How to write the perfect college essay? You have to paint a picture.
The Portrait Example
Let me explain. Visuals might help. So let’s start by looking at this portrait of King Philip IV of Spain by Velazquez. A portrait like this is fairly static: no movement, no grand story to tell. It’s just a guy wearing a fancy outfit. But what makes this portrait interesting?
It’s the details.
Look at the flow and drape of the cape he’s wearing. Notice the care and attention the artist paid to each bit of embroidery on his vest and his pantaloons–and even the black hat, which you have to look at carefully to discover. Look at Philip’s face and the care with which Velazquez paints his upturned mustache.
And what, pray to tell, is that piece of paper Philip holds in his right hand? A love note? An important missive from France or Italy? Or just a doodle he scotched off while trying to stay awake in a really boring meeting? The details help make the painting interesting and raise questions in our minds about the central figure (which in your college essay would be you!).
How to Write the Perfect College Essay: The Landscape Example
How about the old guy using a stick for balance: should he even be out there on the ice? Note the bare branches in the foreground with the birds on them. How do these branches help enhance the landscape by giving us a sense of perspective (we are viewing the scene from a distance)? Taken as a whole, the scene is a bucolic winter’s day full of fun and frivolity. But without these details, the landscape would not be as interesting or lively.So, when you sit down to write your college essay, you’ve got to paint a picture with your words.
Your college essay is a story, as I’ve said before. But the story loses all interest and meaning if you don’t take the time to fill in interesting details about the people (as in Velazquez’s portraits) and the setting (as in Bruegel’s landscapes).
Of course, the details must be pertinent, and they must enrich the story. Too many details will obscure both the plot and the meaning of the story. But you have to give your reader enough specifics that she is able to see the people and places in your story in her imagination.
Like the viewer in the Bruegel landscape, your reader can get enough detail to take it all in. Look back at the landscape. Bruegel’s winter scene is viewed from a distance, so we can’t see the exact expressions on each person’s face. We can’t make out precisely what each figure is doing or thinking. But we get a sense of the whole because of the important details that Bruegel does provide—and from these details comes our enjoyment of the story Bruegel depicts.
But without details, your story will be as hard to interpret as the paintings of abstract expressionists like Mark Rothko: there’s a message in there someplace, but it’s kind of hard to discern at first glance.
How to Write the Perfect College Essay for the Common Application
For more on writing the best college essay, see these posts about the importance of answering the prompt, considering your audience and telling your story.
You can also read these guides for answering each of the Common Application prompts:
- Your background story
- A instance in which you failed
- A place that means something to you
- Standing up to a belief or idea
- Your transition to adulthood
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