Common App Essay
Week 1 > Click here
Week 2 > Click here
Week 3 > Click here
Week 4 - 6 > Read 1, Write 1
Links, below, to New York Times mentor texts to read, analyze, and then use as a model.
- Tell a story about a small but memorable event or moment in your life.
- Use details to show, not tell.
- Write from your own point of view, in your real voice.
- Use dialogue effectively.
- Drop the reader into a scene.
- Tell a complete story, with a true narrative arc.
- Reflect on the experience and give the reader a take-away.
Week 7 - 8: Peer Feedback + Edit (Writable)
Early Decision Common App Deadline: Nov 1
Virtual Book Club
: 1. Choose a book to read and discuss
- Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë (1847)
- The Invisible Man by H. G. Wells (1897)
- The Turn of the Screw by Henry James (1898)
- Silas Marner by George Eliot (1861)
- Frankenstein by Mary Shelley (1818)
- Great Expectations by Charles Dickens (1861)
- Describe the historical context of the time period. What “big” events/people define that period in history? What ideas of the time shaped the writing? How did the writing influence the people?
- Identify the unique features of the literature of the time period (main ideas, themes, questions, etc.)
- Describe and explain the prevalent genres/styles/literary techniques (be sure to discuss key literary terms found in the reading)
- Provide a short list of important authors/works from that particular time period
- Provide a bio of the author and discuss how their life events may have shaped their writing.