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College essays are fourth in importance behind grades, test scores, and the rigor of completed coursework in many admissions office decisions (NACAC, 2015). Don’t waste this powerful opportunity to share your voice and express who you really are to colleges. Great life stories make you jump off the page and into your match colleges.

招生官会考虑学校成绩，考试成绩，以及完成学校课程的难易度，那么大学申请文书是第四个考量的因素。千万不要浪费这个绝好的机会分享你的心声并向学校展示你自己。精彩的生活经历会让你脱颖而出迅速进入匹配学校。

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Develop an overall strategic plan. College application essays should work together to help you communicate key qualities and stories that make you come alive and stand out in front of admissions readers.

制定一个整体的战略规划。申请文书应该相互呼应来传递你的重要品质和故事，使你能活灵活现的展示在招生官面前。

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Keep a chart of all essays required by each college, including supplementary responses and optional essays. Look for patterns between colleges essay requirements so that you can find ways to use essays more than once. This holds true for scholarship essays.

绘制每个学校要求的文书图表，包括附文书和可选文书。在大学文书要求中寻找规律，可以将文书中的某些部分重复使用。奖学金文书也如此。

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Read the prompts all the way through. Each prompt may have different questions or probes. Some answers may be implied, but must be clearly evident to a reader.

通读文书要求。每个要求都对应不同的题目或重点。有些题目暗示了，但文书中的一定是让读者清晰可见的。

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Plan to share positive messages and powerful outcomes. You can start with life or family challenges. You can describe obstacles or failures you have overcome. But, you must focus on your growth and development, including leadership, initiative, accomplishments, and service. College admissions officers do not read minds, so tell them your powerful life stories and demonstrate the personal qualities you hope to bring to their campuses.

传递积极的信息和充满正能量的结果。可以用生活中或家庭中遇到的挑战开头。也可以描述克服的困难或障碍。但是要围绕着诸如领导力，创新精神，成果及公益服务方面的成长和发展展开讲。招生官不会读心术，所以要给他们讲你的精彩故事，展现你希望能给他们的校园带来的个性和品质。

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Always write in the first person. Remember, these are autobiographical essays, even when you talk about other people, events, or places. So use the one-third and two-thirds rule. If you choose to write about someone, some place, or something else, you must show how it or the person affected you for the majority of the essay. Your essays show why you belong on and will enrich diverse college communities.

一定要以人称描述。记住文书都是自传体文章，即使是谈论其它人，时间或地方的时候。在大部分的文书中当你选择描述某人，某地或其他内容，一定要展现这些东西是如何影响你的。你的文书要展现为什么你会归属并会继续丰富多姿多彩的大学社区。

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Follow Into, Through, and Beyond approach. Lead the reader INTO your story with a powerful beginning—a story, an experience. Take them THROUGH your story with the context and keys parts of your story. Make sure the reader understands your continuity, development, leadership, and initiative. End with the BEYOND message about how this story has affected who you are now and who you want to be in college and potentially after college. The beyond can be implied in many pieces that are so strong that moralizing at the end is not necessary. But make sure to read the prompt and answer all components.

遵循进入，贯穿，升华手法。用一个震撼的开头方式引领着读者进入你的故事—以一个事件，经历开始。用故事中的上下文背景和关键部分带着读者读完你的故事。确保读者看到你的故事是连贯的，看到你在故事中的成长，领导力和创新精神。结尾要有升华关于这个故事如何影响到现在的你，以及在今后的校园中的你和毕业以后的你。升华部分可以是碎片化的只要足够强烈，结尾的说教性语句就没有必要了。但一定要保证认真读题目要求，并回答所有的提问部分。

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Use active writing: avoid passive sentences and incorporate power verbs. Show when possible; tell when summarizing.

使用主动态写作。避免被动式句型，加入有力度的动词。适时展现，适时总结。

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Have trusted inside and impartial outside readers read your essays. Make sure you have no spelling or grammatical errors. Ultimately submit what pleases you.

让可信赖的内部朋友和公正的外部朋友来读你的文章。确保文章没有拼写语法错误。修改至最终满意递交。

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Most importantly, make yourself come alive throughout this process. Write about yourself as passionately and powerfully as possible. Be proud of your life and accomplishments. Sell yourself!!!

重要的是，通过这个过程让你自己脱颖而出。尽可能的充满激情和震撼性的展现自己。为你自己的生活和成就感到骄傲。尽情的展示吧！