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The First Draft: Beginning to Write

　　By the time you start writing you will have already done some important prewriting preparation. You will have reviewed your personal history and have written record of it . You will also have researched the universities that you are applying to and carefully read the essay questions in their applications.

Which essay should I begin writing?
　　You can start working on the essays for your first choice school, but do not mail the application until you have completed two or three other applications. Writing essays for your 'back-up' schools will help you to think about and revise the essay for your first-choice school. Another tactic is to see if the different schools you are applying to ask the any of the same or similar essay questions and to start working on those.

How do I start writing?
　　After you have chosen your essay topic, you are ready to start writing. If you know how you want to answer the essay, you can first write a general outline to follow while writing. If you uncertain about what to write about, do not write an outline first, this will only confuse you and waste time. Instead, first review the answers you wrote for the self-examination and then write your essay spontaneously, as ideas come to you. After you get your ideas down on paper you can review them and then write an outline, if necessary, for helping you revise.
　　Regardless of if you follow an outline or not, try to control your urge to edit and write simultaneously. For the first draft, focus on writing only, do not edit. If you try to write and edit at the same time, you will spend a lot of time writing very little.
　　Write only. Do not worry about spelling or editing, or how closely you follow your outline. Do not worry if your writing does not seem to have focus or a theme. If you get stuck, refer back to your personal evaluation. Try to focus on writing specifics. Challenge yourself to write down exact details about past experiences. (来源：英语论坛 http://bbs.englishcn.com)
　　When you are done writing your draft, you should have written much more than required. Except for research proposals, you will have also covered a lot of topics. Your writing may not have a solid structure and probably will not have a real essay introduction, which generally is the first paragraph, or essay conclusion, the last paragraph. Do not worry about this, writing an effective opening and closing comes later in the essay writing process.
　　Now that you have written something down on paper, set your writing aside and take a break. After a day or two, or a few hours if you are in a hurry, go back, read your essay, and begin revising.

The Application Essay as a Story:One Approach to Writing
　　One approach to writing a personal statement or response essay is to think of yourself as a storyteller. This means you will approach writing your essay like you are telling a story, rather than like writing a formal, research paper (Bob's Note: If you are writing a serious research proposal for a Ph. D. program, forget trying to write it as a story, focus on describing your proposal and experience as professionally as possible).
　　The subjects of this story, your essay, are of course your academic, work, and personal experiences. If you have been through a dramatic life experience, such as overcoming a particular challenge or difficulty, you may want to write about it. Most people though probably think their lives have been quite bland. Yet, there are still ways to write a memorable essay. One way is to think of an unconventional or unexpected way to organize your essay and present your life experiences. This is sometimes called a hook or an angle. For example, if your grades and tests scores are average, but you have done notable volunteer work, then focus on it in your essay, relating it to your reasons for pursuing graduate study or your strong qualifications as a candidate for graduate school.
　　Another way to make your essay stand out is by detailing unique career goals. Schools not only want to know that you are qualified for a degree but also how your are going to use the degree. Many applicants are too vague when writing their career goals. For example:
'...I want to return to Taiwan to be a teacher and a researcher in an academic or industrial field. Sharing my knowledge with younger generations and contributing to our society are my ultimate goals.'
and
'I shall return to China after finishing my studies because I believe what I learn shall be very valuable to China.'
　　These two examples say nothing. Their authors have not distinguished their essays from other applicant's.
　　Now read the statement below:
'My future career plan is to assume a managerial position with a non-profit charity foundation. Taiwan's largest problem in this field is the lack of professional management to formulate long-term goals and strengthen the management structure to achieve effective results. In this field, I will be able to fully utilize my training and skills in human resources and business management'
　　This statement is more specific both in terms of describing a specific career goal and why the author wants to pursue it.
　　Hopefully some the above advice will help you in writing your essay, but if not, you must still remember to make your essay interesting. This means writing something that people will enjoy reading. And most people would rather read something interesting and lively than dull and vague!

Show and Tell
　　One of the common weaknesses of application essays is that they 'tell' too much and 'show' too little about their author. What is the difference between 'telling' and 'showing?' In 'telling' the author uses mostly assertions and self-appraisals instead of narrative description in describing his experiences. If your essay is filled with adjectives and vague phrases that lack specific details, you are probably 'telling,' not 'showing.' Also, if your descriptions are statements of opinion, not facts, you are also probably 'telling.' 　　

