在美國(guó)本科留學(xué)申請(qǐng)中，文書(shū)（Essay）可以說(shuō)是最重要的一項(xiàng)，也是唯一能夠展現(xiàn)申請(qǐng)者特點(diǎn)和個(gè)性（who are you）的部分。標(biāo)準(zhǔn)化成績(jī)、學(xué)業(yè)成績(jī)等這些硬件條件其他申請(qǐng)人同樣擁有。即便是面試，也可能因?yàn)槊嬖嚂r(shí)狀態(tài)不佳而導(dǎo)致失誤。因此寫(xiě)好一篇文書(shū)是申請(qǐng)中非常重要的事情。
美國(guó)本科文書(shū)多且繁雜，每個(gè)申請(qǐng)系統(tǒng)的主文書(shū)不盡相同，每個(gè)學(xué)校的補(bǔ)充文書(shū)更是千差萬(wàn)別。例如維克森林大學(xué)，布朗大學(xué)每年的附表文書(shū)都多達(dá)4-6篇。雖然每所學(xué)校的essay題目看似千變?nèi)f化，讓人摸不著頭腦，但是仔細(xì)琢磨其中也是有規(guī)律可循的。今天這篇文章，筆者將為大家分析美國(guó)本科的文書(shū)（Essay）到底應(yīng)該怎么寫(xiě)。
一般來(lái)講，美國(guó)大學(xué)申請(qǐng)的文書(shū)主要是有兩個(gè)部分組成：Common通用申請(qǐng)系統(tǒng)主文書(shū)/Coliation申請(qǐng)系統(tǒng)主文書(shū)。第二部分是學(xué)校文書(shū)（Supplemental Essay），學(xué)校的文書(shū)一般情況下分為如下類(lèi)別: Why major類(lèi)型（為什么選擇這個(gè)專(zhuān)業(yè)）；Why school 類(lèi)型（為什么選擇我們學(xué)校）以及活動(dòng)相關(guān)的文書(shū)等。
今天我們主要針對(duì)主文書(shū)以及Why School（為什么選擇這個(gè)學(xué)校）類(lèi)型的文書(shū)詳細(xì)進(jìn)行剖析。
以通用系統(tǒng)（CommonApp）主文書(shū)的題目為例，通用文書(shū)系統(tǒng)給出7個(gè)文書(shū)題目，實(shí)際上這些題目更多是給申請(qǐng)者一個(gè)提示，告知申請(qǐng)者可以選擇的話題范圍。也正是因?yàn)橹魑臅?shū)可以寫(xiě)的內(nèi)容很廣，也會(huì)給申請(qǐng)者造成一個(gè)誤區(qū)：很多申請(qǐng)者會(huì)試圖把自己的優(yōu)點(diǎn)和成績(jī)?nèi)空故境鰜?lái)，卻失去了重點(diǎn)。而事實(shí)上文書(shū)不是流水賬，不要刻意去強(qiáng)調(diào)自己的成績(jī)或已經(jīng)在其他資料中展示過(guò)的信息。申請(qǐng)者可以通過(guò)一件小事，例如個(gè)人的愛(ài)好、印象深刻的一件事等入手，展現(xiàn)申請(qǐng)者最想突出的特點(diǎn)，這樣的文章更容易引起招生官的興趣，從而對(duì)申請(qǐng)者留下深刻印象。
很多理論性的內(nèi)容往往不能起到關(guān)鍵作用，接下來(lái)就通過(guò)一篇主題是回饋社會(huì)的文書(shū)來(lái)感受一下如何寫(xiě)出一篇相對(duì)引人注目的文書(shū)。
Sample Essay 全文
“Did you paint all these? I thought you bought them!” Iris came to sit by my side, watching me apply watercolor on another postcard.
“Yeah. I started an organization called OPART. We collect student-produced art works, like paintings, watercolors and photos and sell them as custom-made postcards. ”
“Earning extra money, huh?”
“Nope. We donate the money to the local welfare house.”
“Ah, that' s very sweet of you!”
Yes, that' s sweet. But that' s not what I' m after.
At the end of my 11th grade I went to "When I Meet You - The International Kids Integration Art Exhibition" where portraits by autistic children pounded my retinas with throbbing colors. Scarlet, orange, blue, green… Pure color lumps of different shapes just piled together, forming the fathers, mothers and uncles in the kids' eyes. Simple. Vibrant. Bang.
The exhibition hall was vast and empty with only the portraits and photos of the lonely artists accompanying me. Indifference was all over their little faces, but looking right back at them, I saw the smile of my baby brother as he proudly showed his very first watercolor to my mom; I saw my grin as I watched Kyran lingered before my "Miss. Deadpan" at my personal exhibition. What I saw in the kids was the gratification I felt as Jane told me the girl I drew was so beautiful that she wanted to look just like her; it was the connection built between the artist and the viewers who were touched- the connection between kindred souls.
