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Aaron Writes
Volume 43
October 1, 2008
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Welcome to Aaron Writes Volume 43. In this issue of Aaron Writes, we would
like to look at exaggeration, imagination, creativity, and lying.
What better place to start than the college entrance essay. In the United
States, many colleges require applicants to write an essay as part of the
application process. Colleges would like to know about the applicants so
they can accept people who they think have something to offer their schools.
Here is one example of an essay question that explains this.
ESSAY: IN ORDER FOR THE ADMISSIONS STAFF OF OUR COLLEGE TO GET
TO KNOW YOU, THE APPLICANT, BETTER, WE ASK THAT YOU ANSWER
THE FOLLOWING QUESTION: ARE THERE ANY SIGNIFICANT EXPERIENCES
YOU HAVE HAD, OR ACCOMPLISHMENTS YOU HAVE REALIZED, THAT
HAVE HELPED TO DEFINE YOU AS A PERSON?
This essay question was from NYU (New York University). Below is the
first paragraph of an essay written in response to this question:
I am a dynamic figure, often seen scaling walls and crushing ice. I have
been known to remodel train stations on my lunch breaks, making them
more efficient in the area of heat retention. I translate ethnic slurs for
Cuban refugees, I write award-winning operas, I manage time efficiently.
Occasionally, I tread water for three days in a row.
After reading the first paragraph, what do you see? What do you think
the admissions office at NYU saw? If you would like read more of the
essay, you can find in its entirety at
http://www.cfcl.com/vlb/Cuute/f/college.essay.txt.
The author, Hugh Gallagher, was accepted to NYU.
Although Gallagher was lying, such writing is not viewed as lying. If you
falsify your resume, that is lying. In an essay, what Gallagher did is viewed
as exaggeration, imagination, or creativity. We all know that no human
being could possibly do all this. Gallagher showed great creativity in his
essay.
Creativity, which can be presented through writing imagined or
exaggerated, is often a positive quality in writing, when used properly. Try
this in your writing. We would be happy to discuss your writing and publish
it here if you would like to send us some of your creative writing. Please
understand that we may be unable to publish all writing sent to us.
Please visit our site at http://www.aaronlanguage.com if you would like to
read our back issues or look at other resources, or find out about any of
our services.
We hope this has been of interest to you and look forward to seeing you
again for our next issue.
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