College essay-writing season is here, and I have already been asked, “Is it okay for me to write about—?” I am not the first to address what topics, if any, should be avoided, and I won’t be the last. The three “D’s”, death, divorce, and drug use, come to mind along with violence, sex and mental health issues, as topics frequently advised to avoid, but should writing coaches and educational counselors say that they are off-limits? Maybe, but maybe not.
Ethan Sawyer, The College Essay Guy, in his book, “College Essay Essentials,” suggests that, “You can turn something dark into something beautiful.”(p.149) He challenges students to be creative and to chose the details carefully. Sawyer believes that the essay can be successful if the emphasis is on connecting the story to illuminating values and to the lessons learned or personal growth achieved from the incident.
Elizabeth Stone, author of “The Better College Essay,” believes that the important thing is what the student does with the topic. It is important to deal with it in an original way. Likewise, Janine Robinson, writer of the popular blog, “Essay Hell” does not believe that some topics are taboo; she just advises extreme caution if using them.
The best advise, however, comes from my friend, Jody Cohan-French, in her recently published book, “The Write Way into College.” She writes, “A good rule of thumb is the ‘too much information’ test: if someone winces when you mention the story, then don’t go there.”(p.20) Most of the time, the students have stronger topics they can explore. In other words, why take the risk?
Those dark topics should be approached with a good deal of caution, but are those the topics that really should be avoided? The topics that are even more likely to be ineffective are the boring ones. These are the stories that too many applicants use and that highlight predictable qualities about the student. The losing (or winning) team story that shows the student as a team player who was humbled (or empowered) by the experience, the mission trip that taught him to appreciate his life, or her travel experiences that shows her adaptability are examples that come to mind of over-used and tired stories. The danger of using a worn-out topic is that it will fail to show one’s unique qualities. The student will blend in with the other applicants.
Having said this, it is difficult in an advisory role to ask a student to dig deep within themselves to tell a personal story and then to shut them down when they come back with something in one of these danger zones. Writing about personal feelings and showing vulnerability does not come easily to teenagers, and it is often better to show them how to use their chosen topic more effectively rather than to suggest that they abandon it. One way to accomplish this is to narrow the scope of the story to a particular incident and then to spend a greater proportion of the essay telling about how it effected them and made them feel. Additionally, draw connections that are not predictable. For example, “When we lost the tournament, the coach was angry and the team was sad, but I boosted everyones’ spirits on the bus ride home by doing an improvisational comedy routine. That’s when I saw that my good sense of humor could be useful. I would like to eventually start writing comedy skits for television.” The base story is overused, but the outcome is unexpected which saves it.
All in all, it is easier for applicants to stay clear of the controversial subjects, but if it is important to the student, then it should be used. They should exercise caution and always make sure that it passes the “Cringe Test.”