And that' s what makes drawing so meaningful to me. Every stroke is MY aesthetic value and visual preference, and somebody will be moved just like I did standing in front of others' paintings. This makes drawing the one thing I' m truly proud of.
The autistic children should be proud of themselves, too. They can paint beautifully and tug at the heartstrings of people like me, which is a gift not everybody is bestowed with. My instant impulse was to grab the autistic children by their shoulders and tell them how much I love the tip of red ochre on the arching brown noses. I want them to continue on materializing their value on canvas.
I tried to contact the exhibition, but failed to get any reply; I thought about teaching autistic children how to paint, but I don' t have nursing specialty and I dare not take the risk. So here we have OPART, O for "original" and P for "postcard" . The money earned is given to the welfare house, but really, it’s not about the money. I want more than buying orphans foods and toys; I want them to paint and to love painting, to discover their self-worth in spite of the difficult situation they are in, and to create beauty. All these statements seem too grand for now, but we "opsters" enjoy producing our works; we think they are beautiful. And I want the people who buy them to connect to us and understand the value of drawing that we treasure so much.
With my last few strokes, the profile of a little girl is done. "Hmm, I like this one. You make me want to paint." Iris said with smily eyes.
And that' s what I' m after.
Essay點(diǎn)評(píng)：
1.這是一篇十分感動(dòng)人心的故事。主題主要是講述作者通過(guò)賣(mài)手工做的明信片，幫助自閉癥兒童的故事。文章開(kāi)頭以對(duì)話的形式重現(xiàn)作者在制作明信片的過(guò)程，結(jié)尾以巧妙的文筆與開(kāi)頭呼應(yīng)。這篇文章將作者的個(gè)人品行和優(yōu)勢(shì)特點(diǎn)自然地透露出來(lái)：具有領(lǐng)導(dǎo)力，創(chuàng)意性的思維；富有愛(ài)心；執(zhí)行能力強(qiáng)。其中的寫(xiě)作技巧也非常值得借鑒。
2.一些小故事&小細(xì)節(jié)往往最能打動(dòng)人心，讓招生官留下深刻的印象。美國(guó)大學(xué)注重社會(huì)回饋的品性，學(xué)生應(yīng)當(dāng)下意識(shí)的參加一些慈善活動(dòng)，為以后的文書(shū)寫(xiě)作提供好的素材（但是注意不要為了申請(qǐng)而去盲目的參加這類(lèi)活動(dòng)，只有發(fā)自真心的行動(dòng)才是最有說(shuō)服力的）。
3.從文章的選材角度來(lái)看：整體故事素材很好，展現(xiàn)了作者的性格與優(yōu)秀的品行。主文書(shū)是申請(qǐng)文書(shū)中很關(guān)鍵的一篇內(nèi)容，也是最能體現(xiàn)申請(qǐng)者亮點(diǎn)的地方，而好的選材則是文書(shū)成功的重中之重。
接下來(lái)，我們分析一下Why School類(lèi)型的文書(shū)。對(duì)于美本申請(qǐng)的小伙伴們，大家對(duì)Why school的題目并不陌生，而這個(gè)題目往往也最讓學(xué)生頭痛。要想回答好這個(gè)文書(shū)題目，首先，需要理解學(xué)校出這道題目的真正目的。如今，越來(lái)越多的學(xué)校，尤其是熱門(mén)的名校，每年都收到遠(yuǎn)超限定名額的申請(qǐng)。很明顯，招生官并不想為已經(jīng)錄取但又放棄的申請(qǐng)者浪費(fèi)一個(gè)空額——他們也要確保每個(gè)參加申請(qǐng)的學(xué)生都有想去他們學(xué)校的具體理由，他們想要知道你是真正地感興趣并且經(jīng)過(guò)深思熟慮后才下的決定來(lái)申請(qǐng)。同時(shí)，他們也在尋找你的個(gè)人特質(zhì)、興趣、目標(biāo)以及你是否為學(xué)校帶來(lái)貢獻(xiàn)。所以這個(gè)問(wèn)題不僅僅是關(guān)于這個(gè)學(xué)校是否適合你，還有為什么你適合這個(gè)學(xué)校。
每所學(xué)校都有各自的特色和教育理念。雖然一些大學(xué)處于同一水平線，但是他們卻有著很大的區(qū)別，因此在錄取中，他們都會(huì)對(duì)申請(qǐng)人有一定的要求。近年來(lái)，申請(qǐng)人數(shù)不斷暴漲，而申請(qǐng)人的條件大多相近，這些要求也就顯得尤為重要。例如MIT在招生中，尤為看中學(xué)生的創(chuàng)新能力。而根據(jù)一位Stanford招生官的描述，他們更重視“知識(shí)生命力”，所以在文書(shū)中要能證明自己追求知識(shí)的熱情。學(xué)生可以通過(guò)瀏覽學(xué)校官網(wǎng)等相關(guān)信息，正確地理解一所大學(xué)的大學(xué)的學(xué)校文化和價(jià)值觀以及一些基本原則，從而能夠幫助你有的放矢地準(zhǔn)備入學(xué)申請(qǐng)。接下來(lái)，我們以紐約大學(xué)（NYU）附表文書(shū)為例具體分析一下Why school 類(lèi)文書(shū)的寫(xiě)作方式。
Sample Essay-Why NYU
This summer, I lived like Wassily Kandinsky.
