从Costco essay谈大学申请作文的写法

从Costco essay谈大学申请作文的写法

 

Costco是一家仓储式商场，凡在北美生活过的人，无人不知，几乎无人不曾去那里购过物。然而，特拉华州威明顿市的一位18岁的高中生Britany Stinson 却通过自己在Costco平凡的购物体验写出了一篇不平凡的大学申请作文，让她在众多优秀的大学申请者中脱颖而出，被5所常春藤大学和硅谷著名的史丹福大学录取。这篇只有604字的Costco essay，究竟有什么魔力获得了常春藤大学那些眼光犀利、挑剔的AO的青睐，并引起了主流媒体跟风式的追踪报道？

 

作为美国著名大学的高中毕业生申请者，一份全A的成绩单和几乎满分的SAT考分对他们来说一点也不稀罕，真正能让大学AO入眼的是才艺、各种杰出的奖状和荣誉、推荐信以及课外活动，还有一个就是让申请者鹤立鸡群的essay。大学AO给高中申请者的写作建议是，如果一篇没有署名的essay丢落在地上，别人检起来一看就能断定是谁写的。

 

一篇杰出的essay，开篇就要引人入胜，激起读者想继续往下看的兴趣，向大学AO展示一个特别的你。

 

Essay通常采用记叙文式写法。

开头写一件个人亲身经历的轶闻、趣事或奇闻，以激起读者继续读下去的兴趣。大多数新闻报道都用这种写法，在英文写作中把这种叙述方式叫做“anecdotes"。开头要采用小说式或戏剧化的手法来介绍一段真实的事情或经历，目的是要激起读者阅读的兴趣和好奇心。Costco essay的开头就处理得很好。作者首先讲述了自己从二岁起就跟母亲去Costco购物，描述自己如何试图挣脱母亲的束缚，从小就有了探索世界的欲望与兴趣，对Costco高高的堆头陈列、硕大的冰库以及所有的东西都充满了兴趣，又把自己比喻为16世纪的西班牙探险家，不是去寻找传说中的黄金城，而是穿梭在Costco的过道中寻找免费试吃品，并对Costco王国内的一切都充满了好奇心，最后不得不被母亲唤回购物车内。读了这个开头，读者不禁会问：Costco究竟有什么魔力让一个小孩子对它充满了好奇心？

 

作者在接下来的段落里回答了读者的疑问。经常光顾Costco, 作者不仅仅是购物，而是通过购物培养了自己的好奇心和观察、独立思考能力。作者通过举例来展示自己的这些能力，如吃一块五毛钱的全牛肉热狗套餐，不是把注意力放在Costco宣传的“全牛肉”上，而是想到有限和无限的关系；通过观察另一名购物者的购物车撞柱子，想到了物理学中的惯性定律；从胡桃木熏火腿引出了与其父亲 对具有争议的美国第七任总统安德鲁·杰克逊的讨论，因为杰克逊的外号就叫“老胡桃木”。胡桃木是美国东部山区特有的树木，以其质地坚硬而出名。杰克逊因1812年在新奥尔良率领5千人马全歼英军7千5百人而被人们赞誉为“老胡桃木”。作者对其坚定的信念和顽强、坚韧不拔的品格推崇有加，而对其个人道德却不苛同。通过对Costco商品和购物者的观察和思考，作者不仅显示了其丰富的知识面、观察和独立思考能力，而且向AO展示了个人品格。

 

再下面作者把对Costco的好奇心和在那里购物学到的观察思考能力引申到自己的课内学习和课外活动上，Costco培养了作者的好奇心、求知欲以及观察思考能力，有助于她的课堂学习和课外活动，并向AO展示了一个多才多艺的自己。

 

最后一段是全文的总结，起到画龙点睛的作用。

 

这篇文章反映了作者扎实的语言能力、丰富的知识面和写作功底，通篇语言流畅、词汇丰富。一篇优秀的essay要有明确的目的，通过小事用心去感知生活，透过经历寻找意义，展示个性和品质，这样才能给AO留下深刻印象，令其刮目相看。

 

据最新报道，Costco essay的作者Brittany Stinson最后选择了去史丹福大学。

 

附Costco essay:

Prompt 1: Some students have a background, identity, interest, or talent that is so meaningful they believe their application would be incomplete without it. If this sounds like you, then please share your story.

