Essay，屬于文書(shū)材料的一種，一般見(jiàn)于本科和MBA的申請(qǐng)，研究生申請(qǐng)多以個(gè)人陳述為主。相比個(gè)人陳述，Essay的主題更為寬泛，文體、結(jié)構(gòu)、用詞、文筆等都有更為廣闊的發(fā)揮空間。

作用

在申請(qǐng)中，Essay的作用相對(duì)較大。按羚羊網(wǎng)的2013年的一項(xiàng)統(tǒng)計(jì)，Essay在本科申請(qǐng)中的作用排在第五位，僅次于GPA、中學(xué)課程難度、標(biāo)準(zhǔn)化考試成績(jī)和班級(jí)排名，屬于非學(xué)術(shù)性材料中最受重視的材料。而在MBA申請(qǐng)之中，不少人甚至認(rèn)為Essay的重要性占到全部申請(qǐng)材料的40%以上。

寫(xiě)作與潤(rùn)色

寫(xiě)作ESSA/PS時(shí)，建議要多閱讀范文，但又不要被范文所囿，束縛了自己的思想。建議先確定文章主題，Common Application和學(xué)校官網(wǎng)一般都會(huì)給出一些主題，但也完全可以自己想。再用中文將Essay/PS寫(xiě)出，然后再翻譯成英文，多做潤(rùn)色和修改，最后定稿。

潤(rùn)色原則

文書(shū)修改與潤(rùn)色許多人愛(ài)找英語(yǔ)好的同學(xué)，甚至自己的老外親戚幫忙，又或者找中介的團(tuán)隊(duì)幫忙，但請(qǐng)記住文書(shū)核心是：Motivation & Qualification，這類(lèi)潤(rùn)色與修改切忌過(guò)頭！

文書(shū)修改的請(qǐng)遵循以下兩個(gè)原則：

• 原則一：不要過(guò)分追求文字達(dá)到母語(yǔ)（Native Speaker）的水平
• 原則二：吸收正確的修改意見(jiàn)

文字潤(rùn)色

原則：不要過(guò)分追求文字達(dá)到母語(yǔ)（Native Speaker）的水平。

ESSAY/PS是用來(lái)展現(xiàn)自己某方面的優(yōu)秀特質(zhì)或經(jīng)歷的，本來(lái)就該用中文，只是對(duì)方?jīng)]法看懂，沒(méi)辦法，只有翻譯成英文了。讓英語(yǔ)好的朋友或同學(xué)，甚至讓國(guó)外的朋友幫忙修改文書(shū)是不錯(cuò)，但不要迷戀，整得至于每個(gè)表達(dá)都要做到地道才罷休。記住，ESSAY不是用來(lái)秀英語(yǔ)作文的——這個(gè)該在TOEFL或SAT寫(xiě)作里秀，如果你TOEFL作文考得一塌糊涂，你就那么肯定招生官不會(huì)生疑嗎？

著名的升學(xué)指導(dǎo)專(zhuān)家 Ana Ivy （曾經(jīng)在法學(xué)院做過(guò)admissionofficer），針對(duì)這一問(wèn)題，她的看法是：

“It's your application, so ultimately it's your call. But I can tell you, from my own experience as an admissions officer, that any essays that sound 'too perfect' from an ESL applicant willraise red flags, and then the admissions officer will come to doubt the authenticity of the rest of your material too.

You run the risk that they'll suspect your essays were written by someone else, or that the essays have been 'scrubbed' to the point where not even the content is your own. And that's a huge mark against you, so you are much better of submitting the writing in your own voice.

Nobody will hold against you that your English doesn't sound totally native. Authenticity is a big part of what makes application essays successful, so you've actually made your essays worse by having them worked over by native speakers to get the English 'perfect.'”

簡(jiǎn)單翻譯下這段文字的要點(diǎn)：

（1）作為一個(gè)非母語(yǔ)申請(qǐng)者，文書(shū)寫(xiě)得那么地道，老外不大信；

（2）文書(shū)寫(xiě)得地道，其它材料卻明顯跟不上——TOEFL寫(xiě)作分?jǐn)?shù)奇低這種不知道算不算，她沒(méi)說(shuō)——擺明就是想讓招生官懷疑你找人代寫(xiě)，進(jìn)而懷疑你ESSAY的內(nèi)容是不是也在作假！

（3）真實(shí)性壓倒一切——不地道不要緊，沒(méi)一個(gè)老外吃飽撐得要求一個(gè)非母語(yǔ)的申請(qǐng)者寫(xiě)出完全地道的ESSAY，找老外幫你修改只會(huì)適得其反！

吸收正確意見(jiàn)

注意是“正確”的修改意見(jiàn)。如何吸收別人的建議是很關(guān)鍵的，如果沒(méi)有原則，來(lái)者不拒，那么周?chē)诉^(guò)多的意見(jiàn)只會(huì)干擾你，讓你迷失方向。特別是那些宏觀意見(jiàn)的，“PS不夠吸引人”，“motivation 不夠強(qiáng)”等。如果你的老師，朋友，同學(xué)給出這樣的意見(jiàn)，那就多問(wèn)他們一句，如果需要修改，具體需要替換哪幾個(gè)例子，哪些不分需要重寫(xiě)，怎么寫(xiě)。只有給出實(shí)實(shí)在在修改意見(jiàn)的人才是有幫助的。

耶魯?shù)慕ㄗh

When you write your essays and “short takes” for the Common Application and Yale-specific questions, write about something that matters to you. Use your own voice. Do not worry about making a special effort to include impressive vocabulary words or overly complex sentences. If you sound like yourself and discuss something you care about, your essay will be more effective.

We know that no one can fit an entire life story into two brief essays, and we don’t expect you to try. Pick two topics that will give us an idea of who you are.  It doesn’t matter which topics you choose, as long as they are meaningful to you. We have read wonderful essays on common topics and weak essays on highly unusual ones. Your perspective – the lens through which you view your topic – is far more important than the specific topic itself. In the past, students have written about family situations, ethnicity or culture, school or community events to which they have had strong reactions, people who have influenced them, significant experiences, intellectual interests, personal aspirations, or – more generally – topics that spring from the life of the imagination.

Finally: proofread, proofread, proofread!  Share your essays with at least one or two people who know you well – such as a parent, teacher, counselor, or friend – and ask for feedback. Remember that you ultimately have control over your essays, and your essays should retain your own voice, but others may be able to catch mistakes that you missed and help suggest areas to cut if you are over the word limit.*(1)

簡(jiǎn)單翻譯要點(diǎn)如下：

（1）自己寫(xiě)，別糾結(jié)于那些沒(méi)用的詞匯與句型。

（2）做你做自己，但要有重點(diǎn)，不需要試圖用一兩篇文章把你的一生都寫(xiě)出來(lái)，我們明白這做不到（我們也不是傻子不是？）。

（3）話(huà)題無(wú)所謂平常與新奇，平常的話(huà)題可以寫(xiě)出很棒的ESSAY，新奇的話(huà)題也可以寫(xiě)得狗屁不是。

（4）別太長(zhǎng)。

（5）校正，校正、再校正！但別矯枉過(guò)正！

資料下載

• 哈佛大學(xué)成功申請(qǐng)ESSAY五十篇整理（第三版）(PDF)
• 哈佛大學(xué)成功申請(qǐng)ESSAY五十篇整理（第一版）(PDF)
• 常春藤名校申請(qǐng)成功ESSAY五十篇整理(PDF)
• 經(jīng)典Essay譯文匯

參考資料：

(1) Advice on Putting Together Your Application-Essay Yale University