During weekdays, I took the cramped rush hour subway with my dad, shook the ink box before printing him one "Power of Attorney", attended meetings with clients and had lunches with dad' s colleagues. I studied significantly different cases, watched how my dad worked as a lawyer closely, and smiled inside as I indicated a logical inconsistency in a verdict. At weekends, however, I was back in the small studio of my neighborhood, sitting on the green wooden stool and rocking with the "Gasoline" pounding in my ears. After an afternoon of painting, I dragged myself home, with yellow acrylics all over the tips of my hair.
To be honest, I don' t know whether Wassily Kandinsky ever lived like this. But I do know that he gave up a promising career as a law professor to enroll in an art school at the age of 30. In my case, I can' t wait until 30 to start pursuing further visual arts study. That' s too long. Knowing that Americans and I are way different in our concepts of art, I want to immense myself in the culture of America, especially that of New York City - the center of world art from the mid 20 century onward - and see what I can get.
But I don' t want to apply for Art schools directly. Because so far, painting remains nothing more than a life-long hobby, and I look to America more for its liberal arts education. Right now, I have no strong intention of working in visual arts related fields, because I know "draw for pleasure" and "draw for a living" can be very different. But that remains a possibility. And by viewing exciting exhibitions and attending important lectures in the heartland of art during my university life, I' ll have more future choices. My career as a painter may begin way earlier than that of Wassily Kandinsky.
Or I may become a lawyer, which is equally cool. With a lawyer dad, I grew up with the dinner-table conversations revolving around the cases he was then dealing with. As I interned at a law firm, I became interested not only in subjects like International Relations, Politics and Philosophy, but also in working as a lawyer. More intellectually demanding than many other office works, continuously challenging since I get to cope with very different cases and people, and suiting as people skill is not as important as professionalism… lawyer is a career that fits me and excites me, and no other place can offer intern opportunities as great as those offered at NYU.
To me, the best part of a NYU education lies not in the NYU gallery network, not in the Lawyer Alumni Mentoring Program or the top-tier Law School, but in the fact that I can have the best of both Art and Law. After soaking in the countless opportunities offered in NYC, when I walk out of NYU, the choice would be mine.
Essay 點(diǎn)評(píng)：
1.文章以一句“This summer, I lived like Wassily Kandinsky.”開(kāi)頭，讓人不禁好奇作者與這位現(xiàn)代藝術(shù)偉人有什么關(guān)系。文章中間三段都是描述作者對(duì)畫(huà)畫(huà)與對(duì)當(dāng)一名律師的熱愛(ài)與向往，最后兩段才點(diǎn)出Why NYU的理由。藝術(shù)與法律學(xué)本是毫不相關(guān)的兩門(mén)專(zhuān)業(yè)，然而作者以精妙之筆將兩者自然地結(jié)合在一起?？吹浇Y(jié)尾，讀者似乎有一種恍然大悟的感覺(jué)。
2.這篇文章很值得想修多專(zhuān)業(yè)的學(xué)生借鑒。作者以對(duì)藝術(shù)與法律的熱愛(ài)，清晰點(diǎn)透為什么會(huì)申請(qǐng)法律專(zhuān)業(yè)。相比于單一愛(ài)好的學(xué)生，學(xué)校也許更愿意招收多樣化的申請(qǐng)者。
3.從文章整體結(jié)構(gòu)和排布來(lái)看：整篇文章邏輯縝密，文筆順暢。從寫(xiě)法上來(lái)看，把本不相關(guān)的兩個(gè)興趣巧妙融合在一起，不失為一個(gè)新穎的方式。
美國(guó)本科申請(qǐng)文書(shū)一直是考驗(yàn)申請(qǐng)者能力的試金石。大家在準(zhǔn)備申請(qǐng)文書(shū)時(shí)一定要用心，無(wú)論形式怎么樣變化，招生官想看到的依然是 "who are you" 這個(gè)最核心的內(nèi)容。
美本文書(shū)寫(xiě)作技巧