Managing to break free from my mother’s grasp, I charged. With arms flailing and chubby legs fluttering beneath me, I was the ferocious two­ year old rampaging through Costco on a Saturday morning. My mother’s eyes widened in horror as I jettisoned my churro; the cinnamon­sugar rocket gracefully sliced its way through the air while I continued my spree. I sprinted through the aisles, looking up in awe at the massive bulk products that towered over me. Overcome with wonder, I wanted to touch and taste, to stick my head into industrial­sized freezers, to explore every crevice. I was a conquistador, but rather than searching the land for El Dorado, I scoured aisles for free samples. Before inevitably being whisked away into a shopping cart, I scaled a mountain of plush toys and surveyed the expanse that lay before me: the kingdom of Costco. 

Notorious for its oversized portions and dollar­fifty hot dog combo, Costco is the apex of consumerism. From the days spent being toted around in a shopping cart to when I was finally tall enough to reach lofty sample trays, Costco has endured a steady presence throughout my life. As a veteran Costco shopper, I navigate the aisles of foodstuffs, thrusting the majority of my weight upon a generously filled shopping cart whose enormity juxtaposes my small frame. Over time, I’ve developed a habit of observing fellow patrons tote their carts piled with frozen burritos, cheese puffs, tubs of ice cream, and weight­loss supplements. Perusing the aisles gave me time to ponder. Who needs three pounds of sour cream? Was cultured yogurt any more well­mannered than its uncultured counterpart? Costco gave birth to my unfettered curiosity. 

While enjoying an obligatory hot dog, I did not find myself thinking about the ‘all beef’ goodness that Costco boasted. I instead considered finitudes and infinitudes, unimagined uses for tubs of sour cream, the projectile motion of said tub when launched from an eighty foot shelf or maybe when pushed from a speedy cart by a scrawny seventeen year old. I contemplated the philosophical: If there exists a thirty­three ounce jar of Nutella, do we really have free will? I experienced a harsh physics lesson while observing a shopper who had no evident familiarity of inertia's workings. With a cart filled to overflowing, she made her way towards the sloped exit, continuing to push and push while steadily losing control until the cart escaped her and went crashing into a concrete column, 52” plasma screen TV and all. Purchasing the yuletide hickory smoked ham inevitably led to a conversation between my father and me about Andrew Jackson’s controversiality. There was no questioning Old Hickory’s dedication; he was steadfast in his beliefs and pursuits – qualities I am compelled to admire, yet his morals were crooked. We both found the ham to be more likeable–and tender.

I adopted my exploratory skills, fine tuned by Costco, towards my intellectual endeavors. Just as I sampled buffalo­chicken dip or chocolate truffles, I probed the realms of history, dance and biology, all in pursuit of the ideal cart–one overflowing with theoretical situations and notions both silly and serious. I sampled calculus, cross­country running, scientific research, all of which are now household favorites. With cart in hand, I do what scares me; I absorb the warehouse that is the world. Whether it be through attempting aerial yoga, learning how to chart blackbody radiation using astronomical software, or dancing in front of hundreds of people, I am compelled to try any activity that interests me in the slightest. 

My intense desire to know, to explore beyond the bounds of rational thought; this is what defines me. Costco fuels my insatiability and cultivates curiosity within me at a cellular level. Encoded to immerse myself in the unknown, I find it difficult to complacently accept the “what”; I want to hunt for the “whys” and dissect the “hows”. In essence, I subsist on discovery.