Some examples of 'telling:'
'My experience as a head of the student organization increased my teamwork abilities and efficiency in problem-solving, which will be of great help in my future pursuits.'
'In my experience working with senior managers, I was able to quickly build up my skills and confidence in my business abilities. I was able to endure and, in fact, began to enjoy to challenge. Overall, I considered my performance to be quite good.'
'My research experience in the Department of Microbiology was my most interesting and knowledge-enhancing academic experience during college.'
　　There is nothing grammatically wrong with the above examples, but none of them reveal much about their authors. What does the author of the first example mean by 'increasing [his] teamwork abilities and his efficiency in problem solving?' Maybe he simply means that this was the first time he worked in a team. Or perhaps, he was responsible for something more significant, such as recruiting, organizing and supervising a group with one-hundred members. What kind of business skills did the author of the second example learn? Learning how to use a spreadsheet or learning complex financial and accounting techniques? Also, Why was the author content with his performance? Because he showed up for work everyday or because he researched a wrote a fifty-page report? What does the author of the third example mean by interesting? This adjective can refer to almost anything.
　　You can avoid this type of vagueness in your essay by learning to 'show' instead of 'tell.' In 'showing,' an author supports his assertions with specific evidence and proof. Because of the inclusion of concrete examples, 'showing' is much more convincing and interesting than just 'telling.' Here are some contrasting examples.
Tell:
'I had an large amount of responsibility in working at the ABC Community Center.'
Show:
'While working at the ABC Community center I was responsible for the daily supervision of fifteen teenage counselors aged sixteen to twenty and sixty children aged five to twelve. The summer camp ran from 7:30 am until 6:00 from Monday through Friday and included daily swimming lessons and art activities, and weekly field trips.'
Tell:
'During my college years, I found that I had a special interest in economics therefore have decided to pursue a graduate degree in economics.'
Show:
'Two specific academic experiences influenced me to pursue studies in agricultural economics. In March 1994 a report written by myself along with ten classmates entitled 'The Effect of a Free Trade Economy on the Marketing of Poultry,' was published in the Journal of Agricultural Economics. This was my first experience integrating theory and practical experience and taught me a significant amount about global markets. The second experience was...'
Tell:
'From reading various research papers and journals, along with joining seminars and training programs, I have found that the counseling service currently has many problems. After receiving my degree, I hope to help solve them.'
Show:
'From my experiences in counseling, I am aware that there are three basic problems confronting Taiwan's counseling field. First, social change has outpaced the capacities of existing social programs. For example, schools and social programs are unable to handle the growing problem of juvenile delinquency. Second, there are a lack of appropriate social training programs to train current and new social workers to deal with all the problems they may encounter. Third, Chinese culture is centered around the family unit while Western culture emphasizes the individual. This leads to value conflicts between Western-trained counselors and Chinese patients.'
　　The more specifically and concretely you describe your experiences and opinions, the more convincing they will be and, consequently, the more you will reveal about yourself. So when writing you essay, keep reminding yourself SHOW, DON'T TELL.

Application Essay Openings
　　The purpose of the application essay's first paragraph, its introduction, is to grab the reader's attention and to introduce what will be discussed in detail in the rest of the essay.
　　The essay's first paragraph is perhaps its most important. it will set the reader's overall impression of the essay. If your first paragraph is well-written and interesting, the reader will be more inclined to enjoy the rest of the essay. Likewise, if your first paragraph is dull, the reader may not be interested in reading your essay.
　　Because the first paragraph is so important, you should make spend extra effor writing it. When should you start thinking about your first paragraph? Because it sets the framework for the topics you cover in the rest of the essay, you can actually save writing the first paragraph for after you have written the body of the essay and have a better idea about the main point and focus of your essay.

The Application Essay Body
　　In the body of your essay, the paragraphs following the introduction, you should elaborate on topics mentioned in your opening paragraph. You can also include additional information about your background and experiences. Remember through, there is no need to detail every relevant part of your background or every relevant experience, that is the purpose of the resume. You merely need to write enough to make graduate schools interested in your application and to show them you have an adequate understanding of the field you wish to pursue. You can do this by referring to classes, work experiences, books, etc.
　　In the body or your essay, there is no need to balance your focus, to write the same amount on every topic. For example, you do not need to write exactly one paragraph each on your background, your academic experiences, your work experiences, your career goals, etc. Rather, try to focus on the most compelling, interesting, and convincing things you can. You can briefly mention other relevant facts by relating them to the most important points.
 
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