?

	That's the wrong question.  If you start the process by asking
what they want to hear as opposed to what you want to say, your essay
will not be as personal as it should be.  

	Far too many students begin the process by asking 'What does
my college want to hear?" They believe that if they can figure out
what colleges are looking for and make themselves look like that, they
will improve their chances.  But colleges are not looking for students
who all think the same way, believe the same thing or write the same
essay.

2.  So what should a student do?

	Ninety percent of the applications I read contain what I call
'McEssays' -- usually five paragraph essays that are mostly
abstractions and unsupported generalization.  They are technically
correct because they are organized and have correct sentence structure
and spelling, but they are boring.  

	If an essay starts with "I have been a member of the band and
it has taught me leadership, perseverance and hard work," I can
predict the rest of the essay without reading it.  Each of the three
middle paragraphs gives a bit of support to an abstraction, and the
final paragraph restates what has already been said.  A 'McEssay' is
not wrong, but it is not going to be a positive factor in 
the admission decision.  It will not allow a student to stand out.

3.  How can a student stand out in the admissions process?

	Students should write essays about something they care about.
Any topic can be a good one.  Most often, though, students choose
topics that are far too large; as a result, the essays are abstract.
Detail is what differentiates one essay from another, one applicant
from another.

	An essay is good not because of the topic, but because of the
voice.  Students should recall the difference between two simple
concepts: showing and telling.  A good essay always shows; a weak
essay virtually always tells.  Essays that show the reader appeal to
all the senses, not just the visual.  Essays that tell tend to be
abstract.  A writer who shows respects the intelligence of the reader;
a writer who tells focuses of the ideas, or perceived ideas, behind
the details.  

4.  What should students not do in essay writing?

	Student essays should not be vague abstractions.  A student
who uses cliche becomes, in effect, a cliche. 

	Students should also not try to inflate their essays by using
big words or addressing big topics.  

5.  Should students take risks in writing essays?

	A student who has learned the basics of showing should think
about taking a risk on a college essay.  For example, think about
starting an essay with: "I sat in the back of a police cruiser." An
opening sentence such as that creates a bit of controversy and would
give an admissions officer an expectation that the writer might be
willing to take academic risks in the classroom.  

6.  What's your number-one piece of advice?

	Write an essay with a meaningful voice.  Let the essay reveal
a person willing to take a risk, able to focus on a part of the world
that matters and write about it with skill and passion.

	For more advice, including excerpts from good, bad and risky
essays, contact Parke Muth at (804) 982-3375 or via ppm@virginia.edu.

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                                                            Dec. 11, 1997